Blue Planet Odyssey in Jacare, Brazil

|A reminder that we re in the land of the Zika virfus

Carol enjoying the warm water and extensive beach

Looking south toward Joao Pessoa

Tahawus entering the marina

Rob with crew of Tahawus, minus Mirko

Rob, and Ruy from Blue Wind

Marina Jacare Village infrastructure at high tide

Liam supervising moving of No Regrets to marina slip at slack tide

Blue Planet Odyssey in Jacare, Brazil

Dec. 13, 2016

It has turned out that four BPO boats ended up in the marina here. We have enjoyed some staggered celebrations as people have come and gone. Blue Wind has completed their circumnavigation, as they left from Brazil in the fall of 2014. The boat just got a ride from Thailand to the Med. They enjoyed sailing in Greece and Turkey primarily, before the long trip home. James was only here a few hours before his flight home for Christmas. Ruy left the next day. But the boat will be here for a month with Maggie, Tahawas, and No Regrets. Liam leaves today, Rob and I later today, and Nora in a few weeks. The others are staying. After the first day of checking airfares we also considered skipping the trip home. It is not a good idea to wait until the school holidays, which started this weekend,  to buy tickets. But I'm sure we would run into the same problem trying to tour Brazil this time of year. Besides, we are really looking forward to seeing family and friends. We will get to Toronto late Thurs, the 15th. Coming back, we leave home Jan 3, but are stopping over for a few days in Rio, until Jan 7.

It is quite nice at the marina. I was worried about having to med moor in a river that can have a current of several knots. But you just tie up on the end of the pontoons. And then at the next slack high tide, 3 marina staff with a dinghy help you get into a slip. That helps! Jacare Village Marina is one of 5 in a row along Rio Paraiba, about 7 km from the mouth. But the river travels inland parallel to the coast here. So it is only a 30 minute walk to the beach on the coast. The beach runs for 30 km, with lots of sand and warm water. The shops are near there. Right in Jacare, there are a few convenience stores, a fish market, and a tourist area with shops and entertainment. Tour boats cruise the river and like to come close to see the boats. Lots of music both onshore and on the boats. It seems that all Brazilian music is very loud and the locals like to party.

Checking in to the country is quite a process. Today, Tues, was the earliest we could leave even though we arrived last Wed. The officials only work mornings and each stop is in a different location and has taken a few hours. Thurs was immigration, Fri customs, Mon port control. And today back to customs for the forms necessary to leave the country without the boat on our Christmas trip.

On Monday we took the train into the closest large city, Joao Pessoa, a 30 min. trip. Public transportation and museums are free in Brazil to those over 60 years, even if you are a tourist. Although the regular train fare is less that 50 cents. The historic city center is the third oldest in Brazil. There are some churches that have been in use since the fifteen hundreds. They have seen Spanish, Dutch, and Portuguese rulers. A group of us spent the day wandering around the city enjoying the old architecture. It is more ornate than the British colonial buildings. There were a number of information signs, but all were in Portuguese. We need to come back with an English guide book. We will have a few days on our return before heading to Barbados, the official end for the BPO.