Blogs from Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

My room doesn't have air-conditioning but even during the day it doesn't get too hot - must be to do with the altitude or the fact that it's in the basement. The only thing that was worrying me as I set off for the National Park was whether I had enough cash. Decided that about £17 worth of Reais was probably OK, given that absolutely everywhere accepts credit cards and I knew the bus fares and the park entrance fee were unlikey to be much. Stopped off at a café and only after pointing to some sort of very large biscuit, which I had with an espresso, did it occur to me that I would have been better off with a sandwich with some sort of protein. Established that I was at the right bus stop ... read more

PETROPOLIS, THE IMPERIAL MUSEUM, AND CRYSTAL PALACE--Saturday, December 21, 2013 This morning we walked down the street to the next door hotel to wait for the van for the tour to Petropolis. I don't know about your education, but Valerie and I had never learned that Brazil had been ruled by a monarchy that set up Rio de Janeiro as their capitol. This came about when on 27 November 1807, one day prior to Napoleon's invasion of Portugal. On that day, the Prince-Regent, Queen and the entire Royal Family, accompanied by many rich merchants, the administration, judges and servants, (approximately 10,000 people) fled in fifteen ships that were escorted to Brazil by English ships. The Empire of Brazil was proclaimed and they built a palace and government buildings in Rio. In the 1830's, the emperor's son, ... read more

As it had clouded over in Paraty we decided to leave the coast behind for a few days. To do so we had to travel first to Rio de Janeiro, but only to the bus station, the city will have to wait. The coastal road was magnificent, even in the dull lighting provided by the leaden skies. The road takes you past the two nuclear power plants and even on a day like this, the coastal waters seem an eerie incandescent turquoise. Or maybe we just imagined that!! We changed buses at Rio (surprisingly easy) and headed to Petropolis in the mountains to the North. On the way out we caught our first glimpse of the famous statue of Christ overlooking the city, but soon we disappeared into the mist, then the fog, then the low ... read more