VOYAGE of the MARCY: Charitas and Rio

We are anchored off the small town of Charitas across the bay from Rio de Janeiro. On the way in from the ocean we passed many fishermen and were intercepted and greeted in English by one fisherman in a rowing boat who had worked on fishing boats in Alaska. He was happy to see our American flag flying off the stern.

Clube Naval Charitas, our host yacht club, had a problem last month with disappearing outboard motors. Being inspired by all the rowboats in the bay, as well as keeping the outboard safely stowed below decks, Peter was motivated to get our dinghy into rowing condition. He fabricated thole pins and has been rowing ever since. It's not a fair competition between the beautiful old local pulling boats

and our homely tinnie.

We've decided to re-name the dinghy “Hootie the wee beastie” in honor of Peter's mom. We've been thinking about her a lot after her death last week and will think of her always when we use “Hootie” now.

Charitas has an active marine community. There are 5 or more yacht clubs around the bay and hundreds of fishermen too. On the 29th of June there was a celebration to honor St. Peter, the patron saint of fishermen and sailors. We were lucky to be on board Marcy to catch all of the action. We heard voices, drumming and music, it sounded as if a parade was approaching the anchorage.

In fact, it was a parade, there were many party boats,

barbecues.................... and even lifeguards.

There were so many fireworks set off that the clear day quickly turned to a dense haze that reduced visibility to a quarter mile as the boats sped toward our anchorage.

Our tourism has not been limited to the water. Susy, who lives here in the Clube Naval marina, is an amazing host to all the cruisers. She took us up to a paraglide launch ramp overlooking Niteroi for an early morning view of the city.

It was a perfect morning and on the way back we even found a spot for a snack.

Food is an important part of travel. Especially when celebrating national holidays far from home. We celebrated American Independence Day, July 4th, with traditional fare – with an international twist. Peter did miss the bun and mustard but beans and dogs were still on the menu on Marcy.

One day we were invited to tour the district of Santa Teresa during an artist studio opening day. This artist opening happens only one day each year and was a great opportunity to see not only the art work but also to see the inside courtyards and architecture of this old neighborhood.

There were musicians, fantastic views and lots of people.

Our lunch stop, with our hosts Maria and Max, involved a beer on the street while waiting for a table.

One of the traditional art items is a lady house monitor looking out the window – or guarding the front door. We couldn't figure out where to place one on Marcy.

There were so many people in the afternoon when we were ready to leave we couldn't find an room on a trolley car for the ride back downtown. We'll have to do that on a day with smaller crowds.