The Salvation Islands

 Off the coast of South America lies the small archipelago of Iles du Salut, Salvation Islands, consisting of three islands. The islands belong to the overseas department of French Guiana located on the north east coast of South America. Guiana has only 270,000 residents but, since it belongs to France, it is part of the European Union and is one of the most prosperous countries in South Anerica. One reason for the prosperity is a satellite launching station in Kourou from where nearly half of the world's commercial satellites are launched.

The three main islands, Royale, Saint-Joseph and Diable, were the site of the infamous "Devil's Island" penal colony from 1852 to 1953. An estimated 80,000 prisoners were sent to the islands and 75% of them died.  Under the laws of the day, if the sentence was 4-8 years, the prisoner had to return to French Guiana for the same length of time at the end of the sentence before being eligible to return to France.  If the sentence was greater than 8 years, the prisoner was sentenced to stay on the mainland in French Guiana for life.  These laws were an attempt by France to build up the population of French Guiana as establishing the colony had been unsuccessful.

The largest of the islands is Ile Royale and was the reception centre for prisoners. Devil's Island mainly housed political prisoners, including Alfred Dreyfus who was unjustly accused of treason. His story was told in the Roman Polanski film "The Dreyfus Affair". Henri Charriere's book "Papillon", later made into a movie with Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen, described the harsh conditions experienced by the prisoners. The book is controversial as there are no records of Charriere being imprisoned on Devil's Island and escape by sea was almost impossible through the shark infested waters around the islands. It is believed that he served time in one of the prisons on land in Fench Guiana.


 Today, Ile Royale houses a lighthouse, a church, a small hotel, and a pier where visiting boats can dock.  St. Joseph, known for the most brutal conditions, has a few chalets and yachts anchored in the harbour.
Remnants of the prison buildings can be seen.  There is a cemetery marking the graves of guards, their children and other family members.  The prisoners'  bodies were thrown into the sea to feed the sharks. Diable  (Devil's Island) is privately owned and cannot be visited.

We cruised around the islands on a Sunday.  We could see groups of people on catamarans who appeared to be on a day trip from the mainland. Many people were swimming, a sign (we hope) that the sharks are long gone!

Crossing the Equator

According to the captain, we crossed the equator around 6:00 a.m. on our way to Trinidad and Tobago.  However, the official ceremony took place around the pool at 11:00 a.m.  King Neptune and his Queen held court for "Polliwogs", a few volunteers who may not have known what was coming. 

The captain addressed the gathering. 

Accused of a variety of crimes, including drinking only free wine and beer, being too amorous in their stateroom, and drinking all the gin and tonic on board, the polliwogs were annointed then forced to kiss the mackeral before jumping in the pool. 

 The crowd turned on the cruise director at the end and he also was forced to take a dip.

Five days "at sea" may be too many.

Salvador, Brazil

 In 1549, Portuguese explorers established Salvador as the first capital of colonial Brazil. It became the centre of sugar cane production, using slave labour, and the main slave trading port. Over 5 million slaves were transported from Africa to Brazil during the 19th century.  The Afro-Brazilian culture strongly influences the religion, cuisine, music, and art today.

From the terminal, we walked to the Elevador Lacerda, which took us to Pelourinho, the historical centre of the city. 

It is Carnival here as well.  Although too early in the day for parades, there are signs of what is to come everywhere.



Salvador has over 165 churches as well as the largest assortment of Baroque architecture in Latin America.

Church of Our Lord of Bonfim

Back at the lower level, our final stop was the African Market full of stalls selling fabric art, crafts and souvenirs.  The temperature was 28 C (82 F) and the humidiy was high.  We found cold beer to enjoy while listening to Afro Brazilian fusion music.

Buzios and Brigitte Bardot

Buzios is located on a small peninsula jutting out from the Brazilian mainland.  French pirates discovered the area first and set up a lucrative business smuggling Brazilwood to Europe.

The Portuguese banished the pirates and established the town in 1575.  With colonial architecture and cobblestone streets, trendy boutiques and fine restaurants, and over twenty beaches, Buzios has been called the St. Tropez of Brazil.

It was "discovered" in the 1960's by Brigitte Bardot when she visited with her Brazilian boyfriend.  That discovery put the city on the tourist destination map for the beautiful people. Tourists line up to take a picture with her statue.  

It was a lovely day for a stroll along the waterfront, a stop for drinks and a snack, then back to the ship by water shuttle as we prepare to leave for our next port of call. 

Rio de Janeiro at Carnival time

We have arrived at the port of Rio de Janeiro on the first day of Carnival, a festival held every year during the 5 days before Ash Wednesday.  It is considered the biggest Carnival in the world with an estimated 2 million people on the streets every day.

There was a four hour delay in clearing the ship at the port.  We were told that the health officials were "reviewing paper work."  This was not surprising in light of all the news about infections on cruise ships.  Finally we were deemed healthy and we left on a tour of the city and trip to Sugarloaf mountain.

The area near the port is known as "little Africa".  Africans were enslaved in Brazil for over three hundred years.  In 1888, the second emperor abolished slavery. The African influence is still reflected in the colourful Brazilian culture. The Portuguese influence is still apparent in the city's architecture and language. Hundreds of thousands of Portuguese immigrants found prosperity in Rio.  The Portuguese Royal Family lived here during the time of the Napoleonic wars.

Rio de Janeiro is the second largest city with a population of 7 million people.  It was the capital at one time, but in 1960 the ultra modern city of Brasilia was established as the capital. The city is laid out around Guanabara Bay, which is lined with the iconic beaches of Copacabana,  Iponema and Leblond.

Inland from the beaches, granite mountain peaks encircle the city.  "Christ the Redeemer" is a 40 metre (130 foot) tall statue atop Corcovado Mountain embracing the city with open arms. It was very cloudy the day we visited. Christ the Redeemer was in the clouds in the distance.

Sugarloaf rises from the water's edge and is visible from all over the city. Glass paneled cable cars run up to the summit at 396 m (1,299 feet). In the 16th century, sugar was shipped from Brazil in conical clay molds - hence the name of this granite peak.

As we returned to the ship in late afternoon, we could see the preparations for Carnival celebrations beginning.  People in colourful costumes were gathering the streets.

 We did not choose to attend the huge celebration at the Sambadrome exhibition centre.  We look forward to hearing about it from the large group who left at 9:00 p.m. in the pouring rain to be part of the crowd of thousands.

First Stop in Brazil

After two days at sea, we have arrived at the port of Ilhabela on the island of Sao Sebastiao. Brazil is the 5th largest country in the world and borders on all South American countries except Ecuador and Chile. After discovery by Americo Vespucio in 1502, the earliest settlements were military outposts to protect the island from raids by buccaneers who waited offshore for English, Dutch and Portuguese ships. The Portuguese established sugar and coffee plantations in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Much of the island's rainforest is protected, home to ocelots, several species of primates, birds and butterflies.  The Cabras Marine Sanctuary preserves the home of colourful coral, an abundance of sea life, and underwater shipwrecks.  Multiple white sand beaches circle the island.  The 80 miles of coastline, calm waters and strong winds give Ilhabela the reputation as Brazil's "National Capital of Sailing."

We took a van trip to the Toca Waterfalls located on an old sugar cane plantation.  The three main cascading waterfalls drop 52 metres (164 ft).

The temperature was 27 C (80 F) and very humid.  After returning to the town centre,  we walked along the waterfront in search of cold beer. 

Montevideo, Uruguay

Nestled between the two giant countries, Brazil and Argentina, Uruguay is the second smallest country in South America.  More than half of the nation's population of 3 million resides in the capital city of Montevideo.

The indigenous peoples were conquered by the Spaniards, followed by the Portuguese, British, French, Spanish again until finally taking advantage of the distraction of wars in Europe, Uruguay declared independence in 1825. 

The arch in the Plaza Independencia marks the remains of the wall which surrounded the old city. An epic bronze monument on a granite base of a 19th century pioneer wagon drawn by oxen was created by local sculptor Jose Belloni.

Eighty per cent of the country's economy is based on farming. Exports include beef, leather, wool, dairy products, wine, caviar, soy, wheat, rice, fruits and vegetables.


Carlos Ott, a Uruguayan architect, who lives in Canada, is known for his design of sweeping structures of steel and glass.  His tower in Montevideo is reminiscent of the one in Dubai.

 At the Port Market, local artisans sell their wares while fine cuts of beef are cooked over an open flame. We could not resist a taste for lunch at a cost of about $20 US.


Uruguay was a neutral country during World War II.  However, the first major naval battle was the Battle of the River Plate between three Royal Navy cruisers and the German pocket battleship Admiral Graf Spee. The German ship was damaged and scuttled in the harbour.  Its anchor stands as a monument at the entrance to the port from the city.

It was an enjoyable day in Montevideo.  Our tour guide gave her insight into the political and economic challenges in the country.  We are realizing how very ignorant we are of the history and current events of these countries we are visiting.

Buenos Aires

Today we toured Buenos Aries by bus with an wonderful guide, Paolo.  We appreciated the air conditioning in the bus as the temperature reached 27 C (82 F) and the humidity was high. 
Our first stop was Plaza de Mayo located at the spot where the city was founded. On the way we passed the Colon Theater which has been recognized as the third best opera house in the world.

Since the revolution of May 25, 1810 that led to Argentine's independence, this city square with the Casa Rosada presidential palace has played a pivotal role in the politics of Buenos Aires.  On this balcony, Juan and Eva Peron addressed the crowds.  Opinions of the Perons are varied - he was a dictator but she is known for her support for the working classes.

Facing the plaza is the cathedral where the current pope, Francis, was bishop.

The floor of the cathedral is inlaid with mosaic depicting the passion flower - representing the Passion of Christ.



In the centre of the plaza is an obelisk erected in 1811 to celebrate Argentina's independence from Spain. The white stones inlaid in the walkway represent the white scarves worn by women protesters following the military coup of 1976.  At that time many dissenters simply disappeared. 

Our next stop was the historic neighbourhood of La Boca.  The multi-coloured houses, street vendors, and tango cafes give a European flavour to the street scene. On the way to our next stop we saw the Floralis Generica the United Nations Park. This steel and aluminum sculpture in a reflecting pool opens in the morning and closes in the evening.

Our final stop was Recoleta Cemetery containing 6400 architecturally diverse mausoleums. There we visited the black marble crypt of Eva "Evita" Peron.

On the way to Buenos Aires

We are travelling up the coast of Argentina to the mouth of the Rio de la Platte, originally meaning the river to silver, as it led to silver mines.



When word of Incan gold reached Europe in 1512, Buenos Aires was just a stop over along the river. In 1536, Spanish colonizer Pedro de Mendoza originally named the city Nuestra Senora Santa Maria del Buen Aire, "Our Lady St. Mary of the Good Air". The settlers were forced away by attacks of indigenous people. The Spanish were more successful in establishing a quiet isolated town in the 1580's.


The cattle boom of the 1880's brought an influx of European settlers. Soon beautiful buildings with architecture reminiscent of Rome, Paris, and London lined impressive wide avenues.

Today the population of the greater metropolitain area is more than 15 million .




At 5:30 p.m. we docked at the newest of the three ports that have been established over the years.  It is very entertaining watching the shuttle buses that take everyone to the Terminal and seeing all the containers ready to load onto ships.

  

Sea lions and Dinosaurs

The coastal city of Puerto Madryn on the shores of a huge bay, Golfo Nuevo, was originally settled by 150 colonists from Wales in 1865.  They came here to farm after a promise of 100 square miles along the Chubut River.  It is now Argentina's second largest fishing port and home of the Aluar aluminum factory and other businesses.  It is also a major whale watching centre as over half of the world's southern right whale population inhabits these waters. It is also home to major colonies of sea lions, Magellanic penguins and other sea birds.

 The Welsh settlement is in the town of Trelew. Also located there is the Museum of Paleontology, a centre for scientific research. It has permanent and traveling exhibitions of fossil remains of flora and fauna of Patagonia dating back 400 million years.

Today we enjoyed sunny skies and a temperature of 17 C (63 F). Jack got to wear shorts for the first time this trip!