Down the coast

At 7:10 a.m. local time the Electra took off from Paramaribo on the 1200 mile flight for Fortaleza. "The weather at Paramaribo was perfect except for a morning mist from the Surinam River, when we took off to skim the tree-tops and then pull up."

As the flight progressed Amelia crossed the equator for the first time. It seems Fred had planned to ceremoniously mark the occasions "but at the time the Electra's shadow passed over the mythical Line we were both so occupied he quite forgot to duck me with the thermos bottle of cold water which he later confessed had been provided for the occasion."

Roughly 10 hours of flying later Amelia and Fred reached Fortaleza, Brazil. The city was sitting "between the mountains and the sea, on a brown, sandy plain, in the arc of a crescent-shaped indentation just west of Cape Mucuripe." Touching down at roughly 5 p.m. Brazilian time, the fliers discovered the airfield to be much nicer than anticipated and decided to make final preparations for the Atlantic crossing here, at Fortaleza, instead of Natal. June 5th was spend in preparation; "Fred and I cleaned house while the men worked on the plane." After repacking everything it was time to spend the day sightseeing which included buying a pair of coveralls for Fred; Amelia had brought her own. Staying at the Excelsior Hotel the fliers rested for the short hop the next day, June 6, to Natal, their hopping off point for the long flight across the Atlantic to Africa.

Fortaleza ca. 1930s

The Morning Call, Saturday, June 5, 1937

AE talking with a uniformed official in Brazil, Fred walking behind them.