Rio de Janeiro

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Sept 9 - 11

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Following our 10 hour flight from Madrid we arrived in the early evening in Rio de Janeiro to an early bedtime to try to catch up on the jet-lag.

Tuesday morning we awoke to a cloudy, drizzly day in “Sunny Brazil”. Not a good day to visit the “ Christ The Redeemer” statue on a nearby mountain top and the top of the famous “ Sugarloaf Mountain” for the views of Rio and the beaches. Today all completely fogged in. Our local guide did his best to make our tour interesting despite the lousy weather.
This evening we enjoyed dinner and the show at a very interesting place called
“ Platforma” that features a Brazilian style BBQ and a Las Vegas type dance show. Nice place and a relaxing evening.

Wednesday we awoke to a beautiful sunny day. What a difference a day makes !!
We took a tour by bus to the west of Rio and a nice day on a small ship cruising some small beaches and around a large island off the coast. Nice day with a few cervezas, caipirinha ( local drink with cachaca rum, sugar and lime) and a beautiful day on the sea.
There are some beautiful views with the nearby mountains on the coast.

Thursday we took a local “4X4” tour with a climb up a nearby mountain for some spectacular views of Rio and the famous Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches and a visit to a local rain forest preserve and a botanical garden. This was a very good day with more spectacular weather. Finished the day with a short walk on Copocabana Beach and some relaxing at our ocean front hotel.

It’s not hard to see why Copacabana and Ipanema beaches get so much press. They are spectacular !! Both in the heart of the city, each one is a few kilometers long, very wide and beautiful fine sand.
There are also many other beaches in Rio City and many more along the Rio de Janeiro State coast. This is a very nice place to visit with lots to do and see, great accommodation and lots of very good restaurants.

We'll be back someday !!

Off tomorrow to the East of Rio to Buzios for some beach fun and local tours.

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