Guy Fawkes Day in Rio de Janeiro
At 5.45am, eager guests were on deck enjoying an impressive view of the mountains behind & within the city of Rio de Janeiro. Pilot pick up was at 6am and we entered the huge bay of Guanabara with Sugar Loaf Mountain on the port side and between 2 old Portuguese forts on the starboard. The prime views were of the many bays, beaches and built up areas of Rio as they unfolded and changed as we moved into the port.
The 705m summit of magnificent Corcovado Mountain with its splendid city views was the objective for one of our options. The top of Corcovado was reached in a 20 minute steep but comfortable ride in a Swiss built electrically powered train. Ascending through areas with homes first, the scenery then changed to forested slopes. Tamarin and capuchin monkeys were seen at one of the stops. After leaving the train we used the new lifts (a 17 second ascent) and 2 escalators to reach the top where the huge “Christ the Redeemer” statue towered above us. Built to commemorate 100 years of independence and completed in 1831, the statue is constructed of granite, and concrete with a soapstone finish weighing over 1000 tons. The head alone is 30 tons. The span across the fingertips is 28metres (91ft) and total height, a fraction more.
The views were superlative due to our height above the city and its closeness to us on 3 sides was the Atlantic Forest. The focus of views were the suburbs of Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, Botofogo, and Flamenco, each with its own wide sandy beach beyond. The centre of Rio was clear with the largest soccer stadium in the world close by. Named “Maracana,” it is the scene of weekly exciting soccer games in season. Camera shutters were busy to record these wonderful moments.
Descending Corcovado again by train we re-boarded our bus. Our exploration of the city brought us past the jockey club, the large lagoon, and onto the beach road at LEBLON. We then turned to cruise along the lengthy beaches of Leblon, Ipanema, Arpoador, Copacabana—now crowded with hotels. But we then passed the first hotel and still one of the finest, the famous Copacabana Palace opened, complete with Casino in 1923. Now the Copacabana area has 600,000 inhabitants. We left Copacabana by tunnel. Rio has about 10 road tunnels the longest being over 2km, which shows how the urban areas of the City are truly “jammed between the granite mountains” with access only achieved by determined engineering works.
The Floresta Option began with a walk in the Botanical Gardens, a beautiful place developed by one of the Portuguese kings during his stay in Brazil (1808 - 1821) when forced out of Portugal by Napoleon. We walked along an avenue of Imperial Palms with good birding. All transport was by open jeeps to appreciate better the ambience of the city. After lunch at a local restaurant, we took a nature walk in the Tijuca Forest, the largest tropical forest in any urban area in the world. Within the forest reserve we visited “Cascatinha” a scenic waterfall followed by a fine lookout over the inspiring Leblon & Ipanema beaches on our return to the city & the Endeavour late in the afternoon.
For those who took the Corcovado trip, in the afternoon a shuttle was provided to visit Ipanema, either to see H.Stern’s demonstration of jewellery products & lapidary facilities or to visit the enticing shops & boutiques along the main street—Rua Visconde de Pirajá, or visit the beach.
Samba was performed for us in the evening, by a group of “Mulatas,” with music by the “Bateria” before we enjoyed a tasty salad bar then the full Brazilian Churrascaria (Barbecue) meal was ours. An overwhelming variety of meats was on offer, obliging us to make tough decisions to keep our selections within consumable limits.
Brazilians say God made the world in 7 days— of which he devoted to Rio. We are fortunate that within this voyage Lindblad Expeditions also gave us 2 days—just to see the development of Gods wonderful creation.
At 5.45am, eager guests were on deck enjoying an impressive view of the mountains behind & within the city of Rio de Janeiro. Pilot pick up was at 6am and we entered the huge bay of Guanabara with Sugar Loaf Mountain on the port side and between 2 old Portuguese forts on the starboard. The prime views were of the many bays, beaches and built up areas of Rio as they unfolded and changed as we moved into the port.
The 705m summit of magnificent Corcovado Mountain with its splendid city views was the objective for one of our options. The top of Corcovado was reached in a 20 minute steep but comfortable ride in a Swiss built electrically powered train. Ascending through areas with homes first, the scenery then changed to forested slopes. Tamarin and capuchin monkeys were seen at one of the stops. After leaving the train we used the new lifts (a 17 second ascent) and 2 escalators to reach the top where the huge “Christ the Redeemer” statue towered above us. Built to commemorate 100 years of independence and completed in 1831, the statue is constructed of granite, and concrete with a soapstone finish weighing over 1000 tons. The head alone is 30 tons. The span across the fingertips is 28metres (91ft) and total height, a fraction more.
The views were superlative due to our height above the city and its closeness to us on 3 sides was the Atlantic Forest. The focus of views were the suburbs of Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, Botofogo, and Flamenco, each with its own wide sandy beach beyond. The centre of Rio was clear with the largest soccer stadium in the world close by. Named “Maracana,” it is the scene of weekly exciting soccer games in season. Camera shutters were busy to record these wonderful moments.
Descending Corcovado again by train we re-boarded our bus. Our exploration of the city brought us past the jockey club, the large lagoon, and onto the beach road at LEBLON. We then turned to cruise along the lengthy beaches of Leblon, Ipanema, Arpoador, Copacabana—now crowded with hotels. But we then passed the first hotel and still one of the finest, the famous Copacabana Palace opened, complete with Casino in 1923. Now the Copacabana area has 600,000 inhabitants. We left Copacabana by tunnel. Rio has about 10 road tunnels the longest being over 2km, which shows how the urban areas of the City are truly “jammed between the granite mountains” with access only achieved by determined engineering works.
The Floresta Option began with a walk in the Botanical Gardens, a beautiful place developed by one of the Portuguese kings during his stay in Brazil (1808 - 1821) when forced out of Portugal by Napoleon. We walked along an avenue of Imperial Palms with good birding. All transport was by open jeeps to appreciate better the ambience of the city. After lunch at a local restaurant, we took a nature walk in the Tijuca Forest, the largest tropical forest in any urban area in the world. Within the forest reserve we visited “Cascatinha” a scenic waterfall followed by a fine lookout over the inspiring Leblon & Ipanema beaches on our return to the city & the Endeavour late in the afternoon.
For those who took the Corcovado trip, in the afternoon a shuttle was provided to visit Ipanema, either to see H.Stern’s demonstration of jewellery products & lapidary facilities or to visit the enticing shops & boutiques along the main street—Rua Visconde de Pirajá, or visit the beach.
Samba was performed for us in the evening, by a group of “Mulatas,” with music by the “Bateria” before we enjoyed a tasty salad bar then the full Brazilian Churrascaria (Barbecue) meal was ours. An overwhelming variety of meats was on offer, obliging us to make tough decisions to keep our selections within consumable limits.
Brazilians say God made the world in 7 days— of which he devoted to Rio. We are fortunate that within this voyage Lindblad Expeditions also gave us 2 days—just to see the development of Gods wonderful creation.
