As we returned
aboard VEENDAM at 3:00 AM, Pam said she did not even feel that tired. She was asleep ten minutes after we entered
our stateroom. It took me a bit longer
to settle down and go to bed.
Neither of us got a full night’s sleep.
We were up
and moving about 8:00 AM. We had
breakfast, then decided to go for a walk along the waterfront.
We walked the
length of the marine terminal mall, past the Museum of Tomorrow and along a
pedestrian path through the naval base.
At the far side of the base, we came to the square where the Olympic torch was
lit during the Summer Games here last year. When we drove by it a couple of days ago,
returning from Petropolis, our guide said that it had been the first time the
flame had not been in an enclosed venue, instead being where everyone could see
it.
Behind it was
Candelaria Church, the city’s oldest church dating back to 1630.
We walked a
bit further and came to ferry terminal terminus of the city’s new tram
system. We decided that we would take it
back to the marine terminal if we could figure out how to buy a ticket. We never did figure it out.
A young lady
who worked for the system asked us in broken English how old we were and could
we prove it. We told her we were both
seventy and showed her our passport cards. Presto, we were admitted for
free.
The young
lady stuck with us, trying to explain that we would need to go one stop and
change trains. After looking at the
expensive camera that I was carrying and expressing chagrin that I did not have
a backpack in which to conceal it, she said she would go with us. Along the way, she explained that where we
would change trains there were “bad people”.
Oh good; we might be going in harm’s way ‘protected’ by a young girl who
did not weigh more than 110 pounds.
Pam & I
have traveled in a number of places that required greatly heightened awareness
of our surroundings. We are good at not
letting people approach us undetected and letting them know that they have been
detected. At least to date, this has caused any that may have had a snatch-n-run
in mind to go looking for another mark. So, while we took her warning to heart,
it did not unduly alarm us.
There were
fairly few people at the stop where we had to change trams. In addition, our young bodyguard was good at
her job. She pointed us out to every large
male tram system employee she encountered.
There were never less than two of them more than a few feet away from us.
Having told
us she was on her lunch break, as we prepared to go our separate ways, Pam
& I both tried to pressure her to let us pay for her to enjoy (a really big)
lunch. She was appreciative, but firmly and
repeatedly refused. She just wanted to
be helpful. She was a good kid in a tough city.
We wished her well.
Back on the
ship, after our own lunch and a nap, it was time for VEENDAM to depart Rio,
passing a frequently cloud-shrouded Christ the Redeemer.
We will be at sea for three days before
reaching Fortaleza.
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