Rio de Janeiro, Day 1

Day 43, Sunday, February 17

Noon: 22 degrees 53.66'S and 043 degrees 12.13'W. Total distance 11,176nm.

The weather cooperated and we started with haze which burned off and by the time we were parallel to the city's southern extremes the sun was up and the view becoming sharper. We followed another cruise ship into the harbor area, past the Brazilian Navy and into the port. Not a pleasant surprise (for the bridge knew about this) there were 4 other cruise ships in port; all larger than the Princendam and we had been bumped from our berth. So, we turned around and backed into the freighter port and tied up way the hell and gone from the terminal, with two freighters ahead of us and a bumpy bus ride just to get to the gate. Not a fault of this line but a nasty jab by the port authority. Who pocketed the bribe on this one?

When the ship was finally cleared we dashed ashore to meet our waiting transportation. That entailed climbing into a van, bouncing down the quay past 2 freighters and 4 other cruise ships, getting out and joining the press of passengers from 2 of the big cruise ships changing over passengers, pushing through the terminal and finally finding ourselves on the street. Fortunately a woman holding a sign with my name on it appeared in the mob and escorted us through the nearby traffic circle, dodging buses and taxis, to find Renaldo waiting with his air conditioned car. Our savior and guide was Adriana, and together the four of us hit the road for adventure. The effort of wading through the terminal had prepared us for the unexpected: the end of Carnival! Our itinerary was adjusted to make allowance for crowds, closed streets and parking.

We stopped at Parque Lage to eye the grounds and the exterior of the huge old residence. After short drive we got out and walked the Jardim Botânico (Botanical Garden, a UNESCO site) which was once a dynamite factory. More driving and now up the mountain to Vista Chinese where we looked down upon the city.

street scene

Parque Lage

Botanical Garden

Botanical Garden

Back down the mountain on narrow switchbacks and through the area of São Conrado on the Western fringes of Rio city, along the beach loaded with sun seekers. Still heading back east along Avenida Neimeyer along the coast for more views of the sea. Up into the Gávea area for typical lunch along a busy park at a street side restaurant our guide recommended; Braseiro Gávea was a great stop for people watching, good service, cold Chopp Brahma beer and great Brazilian food. Along Praia de Ipanema and Praia Copacabana we made a couple of stops to look at the beaches and the many people enjoying the Sunday end of Carnival. The Catedral de São Sebastião was a stop to view this beehive shaped church. 

typical lunch

Ipanema

View from China View

looking toward Sao Conrado

Copacabana

along enseada de Botafogo

street scene

sugarloaf

 

 

Catedral de Sao Sebastiao

 

We drove through Carman Miranda's neighborhood and the area where Samba originated. By this time the temperature was 98° F. In our collection of notable churches was one which was richly baroque inside and has been in continuous use since 1617. (I lost the name somehow.) Part of the downtown just up from the beach still had revelers mid afternoon but now we found police on every corner and street cleaners were busy. The party was over.

While so much of the attention is on the beaches of Rio, the hills, barrios, streets and neighborhoods offer a better look at life in the city. We went through working class neighborhoods, wealthy areas, business areas and neighborhoods but avoided the more dangerous areas upon the recommendation of our guide. Thus the slums were seen fleetingly from away. Throughout the day we learned quite a bit from our guide about Brazil and Rio, more than historical dates and events.

Candelaria

By 1600 our tour was completed and we were returned to the pier where we again had to walk the terminal, find a shuttle bus along with hundreds of passengers from other ships, and bounce along until we found ourselves the only 2 remaining on the bus for its crawl down the freight pier to our ship.

Onboard this night was a show of music and dance by Folclórico Brasileiro, a group of 20 some musicians and dancers from Rio. During the first of 2 performances, the ship quietly moved up to the #1 spot on the pier which had been vacated by a large cruise Costa ship.