Parintins, Brazil
This arrived last night. Great way to start the day.
Today we arrived off of the coast of Parintins, Brazil. A tender port for sure and one that required the use of local tenders.
This was one craft that was being used as a ship tender. It looked like it would last at least one more day so we felt confident. The shipped was cleared at 10 am and we decided to grab a few items to take with us for lunch and then go and get tickets for the tender. The Captain warned of large swells and cautioned those with mobility problems. We had a show to see at 1:30 pm but the rest of the day was on our own. The tender ride was uneventful and the line to board was not long. Our experience with Easter Island years ago keeps us diligent in accessing each tender port.
After coming ashore we were approached by all kinds of folks offering their services. T shirts, hats, local artwork. One gentleman offered a 30 minute tour of the town for $10 USD. Bargain we thought. His English consisted of “thank you” and our Portuguese was limited to “Ola”. This should be fun, we thought.
His vehicle was a metal wagon that had a motorcycle attached. We sat and a small bench in the wagon. The wagon had a tailgate similar to a pickup truck. We were to see 5 sites.
The first thing to see was a church. Churches are generally constructed with high end materials and are built to last. They often have an impressive appearance both inside and out and usually one of the things to see on any tour.
Next on the tour was a stadium. This stadium was not to see a sports team. The Bumbodromo. A 35,000 seat venue was used to present the Parintins Folklore Festival, or often also called Festival do Boi-Bumbá, Bumba Meu Boi, or simply Festival. I managed enough Spanish to ask our guide what month the festival took place. Junio or June was his response.
After doing some research, I learned that this festival takes place for 3 days every year near the end of June. Our 1:30 show was an indoor presentation of what takes place at this festival. This show was a presentation for those purchasing tickets through HAL and was not open to the public.
Our tour generally consisted of sites relating to the festival. We thanked our driver. “Obrigado”. We had to understand more Portuguese here than we did when we visited Portugal. We decided to take a walk up the street. Terri needed some sunglasses. We found a spot, she purchased a $4 pair and we went across the street to get a cold drink. We had two “Brahma” beers and cooled off while we chatted with another couple from the ship. It is obvious in a small town like this who the outsiders are. Ship people even walk differently. Probably from walk on a surface that is constantly moving in different directions. He was from Toronto and she from Delaware. She lived close to Biden. She didn’t elaborate but just shook her head in a negative fashion.
The chair is reserved for the fire marshal.
Terri’s sunglasses didn’t make it past lunch. I expected $4 of quality to go a little bit further. Luckily, the sunglass store where she purchased them was right across the street. The merchant was more than happy to replace them and off we went. This pair lasted almost back to where the tender dropped us off.
The Boi Bumba show was in rectangular shaped commercial building. A place I imagined would have desks and people working at them. Rows of folding shares were set up. Some of the folks stood in costume and folks took pictures with them. We didn’t expect much. We had never heard of the festival nor did it look like the people who lived essentially in the middle of the Amazon Jungle knew how to perform. The place was air conditioned and we were prepared to give it a chance.
The performance was unbelievable. Jaw dropping. Ready for broadway. A solid hour of non stop music and dancing. The entire show was extremely well rehearsed. I tried to make some recordings but couldn’t do it justice. This video gives a great explanation.
These pictures were all taken at the festival presentation which was done by the blue team. I saw a guitar, bass guitar, keyboard, several vocalists and a few percussionist playing floor toms.
I gave the music performance a 10. Costumes 10. Production 10. A flawless performance and they are months out from the battle that takes place in June.
The Blue Team
Very impressive performance. “Bucket list” kind of event. We are already talking about coming here when the festival takes place. It has to be a blast.
After the show we headed toward the tender. It was already close to the all aboard time.
The evening entertainment was Syd Davis doing a second set. In some ways it was better than the first. A very relaxed story teller and has the ability to tailor his show for his audience. 10 in my opinion!…