9th and 10th Feb 2020
Rio de Janeiro is a huge seaside city in Brazil, famed for its Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, Christ the Redeemer statue atop Mount Corcovado and for Sugarloaf Mountain, a granite peak with cable cars to its summit. The city is also known for its sprawling favelas (shanty towns). Its raucous Carnival festival, featuring parade floats, flamboyant costumes and samba dancers.
Rio de Janeiro is everything it is celebrated for, and more. It may not be Brazil’s capital, not since 1960 when Brasilia became the new capital, but it is by far its defining city, commanding non-stop wonder from the moment you set foot on its shores.
Sunday 9th Feb 2020
Day 1 - arrival into Rio de Janeiro, early alarm just to see the sail-in, spectacular coastline, mountains and the buildings of the city. Already 28 Celsius before 7 am!
View of Sugar Loaf Mountain
Green Island
Museum of Tomorrow
Berthed in the port area nicely between the Museum of Tomorrow and the Aquarium. The port area with its light railway was redeveloped for the Olympic Games in 2016, work is still ongoing and not quite complete.
As part of our recovery from our rude awakening took a leisurely morning on board. The highlight of the morning being our first ever proper game and our first ever win at Shuffleboard, will wonders never happen!
Views out over the town, everywhere the very expensive properties and tower blocks just alongside the “favelas”, shanty towns which have sprung up on any piece of awkward land.
A Favela
Then it’s off ashore for the shuttle bus to the Leblon Shopping Centre, this being convenient for a short walk down to Leblon and Ipanema beaches, also close to the lagoon. Watched the thermometer rise to 37 celsius on the way!
Lagoon used in the Olympics
Quick look round the shops, nothing attractive, mostly designer labels. Then off to the beach, only about 400 metres but far enough in the heat. Beautiful soft sand beach, very popular, and a lovely blue sea. Sand hot enough to fry eggs on, bit gritty though. Beach absolutely packed with “cariocas”, as natives of Rio are called, enjoying a day off.
Back to the shopping centre to get the bus back to the ship. Nice little ride round town, coming and going, good views of the city, the lagoon and the mountains, notably Sugar Loaf and Corcovado with the Christ the Redeemer statue.
This evening a folkloric show in the theatre by Samba Cervila, presenting a mixed show of the essence of Samba, Gafieira, Carnival and Capoeira. A very energetic, colourful if somewhat confusing show, seemed almost more for the entertainment of the performers than the audience, still it was unforgettable as advertised.
Monday 10th Feb 2020
Day 2 - Another early alarm, today to be ready for our excursion. Rather cloudy today, and a good deal cooler, probably only about 25 degrees and very humid, a threat of rain this afternoon.
Starting with a nice little bus ride through the city.
Our route passing by the fairly recently constructed special road with grandstands built especially for the pre-lenten Carnival parades. Apparently the numerous Samba groups who compete in the parade for the Carnival each contain up to 4000 members and the parade starts about 8.00 pm and finishes around 6 am next morning, this party goes on for a week. We also went past the building where the top five Samba groups are provided with a covered space for preparations of floats and for practice, the rest just having to make their own arrangements, quite an incentive to be the best.
Carnival street and Grandstands
Arrived at the station for the cog-railway up Corcovado Mountain, one very steep ride, luckily not much queueing necessary today. The railway went up through the Tijuca National Forrest, a large area of forrest right in the city, known as the lungs of the city, extensively used for hiking.
At the end of the railway a short elevator ride and then an escalator ride to the foot of the statue of Christ the Redeemer. Corcovado Mountain itself being 710 metres high, then the plinth to the statue 8 metres high and the statue 30 metres high and 28 metres from fingertip to fingertip. Today it’s right up in the clouds, views somewhat obscured, but quite atmospheric.
Looking down at Rio through the clouds
After the ride back down it’s back on the coach for a run down to the seafront and a drive along Leblon, Ipanema and Copacabana Beaches on our way back to the ship. A good bit quieter today than yesterday, still it’s not the weekend and the weather not sunny! Some very smart sandcastles decorating the beach.
One interesting fact told to us by our guide, among the myriad facts already forgotten, was that school children attend school either in the morning or the afternoon, this has always been the custom and continues as such for this and for no other reason. The government provides schools near the favelas and at these there are suggestions that for the poorest workers all day school might be easier to allow for both parents to work without the need for other child care provision. Later checking with our Brazilian onboard DJ who comes from Sao Paolo he always went to morning school except one period where he went in the afternoon, he didn’t like it and soon changed back.
Afternoon spent on the ship, the weather having intervened with any other possible plans, heavy rain with some thunder, then continuing right through to sailaway.
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