Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro

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Joe Benning

Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro

We are about to leave Rio de Janeiro—the home of Carnaval. Before we went to the Carnaval festivities though…we visited both Sugar Loaf mountain and Corcovado mountain. We got to Sugar Loaf by means of a cable car that went almost straight up the mountainside.

When we got to Sugar Loaf we could look over most of the city and its beaches. Some of the beaches were empty because the water was polluted by the oil of the boats anchored nearby. The other beaches were packed—including Copacabana beach.

To get to Corcovado mountain which is opposite Sugar Loaf, we took a 20 minute open air train ride up the side of the mountain. Corcovado mountain has the iconic Christ the Redeemer monument that overlooks the city.

We could make our way (kind of) around Sugar Loaf Mountain, and get some spectacular views of the city. But Corcovado mountain was teeming with people and it was impossible to get around. (After all, this is the height of the tourist season.) Not to mention that some not insignificant portion of the tourists / visitors acted like Instagram “influencers”. And it seemed like they all had selfie sticks.

Anyway, then it was on to the culmination of the Carnaval competition in the Sambadrome. The various Samba schools apparently spend all year making floats and practicing for this annual competition.

Carnaval lasts for about 4 days. The “unofficial” block parties start pretty much every night around 10:00 PM and lasted until 7:00 AM the following morning. And it seemed that everyone in the city got dressed up—or perhaps undressed—for the occasion.

We left for the Sambadrome the final night and got there around 9:00 PM, where we had seats in a VIP section that was stocked with food and booze. It was like a sky box at a baseball game or the Super Bowl. And it had additional places at ground level, where most of the Crystal crowd stayed.

The competition began around 10:00 PM and the sound of the bass and drums was deafening. Each group of competitors (there were 3 that night) had 80 minutes to perform their routines. We, along with about a third of the Crystal crowd watched the first group and then left around midnight. But we know some people who stayed until 4:00 in the morning and didn’t get back to the ship until 5:00 AM.

Rio de Janeiro–March 4, 2025. Photo of the VIP box at Carnaval at the Sambadrome in Rio.

I couldn’t help but think that the Carnaval participants would be way better off spending more time taking geometry classes and less time building floats, but such is life. Anyway we will have a few more days in Brazil and then we will cross the Atlantic, headed for Europe.

JFB

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Joe Benning

More on Brazil

We have already spent quite a bit of time in Brazil—and we are due to spend some more. We expect to arrive in Rio tomorrow, and then go on several tours over the next few days. The big event will be Carnival. We will be in attendance in the Sambadrome. It promises to be quite a spectacle. Stay tuned.

But before we get to Carnival…we visited São Paulo and Santos, as well as 2 Brazilian islands: Ilhabela and Paraty. São Paulo is one of the largest cities in South America and it is a cultural hub. But São Paulo is a mixed bag.

Museo Paulista of the University of São Paulo

It has some very posh areas, like where we had lunch at Fogo de Chao. But it also has very poor areas; what appears to be a large homeless population, and (according to our guide) a significant problem with crack cocaine.

Santos, a port city, appears to be more balanced, but it too has its rough spots. Santos has become a vacation area for locals and it encourages tourism. While there we visited a Museum dedicated to the football (soccer) great, Pele, who originally hailed from Santos; we visited the Coffee exchange and took a small train ride around the city.

We also went to 2 notable islands: Ilhabela and Paraty. Ilhabela whose name means beautiful island in Portugese, is located 4 miles off the coast of São Paulo. While it used to be a place where sugar cane was grown on plantations by slaves, today it is known for its sandy beaches and tourism.

We anchored by Paraty Brazil, but didn’t venture out because, among other things, the Brazilian authorities changed our anchor position at the last minute. The change would have put us 4 nautical miles (and about an hour) away from the dock. So we declined going ashore. However we did get some photos of the sunrise over the island, shown below.

JFB

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Joe Benning

Balneário Camboriú, Brazil

We will be spending a considerable amount of time in Brazil. That includes being shepherded into a special seating area, compliments of Crystal, to watch the parades at the Sambadrome, which is the main event.

But before all of that, we made our first Brazillian stop in the port city of Balneário Camboriú. It is in the state of Santa Catarina. Located in southern Brazil, it is mostly a posh resort town whose population swells to over 1 million people in summer from 145,000 in winter. When you first see its skyline and white sandy beaches, you would think you were looking at Miami.

Looking Down on Balneario Camboriu, Brazil

The city has 2 beaches—one that is “clean” and the other that is not. It contains all types of germs from untreated water the comes from the upstream river. The locals go to the beach, but avoid the water. They go to the clean beach instead. I should hasten to add that it is not exactly a mystery that the beach has untreated water. But the tourists are apparently not so cautious as the locals and dive right in.

There is a cable car that runs between the 2 beaches (after going up a steep mountain.) We took a ride in the cable car and then went for a walk in the Atlantic forest. After the walk we went to the clean beach.

Along the way we ran into a friendly merchant who had a cafe / gift shop in the rain forest and who encouraged us with the “thumbs up” sign.

For some reason other, our (very good) guide refused to call the Atlantic forest a rain forest. I don’t remember why. However, a lecturer on Crystal who is also a professor at Santa Clara University characterized it as a rain forest, so that’s what I’m going with.

Anyway, our next port of call will be a few days in Santos. We’ll see what that brings.

JFB

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Joe Benning

3 Days in Buenos Aires

We have just spent 3 days in Buenos Aires. Located on the Rio de la Plata, it is the capital of Argentina and its largest city. The city proper has a population of only 3.1 million, but the greater urban metropolitan area has a population of 16.7 million, making it the 14^th largest metropolitan area in the world.

The city has been nicknamed the Paris of South America and it is easy to see why. The architecture, sprawling parks, cafes and restaurants make for a lively bustling vibe that is similar to that of Paris (or New York for that matter.)

And then there is the Tango. Argentinians are convinced that they invented it. Uruguayans are equally convinced that the dance is “theirs”. Since the dance developed on the banks of the River Plate and that is the border between the two countries, you can see why both claim the dance as their own.

After we docked in Buenos Aires we headed off to the Plaza de Mayo, which is probably the most important square in the city. There we spotted a man dressed in the traditional garb of a gaucho (Argentinian cowboy). Later we saw the gleaming white government building.

The Plaza de Mayo is also home to the Casa Rosa (Pink House) that serves as the seat of the Argentine government, dominates the square and houses the president’s office. It is here where Eva Perón, nee Eva Duarte, wife of Juan Perón, AKA “Evita” made many of her famous appearances.

The Pink Palace where Evita Peron used to make regular appearances

There are weekly protests in the Plaza de Mayo by the women in white, who still search for the many children who were abducted and adopted illegally, after their parents were “disappeared” for disagreeing with the military dictatorship (1976-83). It is a reminder that the history of this country has had its dark times.

Near the Plaza de Mayo is the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity where then bishop Jorge Mario Begoglio presided, before becoming Pope Francis.

Buenos Aires, Argentina — February 20, 2025. Metropolitan Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity

After visiting the Plaza de Mayo, we continued on to visit the La Boca neighborhood. It is known for its colorful houses that people in the area constructed out of whatever discarded material they could find from the nearby shipping port. Many of the buildings are made from the corrugated container material, brightly painted with the colors that were used at the port (reflecting the flags of ships from other countries).

Among other things, we saw a small park in La Boca and a BBQ stand where a local man was grilling various meats.

Man Grilling Meat in La Boca Neighborhood

La Boca is also known for dancers who don traditional Tango garb and convince tourists to fork over $10 to have their photos taken with them. And speaking of tourists, there was no lack of them in La Boca.

Colorful La Boca Neighborhood in Buenos Aries

While the Catholic religion is prominent in Argentina, the nation’s second religion also is huge – fútbol. In the Boca region of BA we visited an enormous complex that houses the arena, training areas, housing and other facilities for the Boca Jr club. The colors of the uniforms and buildings are bright blue and yellow – another reflection of the colors in the flag of Norway that flew on a cargo ship in the port. (It’s a long story that involves 2 rival local teams that shared other colors – there was a match to determine which town would stay in Boca, and the winner agreed to change colors to the flag on the first ship in port the next day.)

We also spent some time in La Recoleta, an upscale neighborhood with pricey Parisian style townhouses. We ducked into a local shop for some croissants and coffee. The Recoleta Cemetery, final resting place of many famous Argentinians (including Evita) is here in the neighborhood as well.

Family Mausoleums in Recoleta Cemeterys. Eva Peron is buried here.

Another visit was to the Museo de Nacional de Belles Artes. It was not too large—but it had an impressive European collection. We saw paintings by Manet, Monet, Degas, Gaugin, Pissarro and Picasso, not to mention many sculptures by Rodin.

Finally, we visited a famous bookstore “La Atenea” and later stopped for coffee and pan dulce (“sweet bread”). The pan dulce was just too much, and Mary Anne rather adroitly gave it to our Uber driver, who is a fan of it.

This is just a small sample of what is available in Buenos Aires, a remarkable global city.

Joe and Mary Anne

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Joe Benning

On Our Way

Well, we have been on Crystal Serenity for about a week now. Not surprisingly we have bumped into friends an acquaintances from past cruises—some from as far back as 2016.

Already we have gone on excursions in the Grand Caymans, Mexico, Belize and Honduras. Nothing especially interesting in the Caymans unless you like looking at brass plate banks, shopping centers and high-end resorts.

But we did get to see Mayan ruins in Mexico and Belize. And we went on a glass bottom (partially submersible) craft in Honduras to see some coral reefs. Anyway, here are some photos taken thus far. There will be plenty more coming down the pike.

JFB

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Joe Benning

Last Stops in South America: Cartagena and Santa Marta Columbia

The latest adventure is heading toward the closing chapter. After spending the last 2 days touring in Columbia, we will be heading out for Aruba, St. Bart’s and then Fort Lauderdale, where we will disembark. For some reason or other the cruise lines refer to this as “debarking” the ship rather than disembarking, but I refuse to go along with this construction.

Cartagena seen from the Sea

While in Columbia we explored Cartagene on one day and then Santa Marta the next. They are both beautiful and very clean cities—at least the sections we visited—which included the old historical parts of these cities. And they are old—founded as they were in the 16^th century, later gaining their independence from Spain during the 19^th century under the leadership of Simon Bolivar, whose statues are everywhere. Makes George Washington look like a piker in the statue department. Around the same time (with leadership from Bolivar and General San Martin) Chile, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and Venezuela won their independence.

Speaking of Venezuela, the story doesn’t change much. Venezuelans have flooded into Columbia because food, medicines and other necessities are in short supply thanks to the wonders of Socialism. 20 years ago, Venezuela was the richest nation in South America. Now it’s a basket case. You can see Venezuelans on the streets in Columbia (and Ecuador) selling water and trinkets trying to get by.

Columbia has made great strides over the years, largely defeating the drug cartels and the FARC and other radical groups. There is still plenty of work to do, but Cartagena and Santa Marta are mostly safe, and economic growth has resumed. Medellin—past center of the drug trade and home to Pablo Escobar—saw its murder rate drop to its lowest level in 40 years although it is still high at 20.17 per 100,000. By comparison, the homicide rate in Chicago jumped to 18.6 per 100,000 by the end of 2015. New York City had a homicide rate under half that at 7 per 100,000.

Anyway, Columbia is a fascinating place with lots to see. Some photos are below.

JFB

Santa Marta Side Street

Cartagena Dancers

Public Square in Cartagena

At the Beach in Santa Marta

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Joe Benning

Guayaquil, Ecuador

Located on the western bank of the Guayas River, Guayaquil is Ecuador’s largest city (pop 2.7 million) and its main port. It was founded in 1538 by Spanish Conquistador Francisco de Orellana. The city suffered a series of attacks and looting by French and English pirates over the years. By the 19^th century Ecuador won its independence from Spain and became a sovereign country.

Ecuador is currently on a drive to attract tourism and international business—just like everybody else. Part of the project involves the apparently successful creation of a waterfront promenade in Guayaquil complete with restaurants, offices and hotels. Guayaquil also has a thriving arts community with an Arts district in the city that houses and galleries. We visited both places–some photos are below.

Large Ferris Wheel Juts out from the Promenade

One of the problems Ecuador is attempting to deal with is the flow—becoming a flood—of refugees from Venezuela. To no one’s surprise (excepting Noam Chomsky) the worker’s paradise founded by Chavez, now presided over by Maduro, has been a crashing failure just like all the others. And so people are exiting for Ecuador, Columbia and Peru in an attempt to find food and medicine and other necessities. Venezuela’s neighbors have now shut their borders. Unfortunately, it looks like it’s going to get worse before it gets better.

Cyclists in the Arts District

Modern Architecture on the Promenade

Walkway In the New Part of the City

JFB

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Joe Benning

Lima, Peru

Lima, is a coastal city and the capital of Peru. It is home to over 10 million people and is the 3^rd largest city in the Americas, behind only Sao Paulo and Mexico City. About one third of Peru’s population lives in the Lima Metropolitan area. And like much of South America, the population is differentiated by where they live. People who are partly of European descent are more likely to live in the coastal and more prosperous cities. Indigenous people are more likely to live in the highlands or the Amazon.

Part of the differentiation is the result of the colonial past that still has an extraordinarily powerful influence on contemporary South American societies. Another (related) reason is that desert and the Andes mountains separate the two. The Andes mountains stop the rain from reaching the coastal areas, the result being vast desert areas that extend from near, and sometimes all the way to, the Pacific Coast. It is a bit of a strange sight to see the desert right up against the Pacific shoreline.

Desert by the Pacific

We spent two days in Peru, mostly in Lima. While there we visited the Barranco District, a bohemian section of town that is home many of Peru’s most famous artists, including nobel prize winner Mario Vargas Llosa, one of my personal favorites. It is a beautiful section of town, with beautiful museums and architecture, and a spectacular view of the Pacific. It’s well worth a visit.

Artist Studio in Lima

Classical Architecture in the Barranco District

A Street Merchant

JFB

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Joe Benning

Iquique, Chile

Iquique, a town of 181,000 people, is located in northern Chile on the Pacific coast. Originally part of Peru, it had a large Chilean population. But as a result of the War of the Pacific (1879—1883) Peru ceded it to Chile where is has remained since.

The town developed rapidly with the discovery of mineral riches in the Atacama Desert during the 19^th century. Mining saltpeter was particularly lucrative for a while, but eventually a way was discovered to make it synthetically, and that spelled doom for many mining towns, the remnants of which can be seen today in the desert—which is the driest hot desert on the planet.

After docking at Iquique, we went out to see Humberstone, about 30 miles away. It is one of the abandoned “ghost towns” that dot the landscape. Actually, desert scape is probably a better way to describe the town, which was designated a UNESCO cultural heritage sight in 2005.

Humberstone Ghost Town, a UNESCO world heritage site

Abandoned Buildings in Humberstone

After making our way back to Iquique proper we went to an opulent club off the town square to have some Pisco sours, after which we looked around the very attractive town square, saw a demonstration, and headed back to the ship.

Protestors Demonstrating in Iquique

The Iquique Town Square–note the mountains in the background

Iquique is the last port if call in Chile for us, so we are now headed off for Peru to see what awaits is there. Some photos from Iquique and Humberstone are below.

JFB

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Joe Benning

Here We Are in South America

We arrived in Chile, which means we are also approaching the end of our journey. From here we travel up the west coast of South America, making stops in Chile, Peru, Ecuador, Columbia and Panama. After that it really is the last leg that will take us through the Caribbean and then on to Florida.

Our first port of call in South America was the port city Valparaiso, Chile. Rather than stay in Valparaiso we chose to go inland to the capital city, Santiago, for a day. It is an elegant and sophisticated city where the European influence is very strong. With its wide boulevards, classical architecture and parks, the city bears more than a passing resemblance to some of the great cities of Europe, especially Paris and Madrid. With about 6.5 million people, greater Santiago is home to about 36% of the nation’s population of 18 million.

When we arrived in Santiago we visited Club Hipico, the oldest racing track in Chile. Its architecture is classically elegant—the kind of thing you’d be more likely to associate with a museum than a racetrack. (See photos below). We also visited a national park, essentially planted and grown from scratch. And of course, we had lunch, with some fine Chilean wines, in a restaurant in the park, set up like a small version of Tavern on the Green in Central Park.

We will be off before long to visit some of the smaller cities of Chile, and we’ll see how that goes. Regardless, Santiago is a place you don’t want to miss—along with the very fine wines.

JFB

Club Hipico in Santiago, Chile

Viewing Stands for the Races

Looking out the Stained glass doors of the club

The Presidential Palace in Santiago

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Crossed the Equator!

We have crossed the Equator! February 3, 2016

This morning we crossed the equator, and we are on our way to Samoa (we’ll be there Friday). There is a ton of water under this ship and it’s warmer than the air that surrounds us (water is about 90 degrees F, air is about 88 degrees F). As you look out from the ship, all you see is water, nice blue sky, and puffy white clouds. Joe will post some pix so you can see what we are seeing. It’s like there is no one else in the world. Just amazing.

After we visit Samoa, our trip gets a lot more active, with fewer days at sea, and more frequent stops for the next 90+ days. This has been a good vacation thus far, but we’ll be on the move after this. Hopefully we’ll have some good pictures to show you.

The vibe on the ship is changing over time. It seems that people got settled in during the first few days, and are now in a very friendly state of mind. Doubtless the many classes have provided people with a chance to know each other, so now we see each other outside the classroom and have time to meet, introduce spouses and friends, etc. The US Presidential race provides every single person on this ship, regardless of nationality or political preferences, an opportunity to comment on the situation. A constant source of amusement, tinged with concern about events in the world.

I heard someone say that the average age on the ship is 87, and that might be true. I hope that when I am 87 I am in the condition of most of these fellow passengers!

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Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro

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