São Paulo

Today, we joined Sonia and Boris, who had hired a driver (Cesar) for a loosey-goosey tour of Santos … meaning that the itinerary was “fluid.”

Cesar first took us to Monte Serrat. One can walk up 402 stairs to get to the top — with the Stations of the Cross in niches along the way — or one can take the funicular up to the top. As hot and humid as it was, there was no way we were going to attempt the former, so we went up in the funicular.

In addition to expansive views from the top — there is a small church and also a now-defunct casino up there.

The church, dedicated to Our Lady of Monte Serrat, was built in 1599. Tradition has it that when Dutch privateers invaded Santos in 1614, a landslide, attributed to her, crushed the soldiers, thus saving the city. She became the patron saint of Santos in 1955.

As for the casino. It operated between 1927 and 1946. One of the guides at the casino, Pedro, gave us a “tour-for-tips” insight into the history of the property using old photographs as props. He also took us up to what used to be the grand salon back in the heydays of the casino and up to the terrace to see the views.

The most intriguing piece of information Pedro related was about a landslide that happened in 1928 on the backside of Monte Serrat. He showed us a picture of the devastation and told us that the casino survived undamaged. Pointing to the shape of a woman in the rubble — seemingly supporting the casino — he explained that the miracle of the casino’s survival was aldı attributed to Our Lady of Monte Serrat.

Next, we drove to the beach area of the city. Parking, co-incidentally, in front of Basilica Menor de Santo Antônio, we decided to cross the street to visit it first. The bonus was that it was comfortably cool inside thanks to a cross breeze coming off the water.

The basilica was built around a small church that was constructed here in 1874. The current church was built by the Capuchin monks. They started construction of the new church in 1930 and it was opened for service 15 years later. It became a basilica in 1952. I loved the ceiling and the stained glass windows in particular.

After visiting the basilica, we took a break at a seaside café where we delighted in the cooling breezes. Then, we wandered a portion of the 3¼-mile long manicured beach-front gardens. Apparently these gardens have earned a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the largest of its kind. There were some statues to add interest to our walk … as well as a lighthouse. Along the way, Cesar pointed out how the high-rise buildings are all leaning due to the unstable soil on which they were built. All have settled from what he told us.

Lunch was next. Cesar took us to Tertúlia, a Brazilian churrascaria … aka, a barbecue place. I’m not a meat person, so I munched on the side dishes that were served alongside the various meats brought on skewers and served table side. As a bonus, we ordered an extra basket of the empanada-like pastries for me. Those who partook of the meat said that the various selections were all good, though each person seemed to have a favorite cut or two.

Everyone was stuffed by the time we left the restaurant. So, we skipped the swimming portion of the fluid itinerary. Instead, we headed to the Santos FC store so Sonia could pick up a jersey for her grandson. Traffic was horrible, and having retraced our route that far, we told Cesar to just take us back to the ship. Frankly, I was ready to call it quits … the heat and humidity had been draining.

By the time we took care of a few chores, it was time for Insignia to move out of its berth and head down the estuary to the Atlantic Ocean. Pouring ourselves some drinks — wine for me; rakı for Mui — we settled ourselves on the veranda to watch the scenery on the port side of the ship to see what we had missed this morning.

Now for some quiet time on the veranda to recharge my batteries and gird my loins for the heat we expect to find in Rio tomorrow.Read more