Fortaleza (MAR 04)

Pam & I had been to Fortaleza three years ago and took a fairly extensive tour of the city.  Click here to read the blog post for that trip.

Freed from the need to work through a tourist attractions checklist, we opted to take the complimentary shuttle bus into the city and wander around. 

When we saw the line of fellow passengers waiting for the bus, Pam when off to investigate options.  Having made a momentary new best friend at the information desk, she returned saying that for the equivalent of $20 (including tip) we could get a 4-passenger cab to town. 

It took us less than 15 seconds to find another couple who wanted to share the cab with us. The woman at the information desk made sure we understood the price and that the cab driver agreed to the price.  Off we went.

We later learned from someone who was near us in the bus line that the wait turned out to be upward of forty-five minutes.  $10 well spent!

Okay, that was not the most fascinating story ever told, but this post won’t get much better.  As a yardstick, consider that I typically take 250-500 pictures a day.  Today I took about 25. 

We revisited the Mercado Central - a clothing and crafts market.  I needed a belt.  We looked on three levels of the market before finally finding one.  It was poor quality and priced accordingly. It was exactly what I wanted.  Ironically, on the next level at least ten vendors tried to sell me a belt. 

Leaving Mercado Central, we wandered around until we came to a small, attractive park, sufficiently populated to make us comfortable to go into it, and in doing so happened on the high point of our visit to Fortaleza. 

The park must be safe if the street sweepers sleep here on their break.

In the park was a café where we sat, had something to drink, listened to live Brazilian music and people-watched.  It was a delightful experience.  Click here to see a video and listen to some of the music.

We eventually moved on to the old jail, now a tourist-centric crafts market.  There was no line for the shuttle bus back to the ship and a bus was preparing to depart, so we hopped on it.

We were scheduled to depart Fortaleza in the late afternoon, but do to some work being done in the engine room, it was after dark before the lines were cast off.

We now have three days cruising to reach the city of Santarem over 400 miles up the Amazon River.