At Sea Towards Recife, 10/11/2022, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
South American East Coast
A windy day brought good birdwatching conditions. Many birds approached the ship, and some followed us the whole day, giving us great opportunities for photography and observation. Inside the ship, staff entertained us with lectures and presentations on several different subjects, ranging from Brazilian folk music and culture to climate change issues.
An ornithologist, photographer, fisherman, climber, and writer, Santiago Imberti was born and raised in southern Patagonia, Argentina. He obtained a degree in tourism and later in ornithology, which allowed him to combine his love for nature and the ...
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Our last full day on National Geographic Explorer took us to Ilheus, a small city in Bahia that has long been an epicenter for Brazil’s cacao industry. Once the world’s largest producer of cacao, the fruit whose beans are the source of chocolate, the area’s plantations were decimated in the 1980s when the witch’s broom fungus destroyed most of the area’s trees. The industry has been making a comeback in recent years as local farmers begin to focus on small crops and boutique production. We spent most of our day at two different cacao plantations, where we learned the backstory behind the chocolate that we consume every day. Most of the people in our group had never seen a cacao tree before, with its large red, yellow, and green pods hanging awkwardly from thin branches like something out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers . We learned about the origins of cacao, which is a native of the Amazon rainforests of present-day Venezuela. Human consumption of chocolate dates back at least 5,000 years and was popular among the Mesoamerican Aztecs who gave it its name. Originally consumed as an unsweetened and spicy beverage, it wasn’t until sugar was added that chocolate became popular in Europe, and the rest, as they say, is history. We enjoyed samples of a variety of cacao products, from the sweet nectar made from the pulp that surrounds the seeds, to roasted cacao nibs, cacao molasses, tea, and even a cacao liquor. And, of course, we indulged in plenty of chocolate. Luckily, we were still hungry for lunch, a sumptuous buffet of Bahian delicacies, which we enjoyed to the sounds of Afro-Brazilian music. The music continued once we got back to the ship, when our guest musicians, guitarist Alex Mesquita and percussionist Daniella Penna, performed bossa nova, Afro-sambas, and axé music for us in the lounge. It was a sweet ending to a magnificent adventure that took us from Trinidad to Brazil.
Our day started with a very uncommon visit from a couple of south polar skuas chasing each other around the ship. Manx shearwaters were flying around National Geographic Explorer . Birdwatching is certainly one of the top activities on board, and you never know what you might see! Aside from the birding and whale watching, a day at sea is more than going from point A to point B. During the morning, our one and only Eduardo Shaw gave his presentation on, “My Years with Lindblad,” which was one of the highlights of the trip. Eduardo has worked for Lindblad since 1983, so he certainly had many stories to share! Travel has changed a lot since then! After lunch, all the naturalists met in the lounge for a presentation, “Climate Solutions: Panel with Q & A.” After a long discussion, we agreed that not all is doom and gloom, there is still hope, and we should not underestimate the power of one. Just before dinner, we enjoyed a musical performance just on the back deck! Thanks to Jacob Edgar, our ethnomusicologist, we enjoyed music and tunes from Alex Mesquite. What a nice day at sea. Tomorrow: Ilheus. So many adventures await us!
Our journey through South America brought us to Recife, the capital of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco and a hotspot for music, culture, architecture, and so much more. We were greeted like celebrities when we approached the dock, where a military frevo brass band welcomed us with festive rhythms played on trumpets, saxophones, trombones, and backed by lively percussion. At one point, a female soldier dressed in army green with a rifle slung over her shoulder provided lead vocals. Frevo, which is a fascinating blend of European brass band marching music and Afro-Brazilian rhythms, is a staple of Recife’s unique carnival tradition, quite distinct from the music to the south in Rio de Janeiro. We learned more about frevo when we visited Recife’s nearby sister city of Olinda, a UNESCO World Heritage site with colorful, Portuguese colonial architecture that makes this a must-visit destination. After exploring the lovely 17th century St. Francis Convent, we strolled up to a cultural center that specializes in building the giant puppets that are a standard part of Recife’s carnival parades. Frevo dancers greeted us, performing acrobatic steps with small umbrellas in their hands to enhance their movements. The organization’s museum featured giant puppets in the likenesses of famous international figures, ranging from Bob Marley to Mickey Mouse, as well as plenty of less-familiar local celebrities. After exploring the beautiful streets of Olinda, we journeyed by bus to the grounds of the Ricardo Brennand Institute, a one-of-a-kind museum and park that houses a jaw-dropping collection of art and artifacts from Brazil’s colonial period. Founded by a Brazilian collector and businessman, the institute includes one of the largest collections of armaments from the 14th to 19th centuries, along with many curiosities, such as a display of over 1,000 teacups. Not just any teacups; these were exclusively teacups with a special insert designed to keep one’s mustache from getting wet. I have visited Recife in the past and was charmed by the city’s lively arts scene and unique character, so I was happy that our guests got a chance to experience the area firsthand. Hopefully, it will become a regular part of Lindblad’s itineraries, as there is so much more to explore in this colorful destination in Brazil’s northeast.
