Rio

We arrived in our last Brazilian port of call on Tuesday , November 24th.  Rio de Janeiro is Brazil's second largest city and is known for its world famous Carnival, Samba music and beaches.  It was named "January River" by the Portuguese because they discovered the bay in the month of January.  They mistook the bay for a river, but the name stuck nonetheless.

We were up on the front deck of the ship by sunrise so we could witness the iconic sail-in for ourselves.  As soon as we walked out on deck we saw the famous landmark Sugarloaf Mountain on the port side.  Next, we peered through the early morning clouds to catch a glimpse of the legendary Christ the Redeemer statue that looms above the City.  The statue sits atop Corcovado Mountain ("Humpbacked Mountain') which is about 2,400 feet high.  The statue itself is about 130 feet high.  When the clouds parted, we could see the statue in the distance from the bow of our ship.  It was an exciting reveal worth getting up early for.

Sugarloaf Mountain as we sail into Rio

Rio skyline

Christ the Redeemer through the early morning clouds

We took a bus tour of Rio that drove us through the busy City pointing out places of interest including the famous Sambodromo area where all of the different Samba schools are located.  The schools practice all year long preparing for the Carnival.  They practice their music and dance choreography and design their elaborate costumes in preparation for the competition.  The Sambodromo is a half mile long series of stadium type grandstands that line the avenue where the Carnival parades are held.  It is definitely a national passion in Brazil and Rio is the epicenter of the event.  The locals have a saying that they use when things are not going well in their daily lives ..."Oh well, it will soon be Carnival" as though all will be well when Carnival time comes.

Sambodromo for Carnival parades

Next our tour took us to catch a cog-train through the national park up  Corcovado Mountain to see the Christ the Redeemer statue.  The short train ride through the park was terrific as we passed through lush rainforest and looked out at the views of Rio.  When we arrived at the large viewing platform we then climbed up 220 steps to the foot of the statue.  The statue was enshrouded in clouds and was not visible.  Fortunately we had plenty of time to hang out with other patient tourists waiting for a clearing in the clouds.  When the clouds parted, we got an up close view of this architectural wonder.  It was sort of poetic how Christ the Redeemer revealed itself to the faithful sightseers that day.

Cog train to top of Corcovado Mountain

Waiting for the clouds to clear for Christ the Redeemer

Still waiting for the clouds to clear for
Christ the Redeemer

Christ the Redeemer

Next, we toured the famous beaches of Rio -- Copacabana Beach and Ipanema Beach.  We had a brief stop for photographs, then headed back to the ship at the end of our tour.

Copacabana Beach

Copacabana Beach

Cafe where "Girl from Ipanema" was written

Driving through Rio is pretty crazy because it is so congested.  The driving is made even more challenging now because of road construction being done in preparation for the 2016 Olympics.  Although we enjoyed our tour, we were glad to get off the bus and out of the traffic when it ended.  We returned to our ship for a Rio sail away party.

Preparations for sail away deck party

Caviar anyone?

Plenty of champagne for the Ladells

Our various stops in Brazil have given us a great immersion into the diverse Brazilian culture.  We experienced everything from the Amazon Basin to trendy Rio so far on this trip.  We will continue our South American experience with upcoming stops in Argentina and Uruguay before continuing further south.