November 13 - “There is an end to everything,” in this case in Rio

Before telling you about our day in Rio I wanted to add something I forgot to mention day before yesterday. We were sitting on our balcony at sunset  and the sky was very clear with just a few little wisps of clouds.  As the sun went down on the horizon we saw the illusory “green flash!”  For just a split second the sun looked like a bright green sliver and then sunk below the horizon.  Al wasn’t fast enough to catch it, but perhaps we’ll see it again on a future trip.  We’ve seen it once before some years ago.

Anyway, we were up by 6 AM this morning to watch our arrival in Rio.  Captain Larsen had told us it was a very scenic harbor in which to arrive.  Well, it was dawn and from our starboard side we couldn’t see the Copacabana area.  We did get a nice view of an oil platform being constructed.  When it’s finished it will be towed out to its site somewhere off the Brazilian coast.  We also could see the Christ the Redeemer statue at the top of Corcovado.  More about that later.

Oil rig being constructed. It will be towed out later

The white light at the tip of the peak is  Christ the Redeemer lit up

When we were docked, we had an opportunity to watch the baggage being unloaded.  On the big ships we’ve sailed on before, forklifts came to the ship and carried out large container loads of baggage.  On the Quest, a sheet of plywood was placed between the ship and the dock with a net underneath. Quest crew members rolled the luggage one bag at a time across and dock workers moved them into the little terminal.  We watched our bags, which are a distinctive blue, roll across and hoped they didn’t tip over or that the ship didn’t lurch from an unexpected gust of wind.

The luggage crew and their sheet of plywood

After a nice breakfast we collected our carryons and were off at 9 AM.  On the dock waiting to say goodbye and shake hands were the Captain, Cruise Director, Guest Services Manager and other officers.  They greeted everyone by name and wished us safe travels home.  We thought that was a very nice touch 

Our bags were together and our guide Rachel was waiting for us.  When she saw how many bags we had she called and had a driver, Paolo, come with a van instead of a car.  He was there as we exited and we loaded up and were off.  Rachel was fantastic!  We told her we left it to her to arrange our itinerary and she took us first to the cog railway to visit the Christ the Redeemer statue.  Along the way we saw the permanent stands where the Sambadrome is held during Carnival. I’m not sure we’d want to spend the evening there, but the dancing must be incredible.  When we arrived at the station, we were able to buy our tickets and board within five minutes.  I had read about long lines but we were lucky.

The  Christ the Redeemer statue is one of the 7 modern wonders of the world.  The statue of Christ with outstretched arms is 98 feet tall not including the 26 foot tall pedestal. It is at the top of the 2300 foot tall Corcovado Mountain  and in the middle of a national forest.  The steep ride up goes through lush forests with lots of jackfruit trees and a tree with silvery white leaves which the Brazilians call “It’s not worth anything" trees.  Rachel told us that wasn’t really true though, because the leaves attract lots of insects keeping them away from other vegetation around.  The view from the top was amazing!  Apparently the day before we arrived  Rio had a record hot day but overnight a front had passed through with heavy rain. It cleared the air and got rid of the heat.  We had a 360° view of Rio in lovely cool temperatures.  On one side we could see Sugarloaf.  On another we could see the natural lagoon and hippodrome and beyond them Ipanema Beach.

The Christ the Redeemer Statue

The Lagoon and Ipanema area from Corcovado

Sugarloaf is the distinctive promontory on the left

After having a nice look around, watching a monkey play in a tree near the railway stop and visiting the little chapel at the summit, we headed down.  Next we drove down to the lagoon area where we could see a massive floating Christmas tree being built.  Each year it is built, moved to the middle of the lagoon, and illuminated with 3 million lights.  Rachel said the official lighting ceremony will occur this coming weekend.

Our next stop was the H. Stern headquarters which I wanted to see.  There’s a self-guided tour which passed by craftsmen sorting precious stones, polishing, designing  pieces and doing all the other things that go into creating fine jewelry.  When you exit the tour you must pass through the showrooms.  Smart move on H. Stern’s part, because we succumbed to temptation.  I have a nice memento of Rio and our cruise.

From H. Stern Paolo, an excellent driver by the way, took us to the end of Ipanema Beach near the Sheraton Hotel where there is a wonderful viewpoint.  I asked Rachel about the song “The Girl from Ipanema” and she told us that later we would see the bar where the creators of the song, Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes,   were inspired by a  beautiful 17-year-old girl who used to walk by since she lived nearby. Frank Sinatra heard the Brazilian song and called the two men at the bar where they spent much time.  He was evidently instrumental in having the song popularized in the rest of the world.

That's Ipanema Beach in the background

After seeing Ipanema it was time for lunch.  We asked Rachel to recommend a place that was not totally touristy. She suggested a place near Copacabana Beach called Marius after the owner. It was a brilliant choice.  Aside from one table when we first entered everyone was Brazilian, many of them family groups having lunch.  The place is named for the owner who wandered around and reminded me of an aging hippy.  It’s not a traditional Brazilian steakhouse (churascarria).  They do serve grilled meats and seafood in addition to a buffet, but the place is a feast for the visual senses.  Literally every square inch  is covered with things hanging or affixed to the walls.  Above our heads at the table the 3 of us occupied were snowshoes, boxing gloves, wooden plane propellers, etc, etc.  There were a couple of very large bells (think church bells!!) near the front door and every once in a while (for no apparent reason that we could ascertain) someone would walk over and strike the bell.  The first time it was a little bit of a shock. Even the bathrooms, which were upstairs, were full of stuff.   The floors were pea gravel and the sinks were full of stones.  We started with oysters on the half shell from the buffet and giant prawns and then moved on to empanadas (I’m not sure they call them that in Brazil) and grilled meats.  The waiter would come with a small cutting board and give us slices of different types of beef, pork and lamb.  The maitre d’ took a liking to us and they cooked some Kobe beef and brought it to us.  It was wonderful!   Before we left he came over with two large  chunks of quartzite and presented them to me.  I didn’t see anyone else getting some rocks when they left but I took them and tucked them into a carryon later.

The ceiling above our table at Marius

A wall in the restaurant - we've never seen such an eclectic bunch of stuff

We had to stop back at H. Stern to pick up our purchase so there was no time to stand in line for the cable car up Sugarloaf.  I guess that gives us an excuse to go back to Rio.  On our way back to the store we drove along Copacabana Beach.  It’s much wider than Ipanema and it was interesting to see that various groups have staked out their sections of the beach. The various areas have flags flying representing the groups   Rachel told us that while the beach is crowded at Carnival season, it is most crowded on New Year’s Eve.  On that night 3 million people gather on the beaches!  It’s tradition to wear white that night and to toss flowers into the ocean.  We couldn’t imagine that many people there.

It was getting  close to rush hour so we decided to head to the airport.  Rio  has traffic problems like most metropolitan areas.  They are trying to improve roads and complete a metro system in anticipation of hosting the World Cup of soccer and the Olympics in the next few years.  At the moment Rachel said the efforts are making the traffic worse not better.

Downtown Rio was quite lovely with lots of trees and parks.  The ride to the airport took us past a different side of Rio.  Along the way we passed big industrial areas and could see many favelas which are low-income neighborhoods.  Rachel told us the government is working hard to clean these areas up.  Only recently have the police started patrolling them again. For a long time they were controlled by gangs of various types.  I think they still have a long way to go.

Rachel dropped us at the airport and since we had a while before the check in would begin, she arranged for the porter who took our luggage to park us at some seats and come back to take us and our vast amount of luggage to the counter to check-in.  Watching people in the airport in Rio was just as interesting as in Dulles or any other airport.  We were entertained watching the  clothing and demeanor.  We flew Delta and check-in was fine.  Security is where we hit a snag. There were many security people and not one had anything but a scowl on the face. We had our 3 walking sticks, two taped together.  A very stern man told us something very gruffly in Portuguese.  When we looked at him in confusion he told us that the walking sticks were not permitted.  We’ve never had a problem with walking sticks before and we told him that.  Then he said we could have one.  We said we each needed one.  While the security people were dealing with other people, Al told me to move along and take 2 of the sticks while we had the chance and not argue with them. I was prepared for a debate, but he was right. The upshot was we had to leave the  new Besalu stick behind. At  passport control  the young woman there looked angry  too.  It was unexpected because to that point every Brazilian we’d met was friendly and engaging.  Between now and 2016 the Brazilians need to do some training of their officials on people skills  if they want folks coming to the Olympics to have a positive memory of their trip.

We spent a couple of hours in the only airline lounge open; it serves almost every foreign airline as the others are being remodeled.  It was packed but better than wandering around the gate areas or sitting near the gates.  Our plane was full but the seats were nice lie flat ones and we actually got a little nap on the way to Atlanta.  After a couple of hours layover we were on our way  back to Virginia.  It felt good to be back home.  Al went to pick up Emma and I went to get something for our dinner.  It was cold here at home which was a shock after the weather on the cruise.

Once we've had a chance to unpack and get settled in I'll write about our final impressions.  It was a wonderful trip!