Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

February 15, 2008

Rio!...Rio de Janeiro!!!! What a city! The “River of January” is indeed one of those special places in the world that everyone should see! This former capital of Brazil is situated around a spectacular natural harbor ringed by beautiful and famous beaches such as Copacabana and Ipanema. Rio is equally famous for its Carnival celebrations (which we missed by a few days!) samba music, the giant statue of Jesus, Known as Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado mountain (recently named one of the new Seven Wonders of the World) and Sugarloaf mountain with is cable car. Rio is also home to the world’s two largest forests inside an urban area. A city of contrasts where the very wealthy can afford the splendors of Rio, the city also has an extremely large slum area (known as Favalas ..sp?). Curiously many of these slums overlook the fashionable areas. Even with such contrast, the 6 million residents seem to have worked out a way to live and work together in this exciting and colorful city.

We spent two colorful days in this exciting city. The first started with an exciting cable car ride to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain. The cable car has an intermediate stop and moves at a steady and even pace. Once on top we had a grand view of the exciting city below. (Forget the fog…or was it mist?...or smog?...it was still a grand view!). Many harbors and neighborhoods with large and inviting beaches meandered in and out of the many green covered stone outcroppings. It is easy to see how settlers first decided to make this home….as there are so many inviting coves and beaches and protected areas. Such great views.

Lunch was special. We went to a “barbeque” restaurant….a very posh place where tuxedo clad waiters sat us at long tables. Huge platters of fried potatoes, potato salad, vegetables suddenly appeared. And then “they” came…the men with the meat. With large skewers, with every cut of meat you can imagine, these men seem to always be at your side carving yet another piece of succulent meat from his skewer. We each had a small pair of tongs at our place and we used these tongs to retrieve the bounty. Drinks flowed as did sweets…it was a memorable and delicious dining experience…worth coming to Rio for!

We made our way to Corcovado the home of the Christ the Redeemer statute that is the symbol of Rio. We boarded an open-air Swiss-style funicular to slowly make our way to the top of this huge stone outcropping. Along the way we were serenaded by a Samba band that kept every foot on the train keeping time with the exotic and erotic beat of the music. At the top, 220 steps (or a fast elevator) eventually deposited us at the base of two fast-moving escalators and voila! There he was…this huge concrete statue of Christ….overlooking the city! Clouds continued to surround us…so dense at times that you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face…and then just as quickly they would be gone and blue skies appeared for a quick click of the camera to try and capture the statue before it would be once again hidden in the mist! If I thought the view from Sugarloaf was spectacular…the view from Corcovado was even better!

Our drive back to the ship took us along the beaches…grand and beautiful beaches with thousands of colorful umbrellas and beach chairs for the thousands of bronze beauties. What an amazing site of humanity…..one bikini was slighter than the next…and I now know where the Speedo Company does most of its business. Most of the bodies in these scant get-ups were beautiful…but, trust me…not all! There is nothing more beautiful than a bronze body on the beach….but, likewise, there is nothing uglier than some bronze bodies on the beach….I am so glad I saw it.

What I will remember most from the beaches were the exciting sand castles. Many artists line the sidewalk and create the most amazing sand creations you have ever seen. And since Carnival had just ended, the guide said that there were even more of these fabulous sand creations than normal. My only regret is that it was too late for me to walk along the beach and capture more of these on film.

That night, back on the ship, we were entertained with a very lively and colorful “samba school”. Feathers and feathers and more feathers…and only a few sequins and you have it. What bodies! What rhythm…what costumes! It was an amazing experience…and with only fifteen or twenty performers the place was moving. I can’t imagine what it is really like to be in the city when Carnival is happening. It seems that there are some 12 “official” Samba Schools, comprised of some 3,000-5,000 members. Can you imagine 45,000-50,000 people all in feathers and all moving to the beat of the Samba moving through the city…what it must be like!!!!

The next morning we took advantage of the H. Stern driver program. H. Stern is like the Tiffany’s of South America. Headquartered in Rio, H. Stern offers the Prinsendam passengers a “private” car with guide and driver for the morning or day. My friends Rudi, Marguerite, George and Isabelle and I took advantage of this offer and with a very nice Mercedes van went on a private tour of the impressive botanical garden. We rode by the Samba street….a special stadium designed by Oscar Niemeyer, that literally took over a 8-10 block street and has permanent stadium seating for 80,000 people. We ended up, as we expected, at the H. Stern building. After drinks and warm greetings we were escorted to the “factory” where we donned head sets (recorded in over 25 languages!) and set out on a short walking tour watching the artisans create the spectacular jewels. It was fascinating and most informative. At the end of the tour the five of us were separated and ushered into the sales room where we were seated at luxurious desks to be shown tray after tray of rings, necklaces, bracelets and other “bobbles”. I let my “guide” know quickly that I was not interested in purchasing anything…and was just that quickly “dismissed” to continue along the “tour” going from one showroom to another…each with a “guide” and each lower in price and quality. As I made my way thru this labyrinth of buying opportunity I finally found myself in the lower level in a nice but affordable souvenir shop…these Stern folks don’t miss a chance to sell you something. Behind that smart shop was a lounge where I settled to enjoy a great cup of strong Brazilian coffee and sat to wait for Rudi and Marguerite and George and Isabelle. Rudi had already told us that he was looking for a “bobble” for Marguerite…so I knew it might be a while before they appeared. It didn’t take George and Isabelle long to appear and together we settled in to enjoy the lounge. Luckily there was a large screen television where they were showing the most amazing video of the Carnival…all 50,000 people marching in full regalia down the Samba Street. We watched for over an hour or so, thoroughly entertained with the most creative floats and costumes you can imagine. Rudi and Marguerite appeared…and Yes! She was carrying a tasteful little white bag with a beautiful ring. A good time was had by all….especially Marguerite.

As we sailed from Rio, the Captain gave us a most spectacular send off to this most spectacular city. When, or when…will I return!