Brazilain Skin Show

Well, one thing we can say after a week with a ship full of Brazilians. They aren't shy about a skin show! On our previous trip we saw several beautiful barely dressed Brazilian dancers that were part of the hoopla surrounding Carnivale. They met us at the dock where our ship came in, dancing in magnificent plumage on their heads, stilts on their legs to raise them up above crowd level and virtually nothing else but a skimpy bikini bottom. Even after spending a few days at famous Cocacobana Beach we still thought the carnivale girls were the exception to the rule. After all, regular Brazilians dress for work similarly, if not identically to people all over the world.

Vacationing Brazilians, however, don the skin like it is meant to show. No matter what age and what size the model, the skin is on parade on this ship. We cross the Equator tonight, so there is plenty of sunshine and heat still, perfect for laying out beside the pool in bikinis and speedos. I even saw one very nice looking young guy out today dressed in his Ralph Lauren boxers. It is a riot. These are not gorgeous Carnivale bodies. Many of these folks could be considered for modeling jobs on the ubiqitous e-mails showing off the beauty of Walmart shoppers. Large, wrinkly and hairy seem to be the universally applied adjectives for many, but not all of these folks. There are, of course, the beautiful. A sleek looking woman with long black hair and a skinny little body with a disporportionately sized front end (i.e. chest) sits at the dinner table next to us, providing Mike with lots of entertainment. Somehow it is much more interesting to watch her eat her dessert than it is anyone else in the dining room.

So, for those of us who gave up the idea of wearing a bikini to sunbathe in years ago, and certainly after the third time round at childbirth, or age 50, or skin cancer scares, or whatever rational criteria made you think conservatively about skin exposure, take heart.... there is a place for you to bare it all with complete confidence that you fit in perfectly!

Putting up with cute guys in boxers (somebody has to),
Deanne