Rolling down to Rio!

5th-6th March, 2023

Apologies, 3 posts in one day!!!

Well, this is, of course one of the most-anticipated destinations of the trip and it got off to an early start as the Captain had advised us that we would be passing Copacabana, Sugarloaf Mountain and other sights around sunrise, so I was on deck in the relative gloom around 5.45 in eager anticipation. We were not disappointed though Copacabana Beach itself was some distance away and the light was still a bit murky. The sun rose wonderfully and threw its light over the whole of Rio, which is, of course, incredibly scenic. A small flavour from the many, many photos I took…

Val and I had signed up for a tour via the ship called The Best of Rio, which included the three main sights and lunch. Of course the former include Christ the Redeemer, Copacabana Beach and Sugarloaf Mountain. This meant a fairly early start (for us), but we were ready in good time and headed off in our coach to our first stop, Christ the Redeemer.

As it was a Sunday, the traffic was quite light, so we made good time. The city is another rather scruffy one and certainly not as grand and imposing as Buenos Aires. As seems to be the case in much of South America, the graffiti is everywhere.

To get to the top of the 710 metre high hill (mountain?) called Corcovado (which means ‘hunchback) on which Christ the Redeemer stands, you have to get a train that takes about 20 minutes to get to the top. There are then some nifty and escalators to get you to the top as well so that you can join the throngs of other viewers enjoying the stunning views and standing with arms outstretched to have their photos taken by their mates lying on their backs on the ground!. It is an impressive statue and is some 38 metres high and weighs 1,145 tons and was completed in 1931, I believe. Our view was a little obscured by rather misty conditions, which mean the photos below are not as sharp as I would have liked, but it was still an unforgettable experience.

The bridge in the above photo crosses the huge bay that makes Rio de Janeiro such a natural harbour with one relatively narrow entrance. By the way, Rio de Janeiro means January River as it was discovered in January, 1502 and they thought it was a river. The whole scene reminded us of Sydney, though obviously the mountains add that extra touch.

Next stop was Copacabana Beach – 4 kilometres long and packed with people as it was Sunday. Different ‘Porto’s ’ or the lifeguards huts attract different followers be they families, the beautiful crowd or members of Rio’s gay community. Apparently you have to be careful as gangs have been known to rampage down the beach grabbing whatever they can lay their hands on. Locals therefore put their belongings in a plastic bag and bury it in the sand and then put their towel over it.

We only had about 5 minutes to walk down to the water’s edge and take some photos. I have to admit that I not only felt totally overdressed but also extremely white!!

It was now time for lunch which was a serious affair and not one recommended for vegetarians! The system in the restaurant we went to was that each place had a card like a coaster with a green side and a red one. If you wanted the food to keep coming you kept your card green side up. And boy, it kept coming!! It is all barbecued (and there was a vegetarian option), but they might first appear with a skewer with some chicken on it, then one with a sausage, then someone is slicing beef or pork, someone is helping you to Caesar Salad, chips, cheese bread, potato salad, roasted vegetables, ribs, more beer. It seemed impolite to refuse!! Just had room for ice cream and then we all staggered out to look at the view before our next stop.

It was then off to the cable car that gets you to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain or Pao de Acucar in two legs. First leg is 575 metres long and takes you to Urca Hill at 220 metres above sea level and then it was on to the top (396 metres) via the 750 metres of cable car ride and more stunning views, not least of Copacabana and Christ the Redeemer.

It was now time to head back to the ship, which after that lunch I think we all were relieved to hear. We were fairly exhausted after our 8 hour outing and nearly got caught in a terrific tropical downpour. We skipped supper, but did take in the cultural show of samba band and dancing that was performed on the ship by one of the carnival groups. It was both vibrantly noisy with pulsating rhythms and decidedly jaw-dropping in the dancing which was mostly performed by some ladies with elaborate but skimpy outfits. It was certainly a display of great body control especially, shall we say, the bottom half (I use the word ‘bottom’ advisedly) and all the more impressive in the high heels. Video footage is available on demand!

It was then off to bed! The next day we did not have anything particularly planned, so we set off a bit later with the aim of getting to a shopping centre as Val needed a few items. We did initially explore what it might cost in a taxi, but that seemed to be on the high side, especially when we discovered that anyone (including tourists) over 65 can travel for free on the tram, metro and buses. We therefore dug out our copies of our passports and waved them about on the tram and the metro and after a bit of a walk, we arrived at a very nice, very standard shopping centre (and we managed to get Val’s bits!).

Our visit to Rio was not over quite yet, however as we set off on the evening of our second day and cruised past all the main sights with the lights of Rio glittering in the distance.

A good visit and it certainly is an impressive city. Obviously there is more to explore, though I do feel we covered a lot of the most important sights. It would probably be good to stay for a few days to get a better feel for the city, but two days was still a great experience.

Next stop Salvador.