Rio & Carnaval


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Published: March 9th 2014
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Sunday – Mar. 2/14, Rio de Janeiro – Distance sailed to this point 5,844 nm – Temperature 24°C-75°F – Cloudy and rain – possibility of thunder storms]



Portuguese explorers led by Amerigo Vesppucci reached Rio de Janeiro –(River of January) in January 1501. The expedition thought that the Bay of Guanabara was actually the mouth of a river, hence the name Rio de Janeiro meaning “January River”.



The current city of 6-7 million is best known for its celebration of Carnaval, the white sand beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, Sugarloaf Mountain and the statue of Christ the Redeemer. It is also know for its ever-spreading areas of poverty & crime, within the favelas. The government is trying to cleanse these areas and move the people out. There are reports that they are using the Brazilian army to do it forcefully.



The city is also in the throes of a massive refurbishing of its infrastructure as a lead up to the FIFA World Cup this year and the 2016 Olympics. Roads and streets are being torn up and rebuilt with new services. However all that reconstruction means that there is constant gridlock throughout the city. Adding to the chaos was that fact that Carnaval has taken over the city and everybody is in party mode. Street parties take place all over the city and near the Sambodromo the streets are blocked with the Samba schools assembling and preparing for their opportunity to perform.



The Captain in his early evening address to the passengers before our arrival noted that the sail into Rio is one of the most spectacular to be experienced and suggested that we get up early to watch it – so we did at 5:00 am. However the weather didn’t fully cooperate as it was overcast with fog, and a light rain started falling thereby obscuring our view.



Since we were scheduled to go to the Sambodromo later that evening Brooke and I opted to take the day off and rest. Originally we were told that the Sambodromo tickets were for a 6-hour production, 9 pm. to 3 am. but that was later changed to 12 hours. Needless to say we thought rest to be the best option.



We had an early dinner as we were expected to leave the ship at 6:00 pm. Our dining companions Donna and Fran joined us on this excursion.



The Sambodromo was originally built in 1984 and is currently undergoing some renovations and expansion in anticipation of its use in the 2016 Olympics. The ½ mile parade route, although I still think it is much longer than that, is flanked by fixed seating for 75,000 to 90,000 spectators.



Over the two nights of the Carnaval production 12 Samba Schools , 6 each night, have 85-90 minutes to complete their dance routines and exit the route. The Samba schools can have as many as 5,000 individuals taking part in the parade and most schools are accompanied by at least four extremely large and colourful floats, adorned with dancers. The Samba Schools are required to have all age groups represented in their troupes and most include individuals in wheelchairs. Ticket prices range from 10 Reais to 500 Reais . The one section with fixed seating and guards costs more.



Even though our departure from the ship was delayed by an hour and a half, as the busses could not get through easily due to the gridlock on the streets, we still made it in time to see the first performance. We were taken to a reserved section of the grandstands right across from the judges’ box, so that we had a great view of the performances.



Stationed along the route were a series of countdown clocks and precisely at 9:00 pm a display of fireworks signaled the start of the evening’s performances and that the first School had entered into the Sambodromo.



Each school chooses its own theme and music to dance to. Through the next 85-90 minutes we listened to the same song constantly repeated as the dancers paraded through.



Each section of the school is led down the route by a single girl dancer, wearing a large feather headdress, 3 to 5 inch heels, and to say the least, in most cases, the skimpiest of costumes. We were warned that “mild” nudity was to be expected during the performance, and it certainly was there!



Once the Samba School had exited the route municipal street cleaners followed along and swept up any debris that may have fallen off of the performers or the floats.



We were able to see three schools perform and stayed until 2:00 am. The tour company we were with provided buses back to the ship at that time. A few stalwart individuals opted to stay the course and came back at 6:00 am.



On our return we went to the Lido for a late night snack of pizza and on returning to our room we found a steward delivering the cookies and milk that we had pre-ordered earlier.



Then it was into bed.



Monday – Mar. 3/14, Rio de Janeiro



We took the day off for a full day of rest after Samba school show from the previous evening/early morning. We also slept in as it was about 3:30 am. when we had got to bed.



The daily “Today on Location” provided a historical account of Carnaval.



The roots go back to the ancient Greeks and Romans who celebrated the rites of spring. Theses celebrations were continued throughout history in Europe and eventually made their way over to the New World.



In the 1850’s the Portuguese brought the concept of “celebration of carnival” to Rio. At that time it consisted of holding balls and masquerade parties. However it mutated and became something entirely different.



The celebrations took on the unique characteristics derived from the African and Amerindian cultures of the area. It was not unusual to have the upper class dress up as commoners, men cross-dress as women and the poor dress up as princes and princesses – social roles and class distinctions were set aside once a year but only for the duration of the festival.



The ship arranged to take on a small Samba group to do a performance for us this evening and the troupe will stay onboard for the next few days giving dance lessons and leading Latin Dance Aerobic classes.



Tuesday – Mar. 4/14, Rio de Janeiro



Today we took a 5-hour tour of the “Beaches of Rio & Sugar-Loaf Mountain”. In fact we actually lucked out in the weather department. Other tours who had gone out earlier on the first or second day in port and had taken this trip or the trip to the top of Christ the Redeemer had been disappointed by the fact that there was fog/cloudy weather and that Carnaval was treated as holiday time for the Brazilians so that many of the venues were very crowded.



Our trip started with a drive through the city to the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana. We actually had a stop at the Ipanema beach for a photo opportunity, but at Copacabana we only did a drive by. The two beaches are separated by a small spit of land that is occupied by a fort.



While we were at Ipanema beach we had the opportunity to watch a helicopter rescue team go through a practice drill. Three divers/swimmers jumped out of the helicopter into the bay and swam ashore. They then climbed a pier nearby where the helicopter hovered low enough for the team to climbed back into the helicopter and repeated the exercise one more time.



After our drive-by of Copacabana we were taken to the base of Sugar Loaf. We had to wait for the tour guide to fetch our tickets so we took the opportunity to visit the little beach close by. While standing under a palm I spotted a parakeet nest in a cluster of leaves near the top and the head of an adult was poking out.



The ride up to the top of Sugar Loaf is accomplished in two stages. First you go from sea level to Morro da Ulrca where you get off the first set of cars and go around to catch the next car up to the top of Pao da Açucar. The cars are large enough to carry around 30 people per trip. The views from the top of Sugar Loaf of the city, the harbour, the beaches and the Atlantic were all spectacular. Even the statue of Christ the Redeemer was clearly visible today and we got plenty of good photographs.



The tour ended back at the ship where we spent the afternoon reading until 4:15 when we had another mandatory lifeboat drill. Periodically the cruise company requires that the drill be held, especially when new guests come aboard; in our case 300 new passengers boarded in Rio. The company reserves the right to refuse passage to anyone who does not participate in the exercise.



Many of us went topside to watch our sail away from Rio. We were not disappointed since the day was bright and clear. Those landmarks and sights that had been hidden from us on our arrival due to the overcast weather conditions three days ago now revealed themselves.


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