Embarkation Day

Today I left Rio. I started out with a walk on the beach then returned to pack. I checked out at noon [boy it’s nice to have prepaid everything]. The ride to Pier Maua was about 30 minutes and cost 35 Reals. My bags were whisked away to be loaded without me and I went through the passenger terminal. Cattle call anyone? It took about an hour before I got to board. We had to have lunch, as the staterooms were not ready. After about an hour we were allowed below and I got my first glimpse of my spacious “PRIVATE” quarters [see pictures]. We had a life boat drill and I was immediately reminded how some folks simply know so much better than the experts. We were told to leave the life jackets on until we returned to our staterooms; the reason being the tie cords are very long and pose a tripping hazard. The twit walking in front of me decided he had to have it off and had his wife untie him. I looked at his feet and sure enough his cord was dragging between his shoes. He stepped on it and went right into the wall. I stifled both a laugh and a crude remark satisfied that he was at least a little embarrassed. I am leading a charmed life. I did not need my pants! They now have no-pants dining. There is a new system that is apparently spreading throughout the industry where you can simply waltz in between the hours of 5 and 9 and you will be seated. No jacket necessary but cargo trousers were acceptable. I sat at a table with an unusal woman from San Francisco who said very little, a Portuguese couple from Vancouver [I will definitely cultivate that acquaintance as they know Lisbon inside and out] and a retired cop from North Carolina and his wife of two years. I could understand the Portuguese couple much better than the NC folks. Now I am in the “Explorations Café” writing my blog. I will stop now and upload today’s photo crop.