With a population of close to 3 million inhabitants, Fortaleza is Brazil’s 5th largest city. The many high rise apartments overlook the Atlantic Ocean beaches, beach promenades and a smattering of seaside cafes. The subway system, contemporary shopping malls, cruise ship terminal and convention centre give this city a very modern look.
Our visit here today was another short one, which meant the last shuttle back from the city centre was at 1:00pm. We started at the shuttle drop off point which happened to be another converted jail - again a smart idea as it really allows the shops to remain small and secure. On the way over we noticed a kids carnival type party in one of the parks (Sunday morning after all), so we thought we would stroll through and get a bit of the Carnival atmosphere, fun. We then visited the Metropolitan Cathedral, this was built over 40 years from 1939 to 1978. Built in the Gothic-Roman style, this cathedral is the third largest in Brazil with a capacity of 5,000 worshipers and houses an impressive collection of spectacular stained glass windows. We visited during a service so we were able to see it in its full glory. Across the street from the church was the main Mercado Central - a three story market with over 500 vendors, the prices are pretty good here for just about everything. We spent a little time here before heading back to the party park and the jail mall area where the shuttle bus took us back to the ship by about 1pm for some terminal wifi. This city is worth a bit more time as it has some pretty beautiful places to visit especially the beaches and the promenade area. We were told to be very careful here but we did not experience any problems of even any indications that there may be problems here, again it was a Sunday morning after what was probably a very active Carnival Saturday night. Here are a few pic of the day, hope you enjoy…
Quote of the day: “Never stop wondering, Never stop wandering” - Anonymous
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