Dec 9

We docked at Rio Grande do Sul, the port we visited a week ago and also on a Sunday.  You have to go back to that post to read about the town because we remained on the ship.  Everything except churches is closed on Sunday.  A group of dancers and a 4 piece band, all dressed in traditional Gaucho style dress, greeted the ship with music & dancing for over 2 hours.  Guests getting off the ship for tours or to photograph the troupe were invited to dance with them.  There were several young men & women wearing "Free Translator" shirts greeted us, offering town maps and generally answering questions.  They were very friendly and informative.  It was a surprisingly big effort to accommodate us even though this isn't a tourist destination.  There really isn't a good reason to stop here except perhaps to manage the sailing schedule to the upcoming ports.  There was a small shop selling hand made items made of recycled materials and some interesting hand painted t shirts raising money to help protect local flora & fauna.  We arrived 2 hours early at the request of the port because they had to use the channel reposition a large floating oil refinery being constructed for Petrobas, Brazil's state oil monopoly.  In the afternoon 2 tugs towed a Panamx car carrier past us to dock.  Panamax is the term used to describe a ship which is the maximum length and width allowed through the Panama Canal.  Our team won trivia again - 3 out of 3 for this segment.  The previous segment had tough competition and  we alternated winning with 2 other teams.
The Playbill group on board is a strange one.  They are mostly New Yorkers with the stereotypical New York attitudes, being pushy, loud, obnoxious and demanding.  Many of the men wear baseball hats in the good restaurant, they dress like slobs and one wonders if they even have the intellect to understand or enjoy Broadway.  Even a lot of the staff of the ship are unhappy with them and we'll all be glad when they leave us in Rio.  Nuff said.
For some reason I can't upload photos - probably poor satellite reception.  I'll try to add them at a later date.