128 Days Around the World

January 20, 2020

Rio de Janeiro

My pictures finally all loaded and I was headed to bed when I saw lots of light outside my cabin. There had also been a series of loud knocks previously and I found out why – we were bunkering. 2:30 am seemed like a strange time but they did not ask my opinion. I did not fall asleep until after 3 am and I had planned on sleeping until about 11. At 9:45 there was a crew drill and you would have to be comatose to sleep through those blasts and announcements right above your head. Reluctantly, I got up and got ready for the day.

The only thing I had on my agenda was to spend money. To clarify, I had Brazilian reals left over from last year and I still had not spent them. You lose a lot if you change them again and I am not sure if the ship would even take them back – hence the need to spend them.

There are a few stalls inside the terminal and more outside. I looked through the inside, went to the outside, walked up and down, and then went back into the terminal. I still did not find anything that struck my fancy so I went outside again and walked up and down twice more. I finally found some things to buy – a necklace for me as well as a T-shirt and two gifts.

I returned to the ship around 12:15, changed to my bathing suit, and then went to lunch in the Lido. I swam for a little over an hour and then finished my book before changing again for trivia. It was a terribly hard trivia with the winning team having 10 out of 15. We had 5 correct. Mary, who I met in 2018, joined our team because Rodney was running.

1.What food item is “Allium Sativum”?

2.Which country is home to the Ashanti people?

3.What individual is notorious for saying, “I am like any other man. All I do is supply a demand.”?

4.What did Zaire’s name become in 1977?

5.What is the national flower of Mexico?

6.What element is named after the Greek work for “green”?

7.What Canadian dessert is made with a pastry base and brown sugar and raisins?

It was sail-away time after trivia. Glenn-Michael (the exc guide) narrated our departure from Rio. Rio is one of those harbors where it pays to be out on deck. The weather was much nicer than last year (we had a thunder storm) and I stayed until we had passed Sugar Loaf Mountain and the beautiful beaches (Copacabana and Ipanema).

Four of us for dinner. I did not go to the show. The performer for tonight (Lee Bradley) was not feeling well so they switched to Tim Abel. I liked his show but needed to get to bed early (for me!) tonight, so I skipped it.

Two sea days coming up.

Trivia (we missed all of these and a couple more!)

1.garlic

2.Ghana

3.Al Capone

4.Democratic Republic of Congo

5.dahlia

6.chlorine

7.butter tarts

Bunkering