Part I: Seals teeth and whales ears - Scott Polar Research Institute ...

island on which Santos stands. I went down to a delicious breakfast including
tropical fruits, bacon and eggs.
Geoffrey, Colin and I walked to the sea across the broad deserted beach for
a swim. We left our robes in a pile near the water’s edge, with our three
cameras hidden from sight. The beach was empty, but we periodically
observed at our belongings from the water and noticed no one. However
someone did approach unnoticed during our swim, because when we retrieved
our possessions two of us had lost our cameras, my Leica and Colin’s Exacta.
Geoff’s cheaper Ilford Advocate was untouched! Unfortunately my insurance
cover had just expired and it was several years before I could afford a decent
camera again.
In Santos we met members of the British community and one weekend
drove to Sao Paulo with an English couple, the Smith’s. It was an interesting
drive partly through forest and bush up the escarpment, then mainly through
country cleared for cattle ranching. Sao Paulo in l950 was in a phase of
explosive growth - buildings, roads, factories springing up on all sides. We
spent two nights with Brazilian friends of our hosts, taking in the Brazilian way
of life, visiting excellent restaurants, enjoying the samba music and dancing,
beautiful girls, the colour and life of the place. It was a further step in our reintroduction
to civilized society after our years of ‘deprivation’. (Mrs Smith had
worked at the Blue Boar Hotel in Cambridge and they looked me up when they
next came to England).
Then we returned to Santos and on to Rio to join RMS Andes. In Rio we
visited Copacabana beach, then already famous, went up to the Corcovado
outlook with its stunning view, took the cable car up Sugarloaf and generally
absorbed the atmosphere of Brazilian society. We must have had at least two
days in Rio, because we also spent a day visiting a charming town on the coast
some distance to the north. On the Andes we travelled second class, but our
small group had the run of the ship and organized a great many activities. We
made friends with a couple of girls, Ann and Jean, and with two charming
women who, with their children were taking a round-trip cruise on the ship
from Southampton to Buenos Aires and back. They were striking blondes and
we named them “the slick chicks”.
Making some 17 knots, the Andes travelled faster and more smoothly than
the Bigbury Bay, let alone the Biscoe. There were also deck games and
comfortable deck chairs, bars, a dining room; and we made full use of all the
amenities as we glided through the tropics. Andes called at Las Palmas where
we spent a day ashore and Colin Brown and I managed to be detained by a
soldier with a drawn sword when, on an exploratory walk, we unwittingly
entered a restricted military area. But the arrival of an officer who spoke
English resolved the misunderstanding. We also spent a day ashore at Funchal,
Madeira, a lovely port of call, bright with Bougainvilleas, hydrangeas,
geraniums and other blossoms, with a backdrop of blue mountains. A river ran
down through the centre of the town, with steep cobbled streets on either side
and white-clothed locals ran tourists down the hill on wooden sleds. We did all
the usual tourist things, like visiting the ‘caves’ to sample and buy Madeira
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