February 26 - Rio de Janeiro

I’ve been on the ship for a month now and I’m on the downward side of my voyage.  It’s hard to believe because the time has flown by. I’ve seen so many wonderful things and met so many lovely and interesting people both on land and sea. I can’t help but think how fortunate I am.

Before I tell about today I have to mention last night.  We had a beautiful sunset followed by huge lightning storms all around us. I dined outside with friends and we had a fantastic light show. Unfortunately none of us had a camera handy and we probably wouldn't have caught the bolts so you'll have to take my word for it.

At least you can see the sunset

This morning early we arrived in Rio de Janeiro where we’ll be docked overnight, not departing until tomorrow night.  There’s a special event ashore tonight for all the Miami-to-Miami people so the ship is empty.  In some ways that’s good because it gives me a chance to recharge after a lot of late nights and a long, hot tour today.

First let me tell you a little about Rio. The first Europeans to encounter this place were Portuguese who arrived here on January 1, 1502. Guanabara Bay on which Rio is situated is large and the Portuguese didn’t go far enough inland to realize it was a bay, not a river.  Hence, they named the place Rio de Janeiro, literally River of January.    The city wasn’t founded until 1565 when the Portuguese expelled some French who had settled on one of the 130 plus islands in the bay.  Over the ensuing centuries Rio has been the capital of  Portugal for a short period of time when the Portuguese monarchy fled Lisbon during the Napoleonic wars, the capital of the Empire of Brazil, and the capital of the independent country Brazil until the capital was moved to the newly created city of Brasilia in 1960.  Now Rio is the second largest city in Brazil with a population of more than 6.5 million.

Today I took an all-day tour to see the “Best of Rio.”  The first thing I have to say about the day is that it was hot, hot, hot! It actually made yesterday at São Sebastião seem not so bad.  The tour departed at 8:30 and we headed from the port to our first stop, the Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado Mountain.  On our way we passed the Sambadrome, a permanent edifice which is where the big Carnival parades take place.  I have to say something about Carnival in Rio.  I think most people have heard of it because this city probably outdoes every other one in the world, including New Orleans.  I always thought Carnival ended on Shrove Tuesday, the day before the beginning of Lent.  Not so here in Rio.  The partying evidently continues and last night before we arrived here there was the parade of the champions of the Samba  competitions and their floats and groups.  These Brazilians take their pre-Lenten celebrations and Samba very seriously.

Enough about that.  The Christ the Redeemer statue is one of the two most well-known landmarks of Rio.  It's also one of the seven modern wonders of the world.  It sits on top of Corcovado, a 2,300 foot mountain which is visible from all over the city.  The statue is a nearly 100 foot tall figure of Christ with outstretched arms which reach out approximately 90 feet.  The statue was built between 1922 and 1931 out of reinforced concrete and soapstone. There’s a small chapel in the base of the 26 foot tall pedestal.  To reach the summit we took a funicular and then two escalators.  The statue is impressive and the views of the city below are stunning. Today was a sunny day with a little haze which was too bad.  The first time I came here there had been a big storm the night before and that day was one of those crisp clear days we have at home after a front has passed through.  Nonetheless, I enjoyed seeing it again.

This and the next ones are views from Corcovado

Sugarloaf Mountain

We rode down and boarded our bus and took a drive through the city.  We passed the lagoon which we could see from the mountain. It’s connected to the ocean and evidently there are rowing and canoe events held there. I remember on my last visit being told the water is very polluted, but our guide today told me that a major effort has been made to clean it up.  Before Christmas a giant Christmas tree is built on a platform in the lagoon and it’s one of the major attractions during that holiday season.

Our ride continued along the waterfront and we passed the famous Ipanema and Copacabana beaches.  It is Sunday and the end of Carnival so both were packed.  I saw something I thought was interesting that I couldn’t get a picture of along the way.  All along the way there were paths across the sand leading from the sidewalk to the area where umbrellas were set up. The paths were being kept wet so that people could access the beach without walking across the burning sand along the way. The street along the waterfront is a forest of high-rise apartment and condo buildings with some hotels in between, including the grand dame, the Copacabana Palace. Eduardo, our guide, asked if we wanted to stop and take any pictures, but there were no takers. It was just too hot.

Not the best picture of the beach but if you look you can see the sea of umbrellas

I told you Christ the Redeemer was visible from everywhere and here it is from the restaurant at which we ate

We went next for lunch at Assador, a restaurant on the water by Flamengo beach, another of Rio’s beaches.  It was one of those places that brings various kinds of meat out on big skewers and slices off pieces for you.  We had a bunch of side dishes; a few were things I didn’t recognize.  It was a chaotic place with lots of Sunday locals dining and men with skewers wandering around with no apparent pattern of going to every table.  The food was pretty good, not great, but none of us could complain about coming away hungry.

A little showmanship. The waiter stood on a chair and poured liqueur into these glasses from several feet above them without spilling a drop. 

Our final stop was Sugarloaf Mountain, the other iconic sight everyone thinks of when they hear the name Rio.  The mountain, which is about 1300 feet tall, was named by the Portuguese because its shape reminded them of the cone shaped molds that sugar was put in to be shipped from Brazil back to Europe. We left our bus and walked to the first of two cable car stations to reach the summit. The ride is not for people afraid of heights unless you just don’t look down.  The cars have no seats so we stood and if ever there was an opportunity to catch something, this was it. We were packed in like sardines.  The views from both the midway point on Morro da Urca mountain and Sugarloaf are good but I like the view from Corcovado better myself. It’s still something every visitor here should do, preferably when it isn’t nearly 100°. All of us were feeling roasted and we were truly happy when it was time to descend and get back on the bus to return to our nice air-conditioned ship.

The top of Sugarloaf from the halfway point on Morro da Urca

The yellow building is an old Portuguese fortress (there were five but only two remain) built to protect the city from the sea

Guanabara Bay from Sugarloaf

I’ve rambled on enough for today but I wanted to paint a picture of this place.  I have another day here tomorrow with no organized things planned. For now then,  boa noite.