Rio de Janeiro Two Days!

                        We spent the last couple of days in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

            Brasil (Brazil) is a Portuguese speaking county as it was at one time a colony of Portugal, and for a while, roles were swapped when it actually became the seat of the Kingdom of Brasil which included Portugal. That’s what happens when a monarch says, “Hey, I wanna go over there and live!” Just a note here on the Portuguese language. I don’t know why everyone has such a hard time trying to understand it! It kind of looks like Spanish, they share the same Iberian Peninsula, and they even roamed the world in conquering ships back in the day, so what’s the big deal when it comes to speaking Portuguese?

                                                Everything.

                                                I will admit that the Portuguese language has lots in common with Spanish and the other Romance-based languages…. Yes, lots …..they use the same letters.

That’s it.

                        They may as well have been speaking Wookie.

                        We are going to fast-forward through all of those Historic Periods because most of you don’t care about the dates. Rest assured, all of the usual Battles for Freedom, Battles over Land, and Battles that included disheartened Soldiers and Slaves all occurred between 1565 and the late 1800’s. Please don’t think that I think that this stuff isn’t important (you know that I do!) it’s just that I know of one other person who reads this thinks that way and You will need look it up!

                        There are just a few things that exist that can be immediately known by a one-word moniker, or mononym, and most of them are people. Cher, Madonna, Yoda, Elvis, and the list goes on, I’m sure that you get my drift here. When it comes to places, the same examples do not really work. Places have nicknames like the Big Apple, Music City, Motor City, etc. but none of them gets to be immediately known by their first name…..

                                    “Wanna come to Los with me?”

                                    “I’m heading into New, want to come?”

                                    “How do I get to Chi?”

            Now, let’s try this one…..

                                    “Hey! Wanna come to Rio with me?”

                        I’ll bet you had no problem conjuring up images of Carnaval (kar-na-vaal), colossal soccer stadiums, the Christ the Redeemer giant statue, or those incredible beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana!

And that is for a very good reason…. It deserves its own mononym!

I can tell you how cool Rio is…… the weather was far less than perfect, and we still had a great time! And the places that we went to need great weather in order to experience them at their fullest, and we still had a great time! And these places were jammed to the gills, and we still had a great time!

                        Do you get what I’m saying, or do I need to go on?

                        To add to this accomplishment, Rio did not start off on a very good foot. We had another TBL tour scheduled, and it required some initial homework on my part, that of procuring some time-sensitive tickets to the two hottest places in the city, Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain. Both of these require special transportation i.e. cog railways and cable cars/gondolas in order to reach their summits. Try as I may, I was unsuccessful in procuring these Imperatives. Needless to say, our Guide, Ana Maria, was adamant about getting them procured correctly. I was envisioning a rather icy reception when we finally met, and I would need to deliver the má notíca (bad news!)

                        On top of all that, our entry into Brasil was delayed by the “Authorities” well, because……because they can! We were secured to our pier at 8am and we were told that it could take up to three hours for the Authorities to clear the ship. Which meant that our proposed 9am meeting went overboard, and all plans hinged on a new time which was a complete unknown. Even when they deemed us worthy to step on their soil (and drop a copious sum of Brazilian reáls [$$$] ) there was no way of pinpointing a new time because all 3500 passengers needed to exit the ship simultaneously! But it works like a funnel, no matter how much is up top, only a prescribed amount exits the bottom at a given time. Rats!

                        That icy reception was thankfully unavailable as nothing could have been farther from the truth!

                        After hugs-hello, Ana asked pointedly, “Did you get the tickets?” My reply was a downcast “Kinda?” She waved her arms and said, “Don’t worry, we’ll fix it when we get there.”

                        And off we went to find Carlos, our driver for the day. This guy is a Driver(!) and part -time chariot racer. It was his skill and recommendations along with Ana’s experience that got us through the day. We cannot imagine trying to accomplish this series of events ourselves. Not even a teeny-tiny bit!

                        Carlos paraded us through town as Ana described the sights to us. Our first stop on the way to the Redeemer was a set of steps that lead up to a convent and church. The world famous Esacderia Selarón or Lapa Steps (because they are located in the Lapa neighborhood) are the work of Chilean-born artist Jorge Selarón. He was a tad on the eccentric, flamboyant side, kind of like a Salvador Dali (who he even resembled). He had lived on these steps for years and in 1990 started to renovate them using whatever materials and discarded tiles that he could scrounge up locally. Interest increased and he requested that people from all over the world send him ceramic tiles from their regions and he would redesign and totally remake these steps. After twenty-three years his efforts ceased in 2013 when he was unfortunately found dead on his steps. But his Legacy is deservedly assured!

This was our first introduction to the ‘Hordes’.

Crowded would have been OK.

Shoulder to shoulder, still doable.

This (and the rest of the day) was chaotic!

 But maybe that was the needed element to put an accent on this experience. I’m positive that if you arrived early in the morning, with hints of sunlight penetrating down through the trees and buildings to the steps below, that it would have been just as impactful, but in an entirely different way. This is how and when you realize that return trips to some places are definitely warranted.

Our next destination was the Christ the Redeemer statue that sits on top of 3200’ high Mt. Corcovado, in the middle of a National Park/Forest/Jungle(?) just behind Rio de Janeiro. This project started in the early 1920’s and finished about nine years later. It is the largest Art-Deco statue in the world and is included on Modern Seven Wonders of the World list. Interestingly, the cog railroad that brings everyone to the summit was in existence before the statue was erected because the views from up on the summit warranted a way to bring folks up there.

            Luckily when we arrived there only half of the world’s population was waiting to get on the railway for their trip up to the top. Had the entire world’s population been there it would have taken a little longer. As it was, Ana did some magical thing and turned and said, “Follow me.” Being the scared and very attentive tourons that we are we never let her out of our sight and the next thing we knew we were ‘first on line’ to board the next tram. Phewf!

            The weather left something to be desired.

            That is an understatement.

            The weather could have only been worse if it had been raining.

            As it was, we were in and out of various drifting clouds that either parted for magnificent cloudy-bright views of far down below or we were surrounded by a surrealistic fog that made looking up at the Statue even more ecclesiastical. Again….. a reason to return?

                        The next item on our venture was the trickiest. The trip to, and ascent of, Sugar Loaf was questionable. This was because of the already experienced cloudy/foggy situation. While we were up at the Statue, we could gaze way down below us and see Sugar Loaf Mountain which is right next to the bay and the city.

                        It was, at that time, in the clear!

                        So, a decision was made to try for its summit!

            We arrived at the base of Sugar Loaf and Ana proceeded to get her climbing gear out of the trunk. Lines, carabiners, pitons, and hammers slung around us, we walked to the base of the almost vertical granite face and started to climb, Anna leading the way. There were fixed ropes already there which made our ascent relatively easy. We got to the top of the stairs (admit it… I had you there for minute didn’t I?) and Ana once again got us to the front of the even longer line (than we had at Christ the Redeemer) so that we could board the first of two giant high-altitude trams (think Swiss Alps) that went from the base to a south summit where we exited and went (again to head of the line) to get onto the second Tram that would carry us across a really wide and deep abyss with only the jungle below.

When we arrived at the Summit, we found a veritable small ‘town’ complete with shops, facilities and several restaurants. Ana led us to the Classic Sunset Club Urca. No, no killer whales here….Urca is the name of this particular mountain.

            Before we get to eat, I’ll answer the question that is burning in your minds. I do know that at least one of you is dying to know this so you’re all going to get the answer….

You….in the back of the room, go ahead, ask away!

“How come all those knobby-type mounds, hills, and mountains are all sticking up in all of the pictures that we see from Rio de Janeiro?”

Thank you for asking that, Karen! You get extra points for class participation! And you’ll be delighted that our old friend, Mr. Plate Tectonics, is back with us today…… (But only for a minute or two!)

The area around Rio is not that active when compared to its cousin over in Chile, but if you will notice its proximity to the coast and where it would fit into Africa when everyone was one big happy Super-paleo-continent, you can realize that there is some activity present. Couple that with a few magma-type flows way down deep which are pushing those hills and mountains up like bubbles on a well-done pizza crust, and you can now see those results in the topographical granite/gneiss features all around Rio! Throw in some good old-fashioned weathering and erosion and you’ve got some really striking geologic topography!

The reason that we needed to know all of that before we had our late lunch is because we are sitting directly on top of one of those granite knobs that are sticking out of the ground, and…… this one is sticking out to a tune of 1200 feet of elevation!

Luckily for us the entire summit of Sugar Loaf was enveloped in thick clouds!

  Ok, you’ve got us there Donny, how and why would you even consider this as lucky?

                                    Because…… same as before, we get to come back! We had a blast up there and it was a no-show-view-show! Can you even imagine how great it could be with nicer weather? We could stay up there for days! Especially if the food and beverages hold out!

                        I kid you not folks, when you see what has been constructed on the top of this knob and you start thinking about how in the world did they even get a few 2×4’s up here, never mind tools, rebar, concrete, girders, electrical equipment, supplies, and decorations! I can hear it now….

                        “Hey Mikey! (who is standing on the edge of the abyss waiting for the next worker-tram to come and get him) Where’re ya goin?”

                        “I forgot my hammer; I’ll be back in an hour or so!”

            You are totally amazed! It’s a wonder it got built at all!

We had a few burgers and fries and a special local alcoholic concoction by the name of Caipirinha which is really good and it’s a good thing that it does take a while (even with Ana leading the way) for anyone to get down as that allows a person to un-indulge before motoring away.

            Down here, (as opposed to up by Christ the Redeemer) we were a lot closer to the action of the City. Ana could pinpoint her apartment that sits right on Copacabana. Ipanema is just out of view on the other side of Copa and is now considered a tad posher than its big sister. Ms. Cabana (Copa to her friends) has the requisite hotels strung along her length which is about 5K. The Palace is the granddaddy of these havens from the real world having been here since 1923. Marelene Dietrich, Walt Disney, Princess Di, and Justin Bieber are among the many, many notables that have over the years made the Palace their home while in the city. Cementing its position in the hierarchy of not only local, but also worldwide hotels, is the handful of retail stores that can be found on the ground floor. H Stern, Sauer, (both incredible jewelry stores) and Gucci all succeed in keeping the Hoity-Toity happy.

                        After another cloud rolled by and obscured our view of Copacabana, we took the gondola back down to the mid-level where we would get another gondola that would bring us back down to city-level. When we walked to get the next cable car, we passed a line that was well over two hours in length for those folks to get from the midpoint up to the summit. It was now 5:00 pm and the last gondola down is around 8:00ish! And it wasn’t even a nice day!

                        When you spend this much time among that many people, you cannot help but notice how they are coifed. On top of that, are the folks themselves, their basic features, etc.

                                                These people here are all ‘pretty’.

                        And I mean that in all the best sense of that word, both masculine and feminine. I don’t recall another place on our planet that has produced a consistently good-looking populace. At least from what we saw and the places we went.

I will admit that we did not go to any favelas, the poorer sections of town. These neighborhoods had a dicey beginning and can still suffer a questionable reputation at times, but by and large, they are filled with good, hard-working people that are just not as fortunate as others. But they have made great strides in the past few decades with the help of a Civil Police Patrol of sorts that has lent an air of security and stability to the sections that they are located in. These favelas are kind of world famous and there are tours that can be had that bring one through and around these sections of the city. On an interesting ‘contrary’ note, they possess the best views in town as they are mostly constructed on the hillsides of all of those knobs and hills that dot the local landscape.

There is no question that hosting the 2016 Summer Olympics had an effect on this city. Over where we were docked there was an inviting Cruise Port that at one time faced a crumbling elevated highway. Now that highway is buried in a tunnel and above it is a mass transit tramway and pedestrian mall with murals and the like connecting the areas of the Waterfront. A nifty Future Museum is adjacent to this section. Other areas of the City received some TLC as you may expect, and the results are a logistically easier city to explore.

On our second day in Rio, we just walked to a local church and then went down by the Naval Academy and waterfront. It was a hot and sticky day that did not lend itself to a lot of further exploration.

We were careful to report back to the ship well before our “All Aboard” time as we did not want to be one of those “Pier Runners” that are frantically attempting to regain the gangplank before it is retracted. Fortunately, we did have a few that were late enough for announcements to be made on board, thus assuring that the rest of the 3500 passengers were hanging on the starboard side in eager anticipation of their late arrival. When they hit the gangplank the roar of the crowd rivaled the sound of the fans in the local soccer stadium after a game-winning goal.

I am quite sure that the color on their faces was not the result of a sunburn.

                        +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

 I hope that you can tell that despite the weather not being perfect, that we had a really great visit to Rio de Janeiro!

 I also hope that you understand that it is impossible to cover all aspects of a visit to a place and that any omissions are the result of my inexperience with local intricacies. I do know that most Guides will be honest with us, but few will be brutally honest when trying to put the best face on their hometowns.

I further hope that you can see the value of these visits to foreign places and are enjoying them as much as we are!

                        We have three Days at Sea before we pull into our next Port, that of Fortaleza, Brazil. The next Trivia Contest is calling us, and there are Snacks to be Eaten, so we best get going, see you around the Ship!