Blogs from Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America - page 4

Ons het natuurlik eers laat opgestaan, en toe strand toe gesuiker. Tot ons verbasing was daar nerens souvenirs te koop nie. Ons het toe 'n bus gevat na Copacabana. En weereens was dit hond warm gewees. Ons huur toe vir ons so trapfiets karretjie, en ry by Copacabana op en af. Toe besef ons hoe ver het ons die vorige aand gestap! Na 'n vinnige dip is ons weer toe terug Leblon strand toe, en lekker coconut water uit coconuts gedrink. By die strand verhuur hulle klein opblaas swembadjies wat mens kan vol maak met water wat hulle uit die see uit pomp. Die strand skat ek, was seker so besig soos Durban op nuwe jaar! Behalwe daar't geen hotnots agter gebly nie. Ons het die aand gaan pizza eet. In die hele Suid Amerika mag ... read more

Ons het die volgende oggend eers 9:30 ontwaak! Ons het toe reggemaak en weer in een van daai vreesaanjaende busse geklim oppad na Sugarloaf Mountain. Dit was hond warm, en die tou was weer elle lank om op te gaan. Maar eers het ons 'n plek gesoek om geld te ruil...wat 'n mission. 'N paar kilometer weer gestap,staan ons weer in die ry, almal het sulke blou sambreeltjies gekoop by 'n straat smous daar, net om die bloedige son bietjie te ontsnap. Slegs 'n uur later, was dit ons beurt om op te gaan! Dit was vrek besig gewees. Mens het eers met 'n kabelkar tot op die eerste berg gegaan, en toe met nog 'n kabelkar tot op Sugarloaf Mountain. Die uitsig van Sugarloaf Mountain was ongelooflik mooi, mens kon die hele Copacabana van daar ... read more

Samba in the street, bala preta. Lapa street party. Gay clubs in Copacabana. I danced until my feet fell off. Always surrounded by friendly Brazilians. One said "You are so-o happy, it's contagious." Saw the sites, swam in the Atlantic. Watched helicopter rescue stranded swimmers. More later.... read more

Ons het vroeg in Rio geland en was net na 7 by die guesthouse. Die vrou, Fatima, het vir ons 'n spaarkamer gegee waar ons 'n bietjie kon slaap voor. Ons het so teen 11:00 na Christ the Redeemer toe gery met die bus. Die bus drywers ry soos maniacs! Jy moet vas hou vir al wat jy werd is. By Christ the Redeemer het ons in 'n moerse lang ry gegestaan. Na 'n uur in die ry, kom ons toe voor net om te hoor dat die volgende beskikbare trein na bo eers 19:00 is. Dit was toe eers 13:00!!! Ons het toe maar kaartjies gekoop en iets gesoek om die tyd te verdryf. Ons het by so local cafe 'n bier gaan drink en iets gekry om te eet. As ek se iets, bedoel ... read more

I arrived in Brazil to record heat. At 10am I saw a bank thermometer read 39°C, 10 minutes later it read 41' followed by 43. Apparently it got up to 45°C. That's 113 °F for non metric folks. All I could do was cool off in the Atlantic ocean. Which was the same idea the tranny I was walking with had. She had to have been burning up under that weave. She was close to the sun too, about 6'6". She wasbwearing short shorts and some kind of anime style shirt. Sorry, I didn't get a pic. Later, after things cooled down to the 90s, I found myself watching the sunset on Ipanema. I wasn't trying to get there but there are worse places to wander into. The beach was steamy! Finally made it to the ... read more

Friday is a day to relax and recuperate. Violet and I make a systematic tour of the ship. Its layout is typical of cruise ships, with dining rooms at the stern, entertainment areas at the bow, and numerous bars sprinkled throughout. Highlights include a nice library with a coffee bar, a nice bar called the Crow's Nest on the 12th storey with a panoramic view of where we're heading, and ancient artifacts and art objects displayed throughout the ship. The ship sails at 2:00 pm. In the Crow's Nest there is a wine and cheese send-off with a live band called the HalCats (excellent musicians, but so young). Later we participate in a team trivia game and attend a presentation on Antarctica. Did you know that, even counting passengers on cruise ships, only around 300,000 individuals ... read more

We awake much refreshed after a great sleep. We meet our friends downstairs and arrange at the hospitality desk for a tour of the city with an English-speaking driver. As our transfer to the ship is scheduled for 4:20 pm, we opt for a 5-hour tour focusing on the city's main highlights. We then enjoy a buffet breakfast in the hotel. After freshening up, we connect with our driver, Lucio, at 10:30. The traffic is horrendous; getting anywhere in this city by car requires patience. Our first stop is the iconic statue Christ the Redeemer. Lucio points out some sites along the way and we learn a bit about him. He is retired from a career in "commerce", has two grown and married children and some grandchildren. Rio has quite a diversity of architecture; the French, ... read more

After some 10 hours in the air, we land in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We wait for what seems an eternity, but our bags still haven't appeared on the baggage carousel. Oh, there they are on a different carousel. Joy! Now we have a new challenge. The UA agent had booked a flight for us from Sao Paulo to Rio on a local carrier. The code for the airline is JJ, but we don't know what it stands for or where to go. And, of course, all the signage is in Portuguese. After clearing customs, we eventually find a line for "correspondicao" and wait in it, but progress is glacial and we are worried that time will run out. Claudette finds someone who speaks English and is told that we are in fact in the wrong line. ... read more