Enroute to Recife, Brazil Trip Journal

Chris' (Previous) Daily Journal

March 3, Day at Sea
Enroute to Recife, Brazil

Another beautiful day. We have been so blessed with good weather the majority of the trip.

We decided to work first, then go for our walk. The weather was quite conducive for walking – little bit of a breeze and not too warm. I especially enjoyed the sky today – the clouds were fluffy and above them, there were streaks of coral colored lighter clouds.

When we were in Bahia yesterday, we noticed young people pushing (selling) little colored ribbons. I found out that the ribbons are considered to be a good luck charm. But, there’s a catch - the ribbon is to be tied around the wrist with three knots. A wish is to be made for each knot. The ribbon is to be worn until it falls off for the wishes to be granted. I just don’t know if I want to wear a ribbon around my wrist that long.

Brazil is a huge country it covers over half of South America and is the world’s fifth largest nation. Due to the colonization by the Portuguese that began in the 1500’s, the majority of Brazilians speak Portuguese. However, there are also many words commonly used that originate from the African languages. We are fortunate that we are seeing so much of the country – from Rio de Janeiro to Salvador, Recife, Fortaleza, and along the Amazon are Belem, Santarem, Parenting and Manaus.

We spent quite a lot of time today going through pictures. I always get such a laugh at myself when I look at some of them after I’m done downloading. As I go through them, I’m constantly asking myself, “and, what possessed you to think that was going to be a good picture?” Needless to say, I’ve deleted more than three-fourths of the pictures I’ve taken. Aren’t digital cameras just the best invention ever? Next to ATM’s, that is.

We were so sad to hear the news that a Maltese cruise ship enroute from Barcelona to Genoa, Italy in the Mediterranean was hit by three “rogue” waves which killed two passengers and injured 14. There were 1,350 passengers on board. The ship returned to Barcelona. All passengers have disembarked and will be flying home tomorrow.

We’re spending tomorrow in Recife, Brazil - nicknamed the Venice of Brazil.

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About the Author

John Moen
Founder / Cartographer

John Moen is a cartographer who along with his wife are the orignal founders of worldatlas.com. He and his wife, Chris Woolwine-Moen, produced thousands of award-winning maps that are used all over the world and content that aids students, teachers, travelers and parents with their geography and map questions. Today, it's one of the most popular educational sites on the web.