Recife, Brazil – Aug 8, 2006
It’s a beautiful day in Recife but being anchored in Recife in the commercial ship area is a whole lot different from where we have been. Toby is going to the city to see if he can buy more coolant—the port engine seems OK now since the sand and air have been cleaned out of the water system that cools the engine and they are now doing the same with the starboard engine. Phil, Grant and Will have gone to Recife with John (the retired head of the federal police in Recife) so that should be a real adventure. Upon their return, I learned that they had explored several beaches in John’s pick-up truck with the boys riding in the back of the truck. At one point, they were stopped by the police—you’re not supposed to ride in the back of a pick-up truck (I think we have the same law here)—but the boys excitedly reported that when John flashed his badge, they were waved on with no problem.
Recife is a big city with about 3 million people. It is a major port and there is a large and long breakwater on the waterfront. Recife is the capital of this particular state and it is well known for street crime. Not a place I would want to live.
Captain Toby has just told me that the next few days are not going to be good for travelling on the seas—they should be 8 to 12 feet high. So he says it would be best not to leave Recife for Salvador until at least Thursday, which means arrival in Salvador Saturday morning. Grant, Will and I leave Salvador Sunday morning, so that cuts it pretty close. I don’t want to take the chance of missing the plane and I don’t think the boys would like to spend their last days in Brazil on a boat—even a nice one—instead of in a city.
So I have decided—and it’s OK with Phil—that Grant, Will and I will fly to Salvador tomorrow and stay in a hotel and explore that city and wait for the boat to arrive. One must be flexible during this boat trip! So I am arranging all that. John will have dinner with us tonight—his wife who is a pathologist and a restaurant owner can’t come because of her work. And so it goes!