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American Spirit II - Day 411; A Slow Day in Recife; Saturday, February 21, 2015



Up at 5:30 AM. From 5:40 AM to 7:45 AM I typed 1 log and some boat part emails.

Breakfast at 8:15 AM consisted of bacon, eggs cooked in bacon fat, hash browns with onions cooked by Jeanine yesterday, chilled Guava (from a can) and brown bread.

A cat that got off a boat across from us had its tail tied in a knot next to its body. Seemed well fed and content. Apparently living on a small sailboat by itself; maybe under the dingy. Vlado tried to approach it but got warned off by a hiss.

At 9:00 AM I got a 'text mail dump' on my I Phone. Six texts messages came thru from 3 different people. Since then my phone has been unable to send or I assume receive texts from anyone. Welcome to Brazil.

Jonathan left with Vlado to go clear into the Port Captain's office and fill up some jerry cans with diesel. He put 4 (or was it 5?) of our diesel cans of fuel into his main tank, so he'll refill them and return them back to us.

At 11:25 AM Vlado and Jack from Civetta II; and Jeanine and Joel, then took a cab to the mall. The same cab driver came back and then picked up Jonathan, Jenny and Sigi from Merlyn of Poole and took them to the mall, also. However, once there they never met up with the other group. I stayed on the boat cleaning the dingy and doing two loads of laundry. The centrifugal dryer didn't work properly, so I had to hang the clothes up soaking wet instead of almost dry. I then ended up watching a movie as it began to rain heavily at 3:20 PM. I was able to get Jeanine's clothes off the life lines before the rain hit, but my clothes were soaked before I could get to them. I got soaked in the process of retrieving them.

The primary objective of the mall visit for Joel and Jeanine was to resolve our phone issues. I think Joel was successful, but Jeanine and my phone were not. Because no one had a passport, options were limited. Unlike in the US, you need a passport or domestic ID in most of the world to get a SIM card. And one of the phone companies they went to wouldn't deal with them because you needed a Brazilian credit card to buy a SIM card. Another objective was to go by the tourist office there. However, the booth was empty and the only material that was collected were some maps in Italian and Portuguese. Sigi was able to get an English map, as was Jack; from under or behind the counter.

Jonathan, Jenny and Sigi got back to the marina right after 4:00 PM, and Joel, Jeanine, Jack and Vlado arrived just before 5:00 PM. Joel suggested that we go to the marina restaurant immediately to order dinner before they closed. We had to order by 5:00 PM to get served. So Joel, Jeanine, myself, Jack, Sigi and Vlado headed to the restaurant. Lupo from Civetta II; and Jonathan and Jenny from Merlyn of Poole, stayed behind.

We ordered two dinners for two, both with shrimp in them; plus rice, and French fries. The dinner was filling and good. We didn't order dessert because there were no dessert options on the menu. Even when ordering, the menu was entirely in Portuguese and Joel used his phone translator to figure out what we'd order. While we ate dinner a guitarist played music. It was a nice atmosphere. The restaurant was 'open air,' meaning there were no walls. And it overlooked the marina, the channel and some high rise condominiums.

We were back on the boat around 6:15 PM and then commenced to watch 3 movies: Legion (a good versus evil, end of the world movie); followed by a comedy with a name such as a 'Good Old Fashion Orgy,' which I found sufficiently gross that I went to the cockpit and read a book until it was over; and then Blitz, a cop movie starring the UK actor Jason whatever his name is. The guy who does all the British 'transporter' movies. A happy ending with the bad guy getting his 'just desserts.'

By 11:00 PM movie night was over. Joel was the first to bed. I put my clothes back up on the life lines to dry overnight. But it rained twice during the night so I guess my clothes are getting a good deal of rinsing. I then went to bed. Jeanine was still up doing internet on her phone.

Tomorrow we're planning on doing some touring.

Brian Fox

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