31/12 The Luuuurve Boat

Saturday 31 December      The Love Boat

We were very undecided whether to chance the weather to go out on a schooner. Wet and windy would have been unpleasant and 5 hours in a thunderstorm with waves could be downright dangerous. It is something we wanted to do and, if anything, the rest of the week is likely to be worse so we collected a few bits of fruit and some water and headed down to the dock.

Not the boat we were on, but very similar and the captain of this one had a pirates hat on.

The second boat looked fair enough, had plenty of shade and only a few people and didn’t cost much so we thought we would give it a go. How was it? We wondered how best to summarise the trip and toyed with JPY for a while but ultimately it just had to be:

Love, exciting and new

Come Aboard. We're expecting you.

Love, life's sweetest reward.

Let it flow, it floats back to you

Love won't hurt anymore

It's an open smile on a friendly shore.

It's LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE! It's LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE! It's

LOOOOOOOOOOOVE!

It's the Love Boat-ah! It's the Love Boat-ah!

                Our view, for 5 hours.  They must have really bruised lips. *giggles*

Those Brazilians just wouldn’t let it go! We had the centre portion with the huge mattresses to ourselves and most of them sat together at the back in the sun but the 4 smokers were up front and this is what we got to watch all day.

The sales lady/cruise director/waitress/anchor woman etc  approached us to take the lunch order.  Asking my name, not hearing it correctly then saying, that is the same name as mine as I wrote it on the sheet.  Spelt the same but pronounced differently, she says Janina.  Imagine that, going to the other side of the world and someone has your name.

The trip was brilliant. We didn’t get any direct sun, which made for a comfortable day but possibly not startling photos. It didn’t rain and importantly the wind and seas didn’t get up at all. The only time we were rocked about was when the asshole stockbrokers flashed past in their multi-million dollar ocean palaces. There was a medium size cruise ship (Insignia) out there at anchor and a stream of tenders ferrying passengers ashore (how familiar is this!).

It was very much like the bay of islands in NZ. Small islands thatched in deep green jungle with bananas running wild and bright red bromeliads growing high up in the branches of other trees. One place we stopped had little rust coloured marmosets that peered at us from the trees on the shore and could be lured down onto a rock at the water’s edge by bits of fresh fruit. 5 stops in all, with opportunities to swim at each and optional lunch provided. We shared a dish of large-flaked fish with shrimp sauce and rice and salads, which was quite delicious given that it had been knocked up in a small galley downstairs. We were very much reminded of a similar trip and meal last year in Turkey in a traditional gulet.

Marmoset island

This is the 'Submarino' from yesterday, proving it does float.

We had a swim at a couple of places and I managed some laps for the first time since we left home. Also got into a lotus and sat there while the boat gently rocked and swayed at anchor, which was very serene and relaxing.

All in all, just a thoroughly relaxing and enjoyable day.

Our boat for the day 'Portal'

Back to base, dropped in at the nearby butcher and fruit shop for some chicken fillets, salady stuff and fruit. Knocked up a quick dinner while reducing the vodka bottle. Hmmmmm rain!! This could be a dampener on the fireworks. Our families have all done their dash and fallen asleep hours ago and we still have 4 hours to go.

30/12 Relaxing times

Friday 30 December

Said farewell to the Anglo-Boers. The “Russians” left too so we have the dorm to ourselves – at least for the time being. This is the way we imagined it. J has decided she doesn’t want to sleep upstairs any more so we just swapped the complete mattress and sheets unit for a lower bunk in front of the window.

We crossed the bridge higher up the canal and walked down to the beachfront, where construction of the sound stage proceeds.  I had a slightly delicate ankle from yesterday’s tottering on the cobbles. We followed signs to the old fort atop a small hill on the waterfront. Not much but enough to house a few cannon which would have swept the bay and the river mouth. There was a bit of a museum with some interesting bits of machinery that they used to press and scourge millet into flour. Also some cultural bits and pieces. Interesting that the local natives seem to have practised dot painting in a manner similar to the Aborigines. Maybe they didn’t invent it? Also noticed that there was an armed policeman with flak jacket half way up the jungle path to the fort, which was a little isolated and quiet. Another was at the top and we then spotted a third at the bottom. The guide book did mention something about problems on the path to the waterfall so there must be some safety issues here, although the shops and houses are not barred, fenced and razor-wired the way everything is in Rio.

View from fort over bay

View from fort to town on other side of the headland

View of Paraty

More tuna for lunch then strolled down to ask about tickets for the schooners tomorrow. The forecasts are not good. We have had 2 pretty much dry cloudy days but it looks like rain and lightning big time for the next week. Now wondering whether a schooner is a good place to ride out a thunderstorm? We also noticed a big queue at a bank so we made a point of collecting some money to tide us over until we get back to Rio.

We thought we had the dorm to ourselves, but then another 2 ladies arrived about 8.30pm. Damn.  Have been reading books as there is not a lot else to do. 

I have been reading what I would never have previously considered to read as they are ‘boy book’ authors; Michael Connelly and Sidney Sheldon.  Have enjoyed them both.  Fast running out of English books.  Keep eyeing off “La chica que sonaba con una cerilla y un bidon de gasoline” by Stieg Larsson.( Go on you library people/book lovers, you can work out which title that is.)  Somehow I don’t think I would get very far into it.

These are big ugly birds, look like vulture/turkey cross.

29/12 Postcard perfect Paraty

Thursday 29 December                 Paraty (Or Pararrrchee if your Portuguese)

We slept well, despite a pair of late arrivals. The English woman had moved to the couch in the lounge by the time we got up at 8 and her Sethefrican partner was less than effusive when we greeted him on his subsequent appearance. Did we snore? Lucky we don’t fart in bed.

Breakfast was very good. Pretty much the standard Brazilian brekky of crusty rolls with ham and cheese. The coffee was very good and they had squeezed some of the sackful of oranges that the man brought home a short while ago. They had made up the circular table with the food in the middle and it was nice to have a sit down meal for a change.

We had a wander down to the jetty through the old part of the town. The roads are all made of flattish stones sort of levelled but there are gaps and edges and dips and it really requires concentration to keep your footing without turning an ankle. It actually gets worse in the older part because the roads slope slightly down towards the waterfront and they are also slightly v-shaped, with a shallow gully running down the centre of each road. Add the effect of the irregular paving and you begin to appreciate that it’s far from easy walking.

The purpose is that at high tide the water runs through holes in the sea wall and flows up the streets into the old part of town, and then flushes out again. Presumably this was designed to clean the streets, including what is delicately referred to as “night soil”, as if people didn’t sh*t during the day? I’m not sure it worked because at the moment there is a decidedly manky smell when the water recedes, probably caused by residue between the stones. There are also places where long puddles remain. One wonders (well This one does anyway) what would happen at extra high tides . . do the houses/shops flood?

No cars are allowed in the old part of town, so other than pedestrians the only other thing you need to watch out for are the horse and carriages that take the tourists on a sightseeing circuit.  If you have any trouble walking on the uneven road surfaces this would be the best way to see the town.  It is very neat and colourful with each house having different coloured brightly painted doors and windows.  There are several very old churches, many gift shops and art galleries.

There are many pousadas (guesthouses) of various sizes.  It really is a very nice beachside holiday destination with a laid back feel.  I could live here.

We strolled on across the bridge that spans the river to the town beach.

One of the small colourful boats that will take you out all day

Chris decided that this one is definately not a contender for our day trip - check out its name....  if you can't see it it is 'Submarina'.

There were a fair number of beachfront restaurants and a lot of people swimming and lying around.

 The town is visibly filling up with local holidaymakers. We carried on to the big supermarket beyond the rodoviaria and stocked up with cans of tuna and salad stuff. We are going to eat sensibly for a while.

After lunch we went back and saw the streets on the receding tide, with water up to 18” deep right at the front. The schooners were coming back from their days out in the bay, which made for interesting watching, particularly when the backpacker groups landed after what must have been a very merry cruise.

We also noticed, in our starved state, the numerous carts that had been set up, all selling the same collection of delicious cakes. Each cart was about 2 square metres, covered in sticky and creamy and nutty and chewy cake that positively screamed “Eat Me!!!”.  With Herculean restraint, we chose not to avail ourselves.

We followed signs and sought directions to the Biblioteca and Livraria but all we found were a couple of book stores. Not having a lot of luck with libraries on this trip!

Back to base for more tuna and carrot. Yeah baby. A quiet night reading and later chatting with the Anglo-Boers, who had got over their huge case of the Sads. They are moving on tomorrow. I logged on to Skyp towards midnight, intending to ring Stephie to check on the status of the bank accounts and credit cards but she was online anyway so we did it in text. All is going well financially.

We should mention that we have commenced the Positive Mental Attitude preparations leading up to winning the $31 million on Saturday. We figure that this will be a good start towards our target of having enough to buy an apartment on ‘The World’, that boat that constantly cruises the planet with 160 lucky families in a life of constant indulgence. Pretty much like us at the moment . . just not sharing a dormitory and living on tinned tuna. We also emailed them and asked for an indication of how much we will need. Laugh not excessively because this is dangerously close to the way we came about being where we are.

28/12 The road to Paraty

Wednesday 28 December

Early start to be packed and gone by 10, leaving the 2 biggest bags in their storage room, which was almost empty. At least it was a proper room that locked – the other place simply had a corridor. We caught a bus from the corner which took us direct to the Rodoviaria – such a lovely word. Roll the R a bit and then aaaaarrr the first A. Rrrrrrodo viaaaaaaaaaria. Magic. It means regional bus terminus, so it’s a safe word to use in public. Having said that, it might be a disgusting word in Hungarian or Swahili?

There was plenty of time to sit and watch people going by. We had a chicken (frango) croissant for lunch – in fact we had one each so I bought two – dois. We heard dois on the boat a lot and it is a nice word too – “doice” . . . . or “dice” for Julia Gillard. But suddenly there was a rush to widdle and get down to the platform – there are about 80. The bus is very comfortable – the seats recline a loooong way and the headrest is very soft. I was really very comfortable and snoozing when the rucksack with the laptop fell on me. Thank God it didn’t have the litre of vodka or (worse) the fridge magnets in it. We have the airconditioning channel just above us but now I have moved my bag down to the front where the overhead rack is deeper and, in the worst case, it will fall on somebody else hyuk hyuk.

We are getting the first idea of the countryside outside Rio. Very lush tropical with trees, creepers and thick long grass. Probably jungle in its natural state. The roads are very good with long sweeping turns around the coastal hills, between some of which there are good deep water ports and some very scenic coves with smaller settlements, marinas and beaches. Some of the bays are dotted with small islands. There would be some great holiday spots here. It was hot and sticky on our way to the rodoviaria but it has gone dull and the hilltops are mostly hidden in mist. This really is a very comfortable coach and it sticks to the road pretty well, which is good because he is pushing it round the curves. Apparently there are some nervous moments on the road down to Sao Paulo – this may even be them? The drivers are the smartest we have ever seen – tailored trousers, smart shining white shirts and an elegant tie.

The hostel was an easy walk from the rodoviaria – do love that word. It is a 3 bedroom house which has been converted into 3 dorm rooms of 8 beds each. That’s a bit too many for two bathrooms with toilet/shower/basin in each. The shower is so feeble that most of the water evaporates before it reaches your head. We were expecting that we might just be the only occupants but the place seems to be more full than not. The owners seem very friendly but don’t have a word of English between them.

We walked back to the large supermarket we had noticed just beyond the rodoviaria (sorry). It was strange – they had chunks of packaged meat (which were way too large for us) but mostly people queued up and a squad of butchers sliced cuts off chunks of meat hanging at the counter. We gave up and bought chicken sausage, which was very nice.

Paraty is a resort town and has a UN world heritage listing for its old colonial Portuguese buildings. There were a lot of Brazilians afoot in the town and lots of restaurants and chemists. Brazil seems to have the highest per capita level of chemists anywhere in the world. Oooh and a sex shop – we didn’t go in but the rather tame lingerie in the window hinted at the depravity within.

27/12 A fort, a marmoset and a visa photo

Tuesday 27 December            A fort, a marmoset and a visa photo

We made off to Copacabana, the scene of busy preparation for NYE. The fort was open this time and we wandered around their standing collection of artillery pieces and their temporary displays of Judaism (model of the Temple and a replica Ark of the Covenant??). 

Then into the thick concrete gun emplacement that houses two 300mm  and two 75mm guns. There was a maze of compartments underneath, including an amazing amount of storage space for ammunition and a mass of equipment for hauling it from the scattered storage chambers to the base of the turret and up to the guns themselves. The purpose was to reduce the risk of a direct hit on the guns detonating the magazines. There were thick steel rails hanging from the ceiling and the shells were rolled along those, held by clamps hanging on rollers below the rails. The final elevation to be loaded and fired was based on some screw machine that rotated them around and up to the guns.

The big guns

The smaller guns, is it just me or do they kind of look like a Dalek?

There were also the whole infrastructure of dormitories and officers’ quarters and a hospital etc. Up top we walked over the concrete surface, able to get up to the slowly rusting barrels and admire their field of fire across the whole bay and the approach to the harbour.

Up the hill we retraced our path to a restaurant we had noticed last time. It was very pleasant to sit outsides, watching the people walk past and the locals hoeing into plates heaped with steak or chicken and rice, black beans and chips and some spicy stuff that looked like couscous. We asked about the Gigantic pizza but the lady said a standard size would do. Assuming that might be a pretty miserly “personal pizza” we compromised on the Grande. Mistake! It was obvious when it arrived that we were not going to finish it. It reminded us of the incredible pizzas we had in Fiji that fed 6. This one had a radius from my knuckles to my elbow. No of course not, just testing to see if you were awake - that was the diameter.

The highlight came when the waitress/manager called out and then walked over to a big leafy tree growing on the pavement – a tiny marmoset (about 15cm with a long ringed tail) had come down and was perched about 6’ off the ground. She came back with a banana and balanced it in a fork in the tree. The little creature munched away on it for a while and then climbed back up, hands wrapped round the trunk rather like a koala. Apparently it is not uncommon in some parts of Rio.

So cute.  Waitress was quite excited when he appeared as if she hadn't seen him for a while.

Notice all the bars on the windows, I don't think we have seen any that have not been fortified.

The afternoon was taken up with obtaining batteries and a spare memory chip for the camera and having passport pictures taken. Australia Post can shove their $15 for 4 pictures – we got 9 for $6 here, and a free set for J, whose first set was hopelessly undersized. That all sounds pretty simple but actually necessitated numerous trips back and forth, finding shops, getting the right shapes and sizes and getting advice. All part of the process of travelling and getting things done abroad, particularly where there are language barriers.

View from the fort of Copacabana.  Sound shells being erected for NYE.

Copacabana with a favela rising above it on the hillside.  Christ the Redeemer is behind these but it is just too clouded today.

Right side of Copacabana with Sugarloaf in the distance

26/12 Moving on ... sort of

Monday 26 December      changed hotel

We seem to have posted 104 entries so we must have been away 104 days!

An email arrived this morning, mentioning a barbecue where all my children, cousin and family and aunt would be this evening. With time difference, it was just right to skype them, which went off very well.

We had dropped in at the Art Hostel yesterday, where the Oasis trip starts on 4^th January. We are booked in for the 3^rd and thought it might be a good idea to move there now to get away from the bugs and then to leave some of the bulky luggage here while we go to Paraty. This morning we got agreement from the owner to refund us the next 2 days we had prepaid so we jumped in a taxi and came over here.

Our room is unusual. We have our own bathroom with an interesting bidet.

 It has no window, vent, grating, extractor or any other type of opening, other than the door into our room. No such thing would be allowed in Aus. Our room has one window, which opens into the stairwell!

It rained lightly all day after a week of blazing sunshine. The forecast from now, right through New Year and until 4^th January when we leave is for thunderstorms. This may be an issue for the big celebrations at Copacabana. We were chatting with a couple of Dutch boys who are going. They have had to book their train tickets in a time slot already. They are paying R130 each per night for a dorm bed. (About $80) We will be well away down the coast.

25/12 Feliz Natal

Sunday 25 December                 Feliz Natal!

J had a restless night, scratching and thrashing around. We woke just in time to skype the party at her mother’s place and see the grandsons. By way of curiosity and for a bit of fresh air we went for a wander round the block. A couple of shops open and several pharmacies, whence we collected cough medicine pour moi and some antihistamine and itch cream for The Blotchy One.

When we got back, J noticed something on the couch and scratched around for a bit before exposing a clutch of large bedbugs scurrying around under a cushion in the pile of the corduroy lounge. Aaaaaargh. We had always suspected that the ankle itches were mosquitoes but the arm bites always seemed to follow a spell on the couches. It transpired that they knew there were bugs in the dorms upstairs but for some reason were not doing anything about it. Surely they would have known about the couches? J is a mess of livid red swollen lumps. The only good news is that we were not able to find any in our bedding, so hopefully they are not in our room or our luggage.

Christmas is a very low key family affair here. Very little in the way of lighting or decorations. No big displays of Christmas merchandise. Seems they save their public energy for New Year, when Copacabana goes crazy with midnight fireworks and 2 million people on an all nighter.

We have been directing some energy towards researching alternatives to having to get another visa to re-enter Brazil just to exit again on the cruise ship. 95% of the boats on this side leave from Brazil and the rest stop here anyway. The alternatives are a couple of boats going up the West coast to California or Florida, or flying to Puerto Rico to catch one from there. Oddly, you reach Puerto Rico via Miami for $600, but if you just want to go to Miami, it costs $800? There are parallel issues such as not wanting to have to get a US visa and duplicate travel insurance for USA, and the rapidly diminishing number of empty pages in my passport. I have about 6 left out of 32 and the book is only just half way through its 10 year life. We will not be anywhere long enough to replace it (at immense cost) until Spain or Portugal. Too many visits to Indonesia and other self-important nuisances like India and China who take a whole page for their dumb visas, probably to try and justify the fees

24/12 Christmas Eve

Saturday 24 November                         Twas the night before Christmas

And all over the hostel, bed bugs were crawling!!! There is a bit of dramatic irony in that because we didn’t learn that until tomorrow but the title was too good to miss.

We had limited ambitions for today – train to Copacabana to see the beach and particularly the fort at the Southern end. It was after 11am and already HOTT. We walked from the headland which divides Ipanema and the other beaches from Copacabana. They were all jampacked with bodies in various shades of brown-ebony, with bikinis in the scale from minute to microscopic. One-pieces were few and far between – only worn by the very old. Nobody went topless but there was a high proportion of backless bottoms, which some of the larger ladies wore like colonic floss.

This is Arpoador beach with Ipanema central and Leblon at the far side of the bay.

As it turned out, the fort was closed, despite advice from the desk girl who claimed to have phoned that morning. But we did see our first BAG SNATCH! A sudden flurry of activity about 30m ahead of us and there was a woman and a young man tugging at the strap of a shoulder bag. She prevailed and he jogged up the street towards us, striding it out a bit as he turned the corner away from us. He didn’t look flustered and she wasn’t yelling – just glowering after him. Not a lot of drama at all. I have read that muggings in South Africa often occur in crowded areas and people just walk by. Silly woman still walked on down the road afterwards with the bag hanging at her side from one hand. There were another 4 boys somewhat smaller and about the same shade of dark brown wandering up the road following the other one. They walked close by us but didn’t try anything.

We were very happy to sit out the afternoon at the hostel. The German girls drummed up some interest in a celebratory dinner and bought a whole lot of stuff. We went shopping with them and chipped in. They have been borrowing our laptop for skyping family in Germany. Eventually about a dozen of us piled in and enjoyed the mixed snacky repast. We stayed up until almost midnight then folded, after skyping the family at Toodyay early on Christmas morning and catching 5.9 of the grandchildren. Cass is due in 2 weeks.

23/12 Happy birthday Chris

Friday 23 December                 Happy Birthday Chris

Commiserating with some of the girls this morning after they had a bag snatched and their bank accounts cleaned out. We also heard how an English couple had a day pack stolen from their ankles at a train station surrounded by people. There are a lot of very skilled thieves here.

We took a bus up to Corcovada to get a close-up of the Christ statue and the unparalleled views of Rio. There was a 2 hour wait for the funicular because the cruise ships had bulk-billed slabs of tickets.

There he is, high in the hill

 The time passed quite quickly and we got up top about 2pm. There was a little haze but a very clear view. The statue is 30m tall and probably unremarkable in itself but its location atop the mountain gives it a position where it dominates the entire city. Rather like Table Mountain, it provides a reference point for navigation.

The views were absolutely stunning. There was a total 360 vista from the rainforest area round to the industrial and commercial areas, the football stadium, the cargo port, city centre, cruise terminal, airport on reclaimed land in the middle of the bay, which is BARELY long enough for the relatively small planes (no Jumbos) that keep it very busy. We watched a lot of planes land or take off, one of which aborted a takeoff and returned to the terminal. There is a huge, sprawling harbour with a very large island (Niteroi) on the far side, reached by a long bridge. The forts either side and in the middle of the channel to the open sea, the Sugarloaf mountain the Atlantic beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon, the racecourse and the coast running south.

Sugarloaf & Botofogo Bay

Lagoa (Lake) with Leblon immediate left of hill, then Ipanema to left of xmas tree that is in lake.

Looking over Copacana beach with Sugar Loaf at left of pic

We had driven up on a bus that followed a circular route so we reboarded it and waited to be taken home again. We had no idea of the size of the circle and were taken aback when it included about half of what I have just listed. We kept expecting it to turn round but it just kept on going. It was actually airconditioned, which is the first for us in Rio, and cost 10c extra. We were very happy with that, although we eventually closed the vent because we were getting earache from the cold.

All up, it would have been close to a 2 hour trip and was a less than complete pleasure because there was a lengthy gridlock in Leblon. If you had to reduce a description of a bus trip here to one word, it would have to be Jerky. Rather like a flight in Harry Potter’s Ford Anglia. The drivers have at least one foot flat on the floor at all times and alternate in a random staccato rhythm, so you are constantly having your neck jerking backwards and forwards, including each gear change. They corner wildly at surprising and disconcerting speed and the roads themselves are far from smooth so bus rides here are never restful. We were very happy to finally recognise the familiar surroundings of our own road.

We bought some sandwich steak and some cheap peach liqueur which tastes . . cheap! And a vodka to sustain us over the festive season.

22/12 Fauna-cating & big boys toys

Thursday 22 December           Fauna-cating & big boys toys

Not my fault – J insisted that “Zoo” was too boring a title. We decided damn the visas – lets go touristing. So off to the zoo it was. A very hot day and we were glad that we took water. A fair amount of walking, even for those of us who benched ourselves. This is a small zoo housed in what was the grounds of the royal family’s palace.  The beauty of this zoo is that you can see some of the Amazon jungles animals without actually going to the hot steamy jungle.  The main draws for me were the macaws, the little monkeys and a wide variety of birds.  Aust was represented by 2 cassowaries and a few black swans, both of who would probably be exotic enough to live in the Amazon.

So many Toucans.  They all came to the front of the cage for their closeup.  Very curious or very friendly?

Saki monkey, cute head of hair, like a hat. Similar shaped wattles under his chin.

There are definately 6 crocs here, maybe 7.  Can you see them?

This brown bear was just cute.

Thence to the adjacent museum. They had a very good collection of dinosaurs and fossils and they actually let me (Chris) in for nothing!  Collection is housed in a Palace which once belonged to the royal family.

Prince Charles?

Bird man

To the city for the $9 Big Mac meal -  as bad as Paris. J had the excellent idea of going on the harbour tour run by the Navy. We had a walk round a 2^nd world war destroyer (Bauru) that had guns, torpedoes and depth charges capable of shooting up or down anything you wanted to break.

Then they took us for an hour long harbour cruise that was just the perfect way to rest and relax after a tough morning on a hot day.

Our cruise boat (WWII tug?)

We first passed by the little blue-green ceramic castle that looks like the home of an elfin princess, but was in fact the Brazilian Customs building. 

Planes arrived and left on the very short runway that started and finished in the water. Boats and ferries were everywhere, we cruised right up to the Sugar Loaf and had a good look at the Christ statue.

Christ the Redeemer overlooking Flamingo Bay

Sugarloaf with cable cars

Couple of the forts at the harbour entrance

 The Brazilian fleet (past or present?) was there in force with a number of supply ships, several medium sized modern boats and an aircraft carrier. There was a fleet of tankers outside the bridge waiting for the cargo port and the MSC Musica (presumably with Maria) was back in the passenger terminal. We ignored the running commentary in Portuguese.

Back at the dock we had a quick look in the museum, whose major attraction was an extravagant replica royal rowing gondola with about 20 oars either side and a luxurious cabin at the back. Velvet everywhere.

 Finally, we got to walk through a submarine(Riachuelo), which we had never done before (apart from the small one we went down in off Mauritius).

It was really interesting but VERY cramped. It looks so easy when they run through in the movies, catching a hold above the circular doors and swinging their legs through first, with their body following as they land at the run. TRY IT!! It is quite ungainly trying to double over enough to get your head under and your knee up enough to clear your foot.

*giggles* He didn't know I took this.

 Illustrates the point well.

'ello sailor.  Bunks

more bunks

Galley.  Not much bigger than a shower recess.

More bunks, keep your head ducked or else.

Up periscope.  One of our little friends.

'ello sailor.  Hey, haven't I seen you before?

There were about 10 clones. Cooking, map reading, radio control, loading the torpedoes etc.  Just what every navy needs.

There was also a small sailing ship of the Columbus era, which was probably open to inspection but we reached it just after 5pm and the gangplank had been removed. We could have got out earlier had we not been detained in the submarine by a trio of 7 or 8 year olds. There was a moment when I imagined the headline “Aussie tourists mugged by toddlers in a Brazilian submarine”.

We also missed out on climbing inside this.

Being the night before my birthday, we decided to interrupt our diet of pasta/noodley things and bought a pork fillet for about $4. We had a good non-stick pan but no oil at all so “we” sliced the fillet into medallions and browned them in a whisper of water, after which they broiled on the pan. Cunard absolutely could not have done it better – the meat fell apart. We ate it with half a tomato and some green capsicum.  We followed with a chunk of honeydew melon and a mango that would have cost $3 in Perth which we got for $1 the lot. The point is that having access to a kitchen and a supermarket is a considerable bonus when you are backpacking. You can eat for a fraction of the cost and eat as healthy or otherwise as you please.

We have taken a pasting from the mosquitoes (and possibly something in the furniture). The mozzies get us under the breakfast table round the ankles and we are also peppered behind the triceps.

Hey!! Last night we watched the first episode of the new series of 2.5 Men with Ashton Kutcher. How Jake has grown! And why is it no surprise that the Kutcher character is . .ummm . . Huge?