Today is the ‘Girls Day Out’, nine of us out for a bit of retail therapy (or window shopping). We wait for the end of the skippers’ briefing (I have to beg money out of Mike’s wallet before I can go) then pose for photos on the lawn before leaving, amazingly, and probably illegally, cramming ourselves into two taxis.
There’s some special shopping to be done. Although the rest of us are casually browsing, Annie is on the lookout for a wedding dress and we are going to see what Brazil has to offer.
We arrive at the mall, only to find that it is closed (still carnival) and will open at midday. It is now just gone 10 am. The mall is in the middle of nowhere and it’s HOT. Desperate for some shade and a drink, we wander off in search of anywhere that’s open, and manage to find a small bar where we can sit and have a drink while we wait for the mall to open.
Midday evenutally arrives and we get back to the air conditioned comfort of a modern mall. There turns out to be no specialist bridal shop (although the taxi driver assured us there was) so we wander from shop to shop looking at evening gowns which could double as a wedding dress. With 8 women ‘helping’ Annie and offering opinions regarding various dresses, and all of us having very different tastes, we are probably no real help at all.
However, when she tries on the right dress, we ALL know it’s the right one and it’s in the bag.
As we stand waiting for the group to reform (some have rushed off to go to do a bit of their own shopping, Anna and I notice a shop just full of men’s swimming trunks. Just swimming trunks. It makes such an amazing display that we stand and photograph it, mindless of the strange looks we get from passers by. Tourists, huh!
After all that shopping lunch is called for but Jutta suddenly realises she has left some shopping in one of the dress shops. She and Basia go to look for it but come back empty handed so Eline and I go off to look for it and manage to find it.
We go to a restaurant that Suzanna recommended. It’s a full Brazilian buffet with loads of local dishes. It’s good value and the food is excellent, much better than the normal buffet fare.
Four of us share a bottle of wine, then a second one, then Jutta orders caipirinhas for everyone. By the time we pile ourselves in the taxi, some of us are slightly tipsy!
Back at the marina I call Mike on Jim’s handheld VHF to let him know I am safely back and stop to chat with Matt. Drinks appear – I know not from where – and to avoid looking churlish and ungrateful I force myself to finish them.
Some time later (well, over two hours later actually), a somewhat annoyed husband comes over in the dinghy to look for his wayward wife. I am not contrite but ungrateful for the lift. Ignoring my grumpiness, he offers me his hand to help me into the dinghy and for a moment I think of refusing, just to be belligerent. However, I am neither stupid or so drunk that I don’t realise that without help another Galapagos type dunking could be on the cards, and in this water, stinking at low tide, that would be unbelievably unpleasant. I take his hand. Dunking is avoided.
We have a really early start in the morning. I could regret this!!!
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