Fernando de Noronha to Belém, Brazil 15 - 16 April 2006

Our last port of call in Brazil

15 April 2006. Fernando de Noronha to Belém, Brazil (IFR 6:11 hrs).

We were at the airport at sunrise (6 a.m.) and thanks to the preparation the day before we were airborne at 6:35 a.m. South of São Luis, we flew over the Lençois maranhenses, vast sand dunes that look like lençois or bed sheets. We’d already stopped for the night in São Luis in November, so decided to make Belém at the mouth of the Amazon our destination this time. We had a nice 15 knot tailwind the whole way and no problems with afternoon CB's and storms as we landed at 11:46 local time at Belém. We had ‘gained’ an hour by flying west.
Upon arrival, we spent more than an hour trying to persuade Petrobras to sell tax-free fuel, but it looks like we will have to wait until Monday so they can speak to the boss.

16 April 2006. We enjoyed a nice relaxed day in Belém. We’d already visited the city on our world trip in 2002, so didn’t have to ‘do’all the sights this time. First we went to the feira de artesanato, then had a superb lunch in Boteco das Onze set in a charming old house previously owned by a sugar baron. We finished the afternoon with a sunset cruise on the Amazon with local dances followed by a sushi dinner at As Docas with a Kiwi psychologist whom we met on the boat.