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Published: June 13th 2017
Geo: -22.9035, -43.2096
Day 13 -- November 3
Tall and tan.
And young and lovely.
The girl from Ipanema goes walking.
And when she passes
Each one she passes goes 'Ahhhh.'
-- Antonio Carlos Jobim
Today we headed to our third and last country: Brazil. And the jet set city of Rio and its famous Ipanema Beach. The airport is the Tom Jobim International Airport, named after the musician who put Bossa Nova on the map.
We departed the Sheraton early because we had to clear Argentinean then Brazilian customs and still tour the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls before the crowds arrived.
Customs was easy. We sat on the bus while the ground supplier took our passports in and got us cleared. Between the two customs stops, while we were in no man's land, we crossed the Parana River and on the left we could see Paraguay.
After we crossed into Brazil, there was a stop at a very nice store. Restrooms and shopping were in order. Many folks bought things -- the quality was quite good and the selection was appealing. Those interested in tee shirts got very high quality shirts with embroidered logos from some of Brazil's famous football teams.
Other purchases included
multicolored lace table linens and beautiful stone table top items like steak knives. And I got a 40th wedding anniversary present ... a pendant with six stones set in a rainbow fashion. The stones are six of the most popular of South America: blue topaz, peridot, two colors of citrine, garnet and amethyst. It's similar to what we saw at H Stern in BA and will always remind me of our South American excursion. Thank you, sweetie; it's gorgeous.
We returned to the national park to see the panorama of waterfalls from the Brazil side ... a little like seeing the Grand Canyon from both the north and south rims -- maybe not necessary but nice to have. We had lunch at the national park restaurant -- a tasty buffet with some tempting choices, including our first introduction to Brazil's famous black bean soup.
A little more about the fauna: in the park surrounding the Falls, there is an abundance of coati (not unlike our raccoons) and aguti (cute rodents resembling small guinea pigs). There are also toucans (beautiful tropical birds with brilliant orange beaks) that I was finally able to photograph this morning.
Elsewhere in Brazil are jaguar, puma
and ocelot. Piranha. Poisonous snakes. Monkeys. The world's biggest rodent called capybara, which produces a washable leather. And more than 400 birds outside the Amazon region.
There are 200 million people in Brazil. A larger percentage of women than any other South American nation. And a higher percentage of people of color. It's the largest community of Japanese outside Japan.
Its main exports are beef, soybeans, corn and marijuana. There is a famous palm tree which produces hearts of palm ... about 3 pounds after 10-15 years. And then it dies out. Amazing hearts of palm aren't priced like caviar.
Brazil is famous for its sports: football (soccer), of course. Pele and all. They just hosted the 2014 World Cup. And will host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. They are also known for auto racing. According to Murray, they practice everyday on their own streets!
On the downside, Rio is infamous for its favelas, shanty towns formerly run by drug lords, now with a heavy police presence and an infusion of government money. They now refer to them as communities.
And while Argentina is famous for its tango -- intense and passionate, Brazil is known for its samba -- happy and upbeat.
Enough about history and culture. It was time to head to the airport to fly TAM airlines to Rio. Our luggage was checked as a group and we were told we were limited to 10 pounds per person carry-on. So we had rearranged things and checked an additional bag; we are now up to four checked bags and one carry-on each.
When we went through security, lo and behold! I was stopped for attempting to smuggle six steak knives on board. My bad. I was told I could trash them (sort of like cuticle scissors in the USA) or go back to the lobby and put them in my checked luggage. However, our checked luggage was long gone having been shipped ahead from the hotel. Then Patrick suggested I check one of our 2 carry-ons. I went back through security to check an additional bag ... and in my best Portuguese, I did it!
Our TAM (part of the One World system) flight was delayed two hours so we had a lot of downtime. Finally we arrived Rio after dark, so we got to enjoy the city lights, Christ the Redeemer statue illuminated HIGH on the hill and the lights of Ipanema
Beach when we reached our hotel rooms.
We dined atop the Caesar Park, our hotel for the next three nights, with a magnificent view of Ipanema. Dinner was scrumptious and we all retired exhausted but happy.
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Andi Hall
non-member comment
Do you believe in synchronicity? As I'm reading your blog, I'm watching a girl on The Voice singing "The Girl From Ipanema". How crazy is that? I want to be in Rio too, but will have to settle for admiring your ring upon your return.