LAST THOUGHTS ON SOUTH AMERICA:

We have been to South America three times. The continent is varied in scenery, climate, people, and wealth. I would recommend to all of you that you visit. In terms of cities, Rio would be my first choice, closely followed by Buenos Aires.

Perhaps the southern half of the continent is a little more interesting that the northern part, but then I prefer vineyards to archeological ruins.

Parts of South America are defintely third world (Ecuador, Peru) and an easy way to visit is, of course, on a cruise ship, where you can retreat to your stateroom when the sun goes down.

There is lots of poverty in South America and the system of dealing with it is very different than in North America or Europe. As millions of rural residents have migrated to the cities, they have been left to their own initiatives as there is no welfare state as we know it. The poor squat in shanty towns with 100's of 1000's of residents. As there is no welfare the poor all work, but they work outside the system. As the unregistered they have no benefits, no deductions, and of course pay no taxes.

We were told that a family migrating to a shanty town needs 40 years in order to move on. I wonder how that compares to our welfare system in Canada where Canadians may live in poverty for generations?

LAST TWO SEA DAYS: We had two full days at sea between Recife and Rio. They turned out to be a lot of fun. For two weeks there have been announcements asking for volunteers for a guest talent show to be held on March 31. Only two people had signed up and the show was about to be cancelled. However, at the last minute 4 more of us showed up and the Cruise Director put a show together in a matter of minutes with 2 singers, 2 pianists, a comedian and a magician.

Although the house has been less than full for the professional entertainers, everybody seemed to show up for amateur night with lots of people having to stand. The audience was incredibly enthusiastic and I had a great time getting to sing with a fabulous show band.

Jim Johnson, the guy who early in the cruise cured Betty’s intestinal ills by sharing his prescription drugs, threw a small party on April 1 to celebrate his wife’s birthday. Eight people gathered in the Johnson’s large stateroom (several price categories above ours) for pre-dinner champagne and hors d’oevres prepared by the Johnson’s butler. Then we all went to dinner at the Italian restaurant where Jim had pre-ordered the wines to everyone’s tastes (malbec for Betty and me). I wrote a short birthday tune for Stephanie and I think she was quite pleased.

RIO de JANEIRO: There are many cities of beauty in the world (Madrid, Paris) and then there are cities of great settings (Vancouver, San Francisco). On the setting side I think none can compare to Rio. We sailed in early in the morning of April 2 and watched the skyline in behind the famous beaches and in front of the beautiful mountains. The famous Christ the Redeemer statue which overlooks Rio is currently undergoing repairs so is partially hidden by scaffolding.

BETTY THE TOUR DIRECTOR: One thing we have learned is that cruise excursions offered by the cruise companies are very expensive and not that interesting and you end up on a bus for 40 people. We managed to tag on to privately arranged tours in Lima and in Salavery and when in ports such as Manta, Cartagena, or Recife we privately arranged for tours by taxi drivers. However, for the Rio trip we couldn’t find any private tours to join so people “bit the bullet” and arranged one. On the internet before we left home she found a guy who would rent her a van/bus complete with driver and English-speaking guide. She committed $ 890. for a small bus for two full days. Then she found another couple on the internet to share, so that cut the cost in two. On board ship we found 4 more people to share so the cost got cut in two again. The tour was great. We were picked up on Friday morning, returned to the ship in time for dinner on Friday night. On Sat. we were picked up when we disembarked with our luggage first thing in the morning and then were dropped at the airport in the evening. Over the two days we got to Christ the Redeemer, got up the cable cars to the top of sugarloaf, walked in the National Forest to a waterfall, visited the Botanical Gardens, saw the amazing Catholic Cathedral built in the 60’s and 70’s (only modern church that ever impressed me), walked for hours on Copocabana and Ipanema beaches (never found the girl). One day we had lunch in a Brazilian “weight” restaurant (essentially a buffet where you pay by the weight of your plate when you reach the end of the line.

Rio is an amazing beautiful city. I would have liked to have had more time there.