Date: Jan. 23, 2007
Location: Rio de Janeiro
Next Port: Jamestown, St. Helena, Jan 28
Quick Summary: Another fun day in Rio…riding to the top of Sugar Loaf and walking Ipanema beach. Then it was time to start across the South Atlantic to St. Helena.
Report: After breakfast, we departed the ship for a morning in Rio. We were one of the few that spent the evening before on the ship…even most of the wait staff went off to enjoy the energetic night life in Rio…so at breakfast they were obviously tired, but happy! And lots of folks seemed to be sleeping in.
We again were offered a private car with driver and interpreter/guide by the H. Stern jewelers. We met up quickly with Nina, a law student, and mapped out our itinerary. Since the sun was attempting to make an appearance, we decided to head towards Sugar Loaf instead of the Botanical Gardens. Enroute, we could finally see Corcovado, “Christ the Redeemer,” peeking out of the clouds. Things were looking up!
Reaching the top of Sugar Loaf, a large rock formation in the Urca area between the beaches of Botafogo and Copacabana Beaches, involved two cable car rides. Again, the cost was 36 Reals per person or about $36 for the two of us. From the first station, we could see that the top of Sugar Loaf, which juts out into the bay, was clear. But by the time we made the transfer to the top, it was again clouded in. While we were up there though, certain portions of the harbor and city came into view…and it was well worth the trip. We also saw several small monkeys there in the trees that surround the viewing platforms.
From Sugar Loaf we drove through Copacabana Beach to Ipanema Beach. After driving by some of the fancy shops, we decided to stroll along the beach.
Our walk enabled us to get to know Nina a bit better. She has been a nationally-ranked gymnast and has represented her country in a couple of international competitions outside of Brazil. She also has lived for a time in Southern California where she has relatives.
While on Copacabana Beach, we watched students at the Pele Beach Volleyball School and admired the work of a couple “sand castle” artists. More people were at the beach and in the water today. There also were more breakers. We stopped at one of the many kiosks that sell coconuts and soft drinks. Nina had one of the coconuts that vendors slice off the bottom (so it will sit up straight) and core a hole in the top so one can drink the coconut water inside through a straw. These drinks are very popular in Brazil, as we’ve seen such stands in each of the cities we have visited.
Then it was time to head back to the pier so that we could be on board by noon for our 1 p.m. departure.
Though the sun never was out for long periods of time, we enjoyed Sugar Loaf, our time at the beach and our sail away from this unique harbor and city.
The rest of the afternoon was spent working on the journal, reading and Karen attending a yoga class.
Karen had a welcoming reception and dinner for the multi-session Cordon Bleu Cooking Class that Larry gave her as a Christmas present. (We’ll have her describe in a separate entry all that this entails.) Larry joined some new friends, Barbara and Richard from Colorado, for drinks in the Observation Lounge and then dinner in Compass Rose. Karen joined us for desert and coffee.
After dinner, we went to the Horizons Lounge where Nathaniel Reed, a piano player and vocalist, performed a special cabaret show. He was terrific.
(We were also able to make a Skype computer-to-computer call to our daughter, Kristin, in NYC. It was great to hear her voice and catch up with the details of her 4-day trip to Texas where she saw her sister, Heather, who was attending a professional meeting. And they both were able to visit with friends of all of ours in the Hill Country, San Antonio and Austin.)
We danced and watched a new moon off the aft deck as we set sail for St. Helena…a small island in the South Atlantic that is a four-sea- day journey away.
Karen and Larry
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