Dec 4, Sunday

Dec 4, Sunday

Spent a nice leasurely morning in the hotel room updating my blog.  By the early afternoon I decided to go out despite the grey skies, and walk down the 3 blocks to the Beach.  

 Copacabana Beach

  Market on the street near where I caught the taxi.

Walked on the beach getting my feet wet from Santa Clara to Rua Gomez, which goes over to Ipanema Beach.    From there I caught a cab to the Botanical Gardens n/ Jardim Botânico.  I probably spent about 2 hours walking around, but it’s hard to tell because I did not wear a watch today.   ! ! ! Aline without a watch ! ! !   Now that is unusual.

  Royal Palms lining the walkways at the front of the gardens

  Very strange looking tree with even stranger looking fruit ? nut ?

  But which has a beautiful flower

  Wedding pictures in the gardens

  Have you ever seen a black orchid ?  Isn't it beautiful ?

 Huge tree measuring 6 feet across the bottom

  Regular grove of bamboo right ?

Wrong !  Take a look near the gate on the left side.  Can you see the people standing there?  Gives this shot quite a different perspective doesn't it !

 Gorgeous flower from southeast Asia, about the size of a big grapefruit

From the Botanical Garden,’s southern most gate, I made my way to the side of Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas and walked along the water front past the Marina and past the Jockey Club where I saw some horse jumping.   I was on the lookout for a restaurant and thought I would find some along the waterfront, but all I found were apartment buildings and a few gas stations.   I made it all around the bottom part of the lake to Ave Afranio, where I finally waved down a taxi to get back to Copacabana Beach where there were plenty of restaurants. 

  Great jump !

  The lake when I started walking beside it

  The lake from the southern side, beautiful statue in the water, with Christmas Tree steel structure at the other end of the lake

  Looking back along the southern side.  Those clouds are looking mighty dark.  Time to find a cab.

  Looking back across to the Marina, where I started walking around the lake

  Am I ever glad I don't have to climb these stairs !

Had a nice meal of shrimp & rice witch a nice glass of chilled white wine, and a “death by caramel dessert”.   It was called a torta “crocante” and is very hard to describe.  A layered cake which appeared to be thin slices of sponge cake but with more of a creamy subsistancy with a caramel sauce, a white light cream sauce and “baconbit” size hard caramel pieces within the layers as well as on top of the cake.   YUMMY !   Needed a pot of black tea to go with this dessert, to café latte this time.    I walked a few blocks out of my way to ease down the meal and was back at the hotel by 6 pm.

There has to be a football game on, and obviously Brazil is winning, or the local team is winning, because the cheers keep erupting from the corner cafés, or any other shop that has a TV turned to the game.   I’m now in my room, on the 4rth floor of the hotel, with my window open to clear the air, and although my window faces the back of the block (no streets below) I can still hear the cheering each time they score.   They really love their sports teams here in South America.

Dec 3, Saturday

Dec 3, Saturday

Slept very well but was awake early so I read for about an hour and dozed off again for a bit.   The sun was shining when I opened the curtains at 8 am so I decided to go down to the lobby on my way to the breakfast buffet to see about booking a tour for today or tomorrow:  Full day excursion of Rio which would include both Corcovado (Christ the Redeemer) and Sugar Loaf Mountains.   Got it !    I had less than ½ an hour for breakfast so I didn’t eat much and went back up to my room to pick up my cameras and what I would need for the day.    Back in the lobby by 8:30 but the small bus did not pick me up until 9 am.  Oh well !

After picking up a few more passengers in the Copacabana Beach, Ipanema Beach & Leblon Beach areas, we proceeded up and around Lake Rodrigo de Freitas.   This used to be a fresh water lake, but it generated a lot of mosquitoes and therefore diseases.   They decided to dig a canal between Ipanema & Leblon beaches to bring in salt water from the sea.  Results:  no more mosquitoes !   I had no idea that would work; did you?  

The waves along the three beaches were quite impressive, so I hope there will be some sunny days next week so I can spend some time there as well.   Although my arms are nicely tanned, my legs are very white since I’ve only worn my skort once in the past 3 months!     

Sorry, no pics from the bus;  the tinted windows could not be opened and they were spotted by yesterday’s rain drops.

The botanical gardens are on the west side of the lake and that will definitely be a future visit.  The Royal Palms that line the roadway there must be 100 feet tall.   From the north end of the lake we headed for the Rebouças tunnel that would take us under Corcovada Mountain  and into the Laranjeiras area of Rio so that we could climb up to the Corcovada Entrance to the Tijuka Forest Park.   (Corcovada means hunchback in Portuguese,  although our guide told us it meant a camel hump)   The road up the mountain is narrow and winding and the driver was zooming right along, despite the bikers and hikers and other cars on the road.  It’s “move out of the way or get hit” around here; something I will need to remember while I’m crossing the streets.   The drop off and parking area at the main entrance is very small and quite congested, but from this point everything worked like a charm.  Since we were part of a group, our guide went in ahead of us, got our entrance tickets and we got on a park mini-bus that would take us the rest of the way up.  There were 4 other mini-buses waiting to take other people and we passed more on the way up.  Very efficient system.   At the other end, you can climb up to the statue via a nice wide staircase, or do like our group did and take a series of escalators up to the viewing area of Christ the Redeemer statue.

It is just as impressive in person as when you see it on TV; beautifully carved 38 meter high statue.  And the views of the city are spectacular.   Unfortunately those nice sunny skies had already turned cloudy, and the pictures lack that sparkle.  

  Christo Redentor

  Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, with Xmas tree which is lit at night

  View of Copacabana Beach

  Motorized glider passing by

  View of Sugar Loaf Mountain from Corcovado

 Notes about Christ the Redeemer Statue:    1921, discussions begin around the idea of marking Brazil’s 100^th year of  independence with the creation of a statue and where it should be located.   Corcovada Mountain was selected because it was the highest in Rio.   The foundation stone was laid in 1922.   Designed by Carlos Oswald and sculpted by Paul Landowski, it was inaugurated in 1931:  Largest art deco sculpture / monument in the world.

From there we came back off the mountain and headed into Rio Centre, and I’m not kidding, the bus actually drove past the hotel I had stayed at the first night I arrived, as well as by the Hotel Ibis where I had been hoping to stay.   The streets were still filled with garbage;  and I don’t mean that it was garbage day, there is discarded garbage everywhere in the historical district.   We made our way to the Metropolitan Cathedral, which is in a newer part of the downtown area.   This is definitely not your traditional architecture for a church;  actually, I did not find it pleasing to the eye.  It looked like a big cement cone (see picture).  But the inside simply took your breath away.  It can seat 5,000 people.

 Metropolitan Cathedral

  Inside the church and its stained glass windows; mass was being said.

  Zoom of the hanging wooden crucifix

From there we drove around the streets that surround the Maracana Stadium (or Sambodrome) where they have football games, music concerts for big celebrities and where the Pope celebrated mass when he came to Rio.   We then stopped at what was supposed to be a Carnaval Costume Museum;  the operative word being “supposed”.   It was a store where you could put on Carnaval costumes and have your picture taken.   The problem is that thousands of people have put these on before you and there is no doubt that they have not been cleaned.   So I passed on this option but watched others dress up.   They weren’t as impressive as the real Carnaval Costumes we see during the parade; it looked more like what you would find in a Halloween costume store.  

We then had our buffet lunch stop which was quite nice with a great selection of salads, hot dishes as well as some sushi and shrimp.   I sat with a Mexican lady and her adult daughter from our group and we had a nice conversation.   The daughter, her husband and 2 daughters now live in Brazil and Mom was visiting, so they had come to Rio for the weekend to see the sights.

From downtown, we drove to the Estaçäo do Caminho Aéreo (Cable car station) to ride up el Morro da Urca,  and from there on up to Sugar Loaf (Päo de Açucar) Mountain.   Here is a picture of the “maquette” showing both mountains, so that you can understand what I mean;  plus more great views of the city !  

  The mountains

 Helicopter pad on Morro da Urca

 Views of the city from Morro da Urca

  Cable car up to Sugar Loaf

The skies had become dark grey  and it was surprising that we did not get rained on.   Definitely have to come back here on my own if we get a sunny day!

 View of Guanabara Bay and Corcovado in the background with Cristo Redentor on top

 View of Botafogo across the water

 View of Copacabana from the other side of Päo de Açucar

  Last look at Sugar Loaf as we descend back down to Morro da Urca.  There were climbers going up but my zoom wasn't good enough to get a good picture.

Back to the hotels for our individual drop-offs.    Very tired but very satisfied.

Dec 2, Friday

Dec 2, Friday

I did sleep off and on all night.  There was a lot of noise outside and I swear I heard three gun shots.  Definitely not a car back firing.   I was up early and decided to read;  although there was a TV in the room, high up near the ceiling, there was no sign of a remote control.   At 9 am I went downstairs to try to locate an internet café.   There was an office just down the block and I purchased 1 hour of time to go back on the internet and look into the other hotels I had researched earlier to see if there was any availability.   I had first planned to stay in the city centre for 5 days, then move on to the beach area before leaving for Sao Paulo;  but I no longer felt like spending any amount of time in the central part of Rio.   I found some availability in the Copacabana Beach area of Rio and booked a room for 6 nights on-line.    I located a bank with an ATM machine  (took 3 tries before I found one that would accept foreign bank cards) to get some more Reales and returned to the hotel.   I had asked at the desk about the remote control for the TV since checkout was at noon;  I was told to check the control panel  beside the bed.    Sure enough, among the controls for the vibrator was one that said TV so I turned it on.  Not a regular TV, it only played  Porn !

Although it was not even 11 am by then, I decided to check out and head for the Hotel Banderantes in Copacabana.   Even if the room was not ready, I would prefer waiting in their lobby than waiting downtown.    The taxi ride wasn’t very long, but it was now raining.   As soon as we got out of the downtown core, the look of the streets improved.   Parks and wide avenues all the way to the other sector of the city.   I was able to check-in right away and get the key to my room.  MUCH BETTER !   The price is more than I usually pay, it is worth it to feel safe, in a clean location, with wifi and breakfast included in the price.  The hotel also provides tour bookings, so I’ll be able to plan the rest of my week here.

Since it is raining today, I’m staying in and resting.   Now that my blog is updated, I can even wash a few items of clothing.   

All is well again !   Big hugs to everyone.

Dec 1, Thursday

Dec 1, Thursday

Got up early again this morning to go back to the Brazilian Consulate.  Hoorah,  the visa is ready and absolutely no complications.  So off I went back to the travel agency to book my flight from Iguasu to Rio de Janeiro.   Two days ago the cheapest flight was from the Brazilian side of the falls, but today that flight is much more expensive and the cheaper one is on the Argentine side, so that’s the one I took.  Both flights were leaving pretty much at the same time.   It took the young lady almost 1 ½ hours to book this !   something that would have taken about 10 minutes elsewhere, but she has been very nice and she is in training so I just smiled and waited.   I rushed back to the hotel and was late for my 10 am check-out, but the owner was at the desk and she had seen me rushing around for the last 3 days so there was no problem.   I called the agency that would be providing my ride to the airport to confirm my 4:30 pick-up for the 6:45 flight.    I asked if I could leave my luggage at the hotel since I wanted to see the Brazilian side of the falls.  No problem, she even called a taxi company for me and suggested I stop in to see something that sounded like Parque de Salves; telling me that I could easily see both and return by 4 pm.  The taxi arrived almost immediately and off we went.  Juan was very nice and turned out to be a God-send.   Not only did he take care of all the Portuguese at the border crossing but he waited while I visited the “Parque Dos Aves” (Bird Park), and drove me the short distance  to the falls and acted as my guide.   He had quoted a price from a list he had and I thought it was a bit expensive, but well worth not having to worry about getting another taxi back across the border and dealing with the Portuguese language on my own.

The bird park was outstanding and well worth the visit.  I took over 100 pictures and filmed as well, but here is the best sampling.  Some I as able to get the lens through the grills to get a clear shot, but others were placed so that you could not get close to the grill.   Still others you could walk into the huge cage with the birds, butterflies, animals.

 

 Minah birds !     Do you remember the cartoons?  

  Harpie Eagle, over 3 feet high

  Gorgeous yellow & green

  Endangered species

 

 Multi-coloured Toucans

 

 Casawary.  For a big bird he moved quickly.  Could not get a good shot.

  Nap time !

 

  Safe in their cubby hole

Then we were off to see the falls, only a short distance to the entrance of the park.  From here we left the car, and after I purchased my ticket we took a bus into the park, about a 10 minute ride.    We then walked along a pathway along the top of the river, slowly going down and up the cliffs for the best views of the falls.  

  And more coatis

The best part was that we did not have to walk back, at the other end of the walk, nearest to the Devil’s Throat, we could get back on a bus and return to the park entrance and the car.   No problems getting back across to Argentina.   I got Juan to stop at the bank so I could use the ATM to pay him and have enough left over for a nice lunch for myself.   It was 3:15 my now so I had time for a leisurely lunch.  I just made it back to the hotel by 4:25 for my 4:30 pick-up to the airport.

The flight went well.    The forests here are very dense, semi-jungle and you can see vast areas of replanted forests from the air.    As we took off, I could see where the river was in the distance from the amount of spray in the air, indicating a number of waterfalls all along its length.

The descent into Rio was a long one in the clouds and the rain.  We were probably circling the airport for awhile because we were about 15 minutes late landing.   I took the time to change what I had left of my Argentine Pesos into Brazilian Reales and used the ATM to have at least enough to pay for the cab ride into Rio.  

It was raining and with the one hour time difference, almost 11:30 when I got to the hotel I was expecting to stay in.   My first impression of the city was not a good one.   I had hoped to be staying at the IBIS downtown, but they were full, and so were the other two hotels I checked out nearby.  Don’t worry, I wasn’t towing my luggage around, the people at the Ibis kept it for me while I looked for another place to stay.   The streets did not inspire confidence;  there was garbage everywhere and I did not like walking around those streets at night.    By the time I came back to the Ibis, a young Portuguese speaking lady was there also looking for accommodation.  The night clerks took pity on us and started calling around to other hotels.   The discussion was in Portuguese so I could not catch what was being said, but the young student spoke some English and explained that they had found a possible hotel, not expensive, but not that great.   By this point I just wanted a clean bed to sleep in for the night and so did the young student, so we shared a cab to the other hotel.   She booked in for 4 nights, but I said I only wanted 1 night since I had not seen the room yet.

Another room with mirrors on the ceiling and both at the head and foot of the bed !    Plus the bed was on a platform with those old type of controls that look like you can make the bed vibrate !   That should give you an idea of how old the hotel is.   Although there were no smoking signs, there were ashtrays in the room and it smelled like an old hotel room.   The bottom sheet was on the bed and so were the pillows, but the top sheet was folded and in a sealed plastic bag.  So were the towels !    This is what I was thinking as I showered:  “Do you get a rebate if you don’t use the towels and sheet?”   I had to laugh, I had no choice.   At least it looked clean and I was too tired so I turned off the light and tried to sleep.   Rubber covered mattress and pillows !