BLOG NUMBER SIX

Anchored off Buzios and spent a hot humid day strolling around Buzios; main claim to fame is that Bridgette Bardot lived here for a few years in the 1960s. Sleepy little beach resort town found a nice French restaurant that served Cataplana but we had to be back on board ship before it opened. Will try to find Cataplana in Rio.



One of Bridgette's MANY friends

 

The cruise/sail into Rio harbour is spectacular… got up at 6am to see the panorama unfold and the ship get docked.  Sugar Loaf mountain guards the southwest entrance to the harbour while Cristo Redemptor gazes down from  the highest vantage point and gives everyone his blessing.









Port Authority


 Flamenco, Copacabana and Ipanema beaches are wide flat expanses of white sand, very crowded and quite “cheeky” if you get my drift.

Museum of Art on waterfront

 

 

Samba stadium from the bus

 

Rio de Janeiro-ans are called Cachacas which is derived from an Indian word for “casas for white guys”. The tour guide described Cachacas as ”not very nervous” which is a Portuguese saying  for relaxed and laid back.

Cruise ship transferred us by bus to Rio Sul shopping center which was within a short walk of the Sugar Loaf cable car.  Temp was 37 degrees plus and 100% relative humidity… needless to say we were a bit sweaty when  we got there.

After we looked up and saw the two cable cars, Jim was worried about his vertigo acting up but we bought tickets (non refundable). Vicki got a backhanded compliment as she didn’t have her ID for the senior rate and the ticket agent didn’t think she was a senior and had to pay 70 REAL ($15) instead of 35  R ($7.5). Panoramic view from the top is stunning and the ride up was very smooth. Surprising that there hasn’t been a James Bond thriller involving a life and death struggle between James and a bad guy on the cable car. Oops, found out today there WAS a movie depicting just that!
Flamengo Beach

Copacabana Beach










The walk back to the shopping center was very hot so stopped in a kiosko for beer and an empanada. Lady in the shop was very concerned for our safety and told us by charades and sign language to put our cameras away and keep a watchful eye. Caught the last bus back to the ship and got caught in rush hour traffic, Rio has 35,000 taxi cabs (one cab for every 300 people) and the traffic jams are almost as bad as in Bangkok. Travelled thru the favelas (slums) which are NOT a place a gringo wants to be. The slums have developed every hillside over the past 50 years and it is odd to see that each hilltop slum is joined by an intricate network of cable cars. Heather found a walking tour thru a favela  (with a guide) explaining the everyday life there so we plan to do that before we come home. A 25 minute tram trip up to Cristo Redemptor is also a must. Metro is well developed and fast, we have a stop near our hotel and desk staff say it is safe to ride during the day and the fastest way to get to downtown and historical sites.  Further info says metro is slow and taxi is the best way to go.

Taxi ride took us past the Maracana footfall stadium (world’s largest… can’t imagine what attending a futbol match there would be like), next we went past the Samba stadium where Rio carnival is held. Historically, Carnival was a street dance /celebration but during the last 20 years is has been moved to the stadium venue. The stadium would be like taking 20 Commonwealth stadiums and attaching them end-to-end.  Performers are organized into “familia” encompassing choreographers, musicians, dancers, floats, and performers all wearing elaborate (sometimes skimpy, possibly no) costumes. Each familia puts on a 90 minute performance as they move down the stadium end to end a distance of about 2-3 miles. Many judges and fans judge the best performance. The final judgement will not be announced for 3 days. The winners and losers are incredibly emotional and the losers very distraught. The top choreographers, dancers and performers are judged and treated like rock stars and command high salaries for the following year; much like free agents in sports. The average Cachaca cannot afford to see the Samba parade and must watch from afar thru the chain link fence. Carnival has become HIGHLY commercialized.  

Samba Parade ground below bleachers in background

Disembarked from the ship this am at 7:30 and caught a cab to our hotel IBIS at Nova Americana shopping center. Cabbie had no idea where it was, asked several cabbies, they didn’t know, phoned the hotel… no answer and as we were driving thru the slums we wondered if we should think of getting a different IBIS hotel downtown. Neighbourhood was VERY sketchy, crossed the train tracks over a bridge and a magical transformation occurred, high rises, modern shopping center appeared and there was the beautiful red IBIS hotel sight on a 15 story building as an integral part of a huge shopping center bigger than WEM.  Never so glad to see an IBIS hotel! Shopped from mall opening time at 10 am till check in at 12 noon. Mall was wonderfully air conditioned and had a kiosk with at least 200 different kinds of Brazilian beers (which Vicki and I sampled a couple).