After participating in three Antarctica cruises, I had the opportunity to visit Uruguay, Argentina, The Falkland Islands, and Chile. It was time for several long cruises only around Brazil! The crew needed this change of scenery because we had the unfortunate experience of having the captain die at sea, and I never thought this would happen while on a cruise ship. I was very impressed by how the officers handled this unfortunate situation, conducted themselves professionally, and gave their total effort to ensure things continually ran smoothly. 

The first port that we stopped in was a place called Ilhabela. A small coastal town of only about 35,000 people. After seeing plenty of icebergs and snow, it was a delight to experience a sunny and sandy beach for a change. I was pleased to go out to the beach with several other crew members from different departments, including Emil. On the day, it turned out to be also his birthday. When doing this handshake, it made sense to keep it as simple as possible after all, we are on a beach, and everybody wants to relax by drinking a beer or cerveza. Emil works in the restaurant department as a server and is an easy-going person when hanging out with him off the ship. 

Here on this beach was the first glance I got for how music and dance play such a profound role in the culture of Brazilian people. For example, dance and music are other languages. A universal language is shared and welcomed for others to participate in to have fun and connect. I walked up to this gorgeous Brazilian DJ on the beach and first complimented her on her beauty and then took in a mindful moment of observing someone enjoying themselves and living in the moment through dancing and playing music. By the way, she had no idea what I said in English, so that is good:)

Emil thank you for your time and collaborating for a handshake! Happy Birthday!

To connect with Emil Kotrri visit his Facebook page and his Instagram page