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Published: March 1st 2023
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What American has ever heard of Fortaleza, Brazil? I sure hadn’t! Well, Brazil's 5th largest city was our port of call on Saturday, February 25, 2023. It has a population of slightly over 2.7 million with a metropolitan area population of over 4.1 million people. Fortaleza, Portuguese for fortress, is the capital of the State of Ceará and is an important industrial and commercial center in Northeast Brazil. According to the Ministry of Tourism, it is the fourth most visited city and tourist destination in the country, and the most important highway in the country, BR-116, starts in Fortaleza. There is typically a tropical climate, with high temperatures and relative humidity throughout the year; however, these conditions are usually mitigated by pleasant ocean breezes. The average annual temperature is 80.6 °F with the relative humidity at 77.5%, and an average annual rainfall of 62.36 inches. There is usually rain during the first seven months of the year, January to July. In the notorious drought year of 1877, only 18.43 inches of rain fell; however, in the record wet year of 1985, Fortaleza received 111.85 inches. So far, my experience in the coastal regions of Brazil has been a brief period of
rainfall almost every day, albeit sometimes quite heavy. Such was the case in Fortaleza on the day of our visit.
The most appealing shore excursion to me was the “Best of Fortaleza” whose description seemed to me to highlight (another) cathedral and “a visit to the Mercado Central (Central Market)” where I would have “time to browse among the delicate, handmade lace and embroidery for which the region is noted.” I had learned in the “Port Talk Fortaleza” presentation that the cruise ship passenger terminal, Terminal Marítimo de Passageiros de Fortaleza, is 5.3 miles from the Tourism Center in downtown Fortaleza; but that a free shuttle service would be provided between the passenger terminal and the Tourism Center – only 4-5 blocks from Mercado Central. A free shuttle to the same zip code as one of the highlights of a purchased shore excursion was music to Uncle Larry’s bank account! The skies were threatening as we boarded the shuttle, and moderate rainfall began on the way to town; however, the rain had stopped and the skies had cleared by the time we reached the Tourism Center, 20-30 minutes later – a weather event typical of what I had seen
thus far along the Brazilian coast. I strolled through the Tourism Center marketplace and found a multitude of trinkets that I really SHOULD live without, found no pressing need to see more of the same at the Mercado, reboarded the shuttle and returned to the ship.
Later, I went outside for a breath of fresh air. I was very fortunate to have been assigned a cabin on Deck 3 where the walking track circling the ship is located. I also was fortunate to have a cabin within about 20-25 feet of the vestibule where the staircases and the elevators are located. On both outside walls of the vestibule are doors to access the walking deck. Stepping outside has become a regular activity after spending some time in my cabin – watching a sunset, watching the recovery of the lifeboats/tenders, observing an Antarctic glacier, watching a docking procedure, getting a glimpse of a cityscape, etc. This time, a small boat was sailing abreast of Volendam mimicking our speed and direction of travel. Might this be the craft that will retrieve the pilot from our ship at the end of his assignment? Sure enough. I recorded the event as best as
On the Shuttle Ride to the Tourism Center in Fortaleza, Brazil
Rain Doesn’t Reduce the Architectural Appeal of a Beautiful Building my short arms would allow, and captured several stills from the video which I have included at the end of the blog so you can have an idea of how the pilot gets to and from a larger craft. Enjoy.
Some of the parts of Fortaleza that I saw from the shuttle seem to confirm that Brazil has lots of economic issues to confront; however, much of the housing seems new and modern as evidenced by the skyscrapers. Even though the Ministry of Tourism claims Fortaleza is Brazil’s fourth most popular tourist destination, I suspect that most, if not all, of those numbers are based on domestic tourism. The small sample of Fortaleza that I did see was a black-and-white combination of poverty and affluence with very little middle class – much like the impression I have had of Brazil in general for some time.
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