March 7, 2016 - Up and off to meet the group for breakfast; we kept looking for the Hudson's who were among the missing. Oh no! With further investigation we found that they are "confined to quarters" due to the possibility of the gastro intestinal virus! Now Donna and I have been meticulous about washing our hands maybe 100 time a day, so this was quite surprising to me, but they are under quarantine until the ship is certain they are free and clear of the virus.
It's sad but they will miss not only the shore excursion today, but our first specialty restaurant dinner at Prime 7!
The Murphy's and the Macchi's headed down to the theater to exchange our excursion tickets for our bus number tickets, and wait to be called. We piled onto the bus and drove through town to a undisclosed (hey, I had no idea where we were) location to change into mini-buses.
Olinda is situated just above Recife, with narrow streets and little room for buses. Olinda is the best preserved Brazilian colonial city, a 16th century town that is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We were dropped just across from the Catedral Se at the highest point of Olinda. After a walk through of the Cathedral, we enjoyed the grounds in the back of the church that offer spectacular views of the port area and Recife below. In Olinda, the narrow, cobblestone street and charming plazas are lined with small shops and stands selling local wares including paintings depicting Olinda, lace scarves, wooden carvings, ceramics and various touristy offerings. It was a lovely, leisurely, but very hot stroll to our meeting point at Convento Sao Francisco. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we didn't make it down the hill to the Mercado da Ribeira, originally a slave market that has been converted to artisans shops.
I found that in this Brazilian heat, the shade is your friend. Find the shade and seek out a breeze, it's all good!
After the mini-bus careened down the hill, delivering us, somewhat breathless, to the big buses, we wandered through Recife, both the old town and the very new (with a number of huge skyscrapers). We stopped at the beach for a quick run through the sand before moving on to the Capela Dourada at the Igreja Sao Francisco for a tour of one of the most unusual chapels I've seen. The statues of Christ and Mary had real hair! The chapel is also know for the beautiful blue and white Portuguese tiles used to decorate the main altar. The intricately carved side altars, the arches and beams are all heavily gold leafed.
By the time we returned to the pier, we were all ready for the cool refuge of the ship... A bit tired, hot and hungry! After lunch, a nap was in order... Ahhhh.
The time for our much anticipated dinner at Prime 7 has arrived! Bitter sweet without the Hudson's, but we'll do it again when they can join us. Prime 7 specializes in prime cuts of beef: sirloin strip, bone in rib eye, filet mignon, prime rib, but they also offer marvelous lamb chops, fresh fish and veal, so there is something for everyone. Prime 7 is in a small, intimate setting, service is exceptional, and in fact, our waiter, Gideon, was our waiter in Prime 7 on the LIS/CPT cruise in November. Very enjoyable dinner, although I wasn't thrilled with my filet, the foie gras was delicious as was the wedge salad. John was considering the bone-in rib eye but, at 18 ounces, he opted for the smaller 12 ounce sirloin instead. Wise choice. And it was delicious.
Another quiet day at sea tomorrow, cruising our way to the Amazon.
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