Can you imagine the excitement I felt when I first saw the statue of Christ the Redeemer from the ship as we sailed into Rio de Janeiro harbor? Although it was shrouded in clouds, I could still see it peeking through! And then Sugar Loaf Mt. appeared - it was surreal!
We started our day with a private guide, a young university student and driver courtesy of H.Stern Jewelry Co. We visited the Botanical Gardens and drove by Copacabana and Ipamena beaches.
We continued on to Corcovado (Hunchback) Mt. taking an old cog train ride with 5 stops to reach the top at 2330 feet where the giant statue of Jesus, known as Christ the Redeemer stands. What an awesome sight! The panoramic views of Rio below us were breathless!
We continued on to Sugar Loaf Mt. (Pao de Acucar) in the Urca district. A cable car transported us in 2 stages to the rounded summit at 1300 feet. It is a spectacular mountain and the views are incredible. We were able to look across the city below us and see Christ the Redeemer standing tall on Corcovado.
The next day we explored Rio on our own. We walked along Copacabana Beach admiring the sleek bodies in skimpy designer bikinis and "moda" sunglasses, pulsating to the beach-side samba beat. Ipanema fashions are typically Brazilian - show off the body! We had lunch at Gorota de Ipanema restaurant, where Vinicius de Moraes penned the bossa nova song "Girl from Ipanema".
That evening on board ship, we were treated to a spectacular samba show performed by a Brazilian samba troup - oh those costumes...what costumes?? And the head-dresses and feathers, feathers everywhere!
We bid a sad adieu to Rio as we sailed out of the harbor at 11 p.m., taking one last look at the Christ statue shining brightly atop Corcovado Mt. Our next stop on the Brazilian coast: Parati.
