Rio tours

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Geo: -22.9496, -43.1562

Saturday was a windy, overcast day. Not good for visiting Rio's celebrated Christ the Redeemer statue or the Sugarloaf Mtn cable car. Unfortunately these are the centrepieces of our two half day tours this weekend. So we delayed our Sugarloaf visit with city sightseeing and went up when there seemed to be a break in the weather. Fail. Ah well, we had some glimpses of the views.

On Sat afternoon we went for a long walk along Copacabana Beach and enjoyed a caipirinhas (a signature Rio cocktail - very alcoholic) in a tiny salsa bar with a squeezed-in three piece band.

Sunday we visited the Christ statue and drove along many of the southern beaches, finishing at the Ipanema markets. In the evening we had a lovely dinner with friends.

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Photos

Carnivale Stadium
This 800m concourse is where Rio's annual Carnivale is held each February. For two days six different salsa clubs, each having about 4,000 participants, slowly parade along it. Each club chooses a different parade theme and they occupy the concourse for about 75 minutes. Members of the public can buy a costume from a club, and this entitles them to join the parade with the club members.

Still enjoying dress-ups?
Surprisingly heavy, Robyn says.

Portuguese Monastery
With foundations dating back to 1590, this is one of the oldest structures in Rio de Janeiro. It's a working monastery that still accommodates 45 monks. Amazingly ornate.

Sugar Loaf Mtn
Commanding the entrance to Rio's Guanabara Bay, Sugar Loaf Mtn and its cable car system sits with Christ the Redeemer as the premier attractions of Rio.
The yellow car is from the original 1912 system. It was replaced in the 1970s by the innovative car behind. There has been another upgrade in recent times.

Copacabana Beach
On Sat avo there was a number of ball games being played on the 4km long beach, as well as cafes, street vendors, etc. We watched some terrific goals scored in what looked like a full-side soccer match. The strip looks a little run down now and many of the buildings' facades need a facelift. On Sundays one half of the road is closed for pedestrians (as shown) and exercising, dog walking and moving salsa bands with street dancing is the go. In the Rolling Stones free concert in Feb 06 a bridge was built from their hotel to the beach stage.

Copacabana Favela
This shanty town is situated on the hillside behind Copacabana Beach. Facing beach side on the hotel's rooftop pool and bar shows the beach view in the previous photo. Turn to face inland and see this. Pity it was overcast - the afternoon sun would have lit this hillside perfectly for the photo. Many of these favelas do not have sanitation and it is their run-off that is causing the controversial pollution in the bay and the lagoon.

Christ the Redeemer
Unfortunately the weather stayed cloudy/overcast all weekend. This mountain is 780m above the city and tourists access it by a train that leaves from an unremarkable station in Corcovado, on the edge of the city. The train line was built in the 1880s and the 28m art-deco style statue was completed in 1931.

Ipanema's Sunday Markets
The Hippie Market behind Ipanema Beach is a popular place to sample traditional foods and for vendors to offer their handicrafts. We're not exactly sure what we ate but it was mostly tasty and a fried dish based on tapioca and condensed milk was the best. Not so sure about the small unshelled prawns in a sort of pie, though.

Ewen and Robyn Thomson
Our friends from Army days have spent a lot of years in S. America, building resorts (or "pubs" according to Lowie) for the Hyatt family and their offshoot companies. On Sun they took us out to a Brazilian Steakhouse (Churrascaria) where 18 different cuts of meat (mainly beef, plus pork, lamb and chicken) are BBQ'd on large metal skewers and brought to the table and sliced for the diners. The churrasco is based on Gaucho traditions. It was a great meal, accompanied by excellent caipirinhas cocktails and wines, and terrific to see the Thommos again!

Comments

[Kerrie Lonn]

Not quite the costume Cailtin wore in Carnevale- more feathers and less material is required Robyn. But I guess it was overcast.

[Lowie]

Great that you could catch up with Thommo and Robyn.