Cabo Frio translates as Cold Cape. Cold … sounded great to us after the three hot days we’d experienced in Santos and Rio de Janeiro.
Of course, cold is relative here … but 83F is a heck of a lot better than 92F. (OK, technically, the cold here refers to the waters which are colder here than in other beach cities nearby. Mui later confirmed the water temperature … once he waded out to the deeper end at the beach.)
We were first onto the tender this morning. Not by design, really. We were sitting in the Insignia Lounge a little after 7:30a, purple tender tickets in hand, when we were told to proceed down to the gangway … six of us in all … plus that many crew members. The announcement that the ship was cleared had not yet been made. Works for us. What was funny was that the tender pilot had no idea where the entrance was to the protected waters and the pier, but with directions from the Insignia bridge we found the right place.
Ashore, a young woman welcomed us and gave us information and a map. She advised that since it was Sunday, she did not recommend going to the town center. No worries, our plan was to go to Praia do Forte (Fort Beach), the beach closest to the tender pier … a half-hour walk away with a slight detour.
With the breeze mitigating the heat and humidity, it was actually comfortable walk. Along the way, we even squeezed in a bit of sightseeing by going to see Igreja Sao Benedito in Passagem, the first settlement area of Cabo Frio … Continue reading