Days 56 & 57 Natal and Fortaleza

Lighthouse in Natal harbor from the ship.

Pretty much my standard breakfast on excursion days. Not pictured is a large glass of orange juice, an even larger glass of water and coffee. Yes I have fallen off the wagon. I do love those sticky buns!

Yet another perfectly beautiful day in port at yet another stunningly gorgeous Brazilian city, Natal.

My excursion of choice on this our 56th day was "Highlights of Natal" and that it was, but oh so much more. According to our Currents daily publication, Natal was first settled by indigenous peoples of the Tupi language family approximately 2,900 years ago. Then came the Portuguese in 1501 or perhaps 1502. For the next 95 years the coast experienced little or no attempts to settle due to marauding French pirates and lack of interest on the part of the Portuguese. Only after the completion of Fort of the Magi-Kings did European settlement begin in earnest. Whomever is responsible, they did a super job (South America's first planned city) as does the current government in maintaining it. From this trip, Natal and Maceio are my favorite Brazilian cities.

Our tour got off to something of a rocky start created by a malfunctioning microphone. Time spent in transit to our first stop - original town square - was a squealing, garbled, incomprehensible mess. Solution: new bus with functional microphone. No worries, we had all day, it was cool, the park was clean and safe with some lovely buildings from a slightly newer era to view. The statue in the middle of the square was of the original founding father, but I was much more interested in the gold statue of the man wearing a modernish looking suit. The guide just passed right on by that statue without notice or a word of explanation. As I am want to do, I insisted upon the details of said statue. Really was an interesting story which he said he intended to get to later. Oops. He, nonetheless, humored me.

It seems no written history of Natal existed in all of Brazil. Many different theories/stories/versions were told and retold throughout the decades, but this gentleman wanted to know what actually happened and those facts as best he could ascertain be written in a common language (Portuguese) for all time. Off to Europe he went in search of the facts. Years later he returned with the results of his search through archives, museums, libraries, several countries' historical records and personal documents of the suspected founders. His findings have now been authenticated and endorsed as the true history of Natal. Not sure what the building behind him housed. Library? Government offices?

From there, comfy cozy and hearing well on another bus, we proceeded some 30 minutes or so to Pirangi beach stopping for pictures only at Brazil's Air Force Museum. No tour, just photos of rockets on the lawn. Our guide said he realized it in no way compared to anything in the States, but it is a start.

Trunk of The World's Largest Cashew Tree. Sadly it wasn't cashew season, but they swore it does produce hundreds of pounds each year.

Pictured below is an aerial shot of the tree. Yes, that's one tree, not a grove.

Pirangi beach is notable for several different things, but this tree was the most surprising to me. True the tree was mentioned in the hype for the tour, but honestly how big can a cashew tree be. right? Well let me tell you, the branches of that tree stretched out over several acres. Being completely ignorant of the metric system, I was unable to convert to exact acreage but it was ginormous! Google can probably handle that calculation. I yield to the higher power of electronics. The branches were so long they stretched out until they could no longer hold the weight of offshoot limbs and touched down to the ground and then up and out again. Walking paths had been constructed so that one could take a long stroll all in the shade of this single tree. Our guide later told us that there are either two or three extra large cashew trees in the region and another large one in Africa, but this one is by far the largest.

Along side the huge cashew tree was a labyrinth of handcraft booths. Saw some interesting items which the yarn group has requested in various colors. Too bad, I was already back on ship before they learned what they were missing. Haven't noticed any of my shipmates wearing any of these "coverups"???

Many of the shops were displaying items which I could have enjoyed until I noticed the "Made in India" label. I now have my India Visa so if I'm going to buy something made in India, I shall buy it in India.

After the market, we drove for miles along yet another beautiful beach with huge stationary sand dunes. These dunes are protected by the government because they are essential to the ecology, acting as a filter for Natal's water. Without these sand dunes, there would be water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink. Pretty and functional, I like that. Even has a lighthouse atop.

Both Natal and Fortaleza have converted former prisons into Handcraft Markets catering to the tourist industry. Natal's was originally built to house political prisoners. As one country ousted another country, the ousted rulers were imprisoned therein. This apparently went on until Brazil gained its independence. Anyway, clever use of sturdy structures with their little cells/shops.

This huge crocheted piece adorned the ceiling of the entryway of the jail turned market.

Our helpers to dock in Fortaleza. Each port sends out a pilot and of course we need the tug to push us around. This port we particularly needed the pilot to make certain we approached the bridge in just the right place less it hang up.

Beautiful School for the Performing Arts.

Cathedral in center of Fortaleza built over a 40 year period. (1938 through 1978) The stained glass windows were incredible, but a service was in progress when we arrived so I tried to respect that and not trapse around snapping photos. Did get this one from the steps of a side entrance.

Modern upper income downtown Fortaleza. Clean, well maintained, new to the tourism industry.

Truly a lovely city, Fortaleza.

Day 57 finds us in Fortaleza, our last stop in Brazil, where I toured the Jose de Alencar theater, yet another Cathedral, downtown Encetur, miles and miles of beautiful beaches ending with shopping time at a prison converted into a handcraft market. Fortaleza was home to a US Military base during World War II for which at least our guide professed eternal gratitude. Seems it was the refueling stop and base from which the fight against Rommel was staged, among other things. I do not mean to discount Fortaleza in any manner. After eleven days in Brazilian waters & ports, with little to no internet or other reasonable means of communication, and subjected to a 25% tax on anything purchased, even on ship (imagine what that did to the prize of drinks or spa treatments) many thought it was high time to leave Brazil in our rearview mirror. Apologies to Fortaleza for not giving you a fair chance.

Goodbye to Fortaleza, Brazil, and South America. A wonderful experience.

Today Is Someday! Live it to the fullest!