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Published: March 4th 2012
CHRISTO REDENTOR
Atop magnificent CorcovadoJust the name evokes so many images. From Sugarloaf Mountain, to the huge statue on Corcovado, the sexy Samba, wild Carnaval parades and of course, the Girl from Ipanema. Rio will bewitch all newcomers. Its nickname is Cidade Maravilhosa and for good reason. The cruise into this Marvelous City lives up to all the hype as one of the most beautiful harbors in the world. We got up just as the sun was peeking over the horizon to make sure we didn’t miss any part of the sail-in. We were certainly lucky with the weather as it was a clear, balmy day. The next morning the ships were not as fortunate as they had to sit outside the port for four hours due to dense fog.
Happily we went on a Cruise Specialists private van tour with Sandra and Hank. Celeste was our tour guide and she knew all the ins and outs of this famous city. We went for a ride through the National Park Tijuca which is the largest urban forest in the world. Rising out of the forest at 2395 feet, it is the highest mountain in Rio. Corcovado is home to Christ the Redeemer Statue who
“lords” over the beautiful city below. Celeste took us past the huge throngs of tourists waiting for space on the cog railroad which takes visitors up the mountain. We instead went to a helicopter landing pad which provided us a lovely view of Corcovado without the crowds. From this vantage point we could see the beaches, the favelas (slums) and the cable cars going up to Sugarloaf.
We visited the celebrated beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. They are conveniently arranged for every taste—one beach is for families, one for gays, one for the hip crowd and one for volleyball. The bikini may have first appeared in France but it has found its home on the beaches of Rio. We watched the hang gliders and sports parachutes launching off of the surrounding cliffs and ending on the beaches.We have definitely gone from the Tango to the Samba. Music is everywhere. It is more difficult to go from Spanish to Portuguese. We were really brushing up on our Spanish before this trip and it was quite useful. But our Portuguese vocabulary is nada! We got to see some of the Carnaval floats before they were disassembled. The city was still packed
with visitors recovering from the biggest party of the year.
Rio is in the throes of a massive facelift in preparation for the 2014 World Cup of Soccer and more importantly for the 2016 Olympics. Even though they are the Summer Olympics they will take place in August---which is winter in Rio. There is much work to be done but the Cariocas (residents of Rio) are determined to meet the deadline. The entire waterfront is being redone and many new venues are being built.As beautiful as Rio is, it has enormous social problems compounded by a high crime rate. The slums which cover the hillsides are drug havens with no sanitation, roads or medical facilities. With Brazil’s increasing economic power there should be some changes in store for Brazilians. There is a great picture on the cover of The Economist which shows Christ the Redeemer lifting off of Corcovado like a space rocket. This is denoting the surging prosperity of Brazil. Hopefully the country will be able to get a handle on its corruption and crime and improve the living conditions for all of its citizens. We didn’t hear of any problems encountered by our passengers. Maybe all of
ILHA FISCAL
Beautiful neo-gothic palace in Rio Bay the warnings paid off.
Brazil is noted for its precious stones .Many passengers accepted the offers of the jewelry salespeople for a free tour of the city ending up at Stern’s showroom. Personnel from several jewelry companies usually book cabins on board cruise ships and socialize with the passengers to drum up business. As we left Rio we saw lots of new emerald necklaces and topaz rings and diamond earrings adorning the guests.
We had an outdoor Cruise Specialists sail-away party on a perfect Rio evening. Many new guests boarded that day and we wanted them to meet our “rounders” and to see the city from its best vantage point--the water.The granite monoliths reflected the setting sun and the beaches sparkled as we cruised past. We toasted Rio and wished it well in it preparations for their big upcoming events.
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Jeff Cartwright
non-member comment
Where do I apply?
I really think it is high-time that you guys hired a personal assistant. My resume is on its way! Looks like you are having a great time! :-)