Flying into Rio de Janeiro was a beautiful sight. White beaches surrounded by mountains stretched for miles and the water was an amazing deep blue. Our hotel was located directly on Copacabana Beach and it had a rooftop bar and pool with incredible views. We had our first dinner in Rio on the beach and watched as the beach came alive with locals playing soccer, beach tennis and volleyball after sundown. Our meal was definitely tourist prices and we would soon find that all of Rio’s prices were set for the tourists. The following morning, we headed to the beach, grabbed some beach chairs and prepared ourselves for some eye candy on the beach. As the morning progressed, we enjoyed our drinks delivered directly to our chairs but not much in the way of eye candy. We had always heard the Brazilians in Rio were supermodels but we found that most of them were just ordinary people so the Rio myth was busted. Copacaana did not lack for hawkers on the beach and we were offered cigars, scarves, jewelry, soccer shirts and soccer balls. Some guys pushed around carts cooking corn and a few guys even had small grills that they carried around and cooked sausages. It was a hub of activity. The male vendors were quite polite and took ‘no’ with a smile and wandered on their way. The massage gals were not as gracious. We would say no and then they would try to grab our feet to give us a “free” sample massage. When we refused, they pushed a little more until we had to get firm and then they moved on. As Bill says, “We start with Portuguese ‘no thank you’, then move to Spanish but by the time we get to ‘no thank you’ in English, you had best be moving on!”
After our beach relaxation day, our next day in Rio was pure tourist day. We taxied down to the city center and began our long walk for the day. City center in Rio was crowded and the streets were not well marked so we walked in a few circles. We stopped by the aqueduct for pictures and then made our way to the modern cathedral in Rio. The cathedral looked like a combination pyramid and spaceship. It was one of the ugliest buildings I had ever seen. The inside was unique but it still felt as if Jim and Tammy Faye Baker were going to rush me at any minute for a donation. No worries, though! If you did not like the main cathedral, Rio had churches on every corner…literally! So, while Bill was trying to figure out which street we were on, I would stick my head in the church, take a quick look and we would be on our way. The main thing I wanted to see in Rio was the Portuguese Reading room. The reading room is always featured on the top 10 best libraries in the world list so it has been on my bucket list for a long time. After wandering in circles for about an hour, we finally located the entrance. While the room was impressive, I did not get “the feels” like I usually get in a room full of books. There was nowhere to sit and read, you could not browse the books and it felt very utilitarian. So, I was a bit disappointed in that bucket list item but it is checked! By this time, we were hungry! The good thing about lunch in the city center is the prices were local! We ordered a lunch plate to share and we were so thankful we did. It was huge! Initially, we had ordered chicken but then the waiter came to tell us they had no chicken. Having no chicken in South America is like having no barbeque in Texas. Bill pointed to the pigeons under the table and said, “Franga?” (chicken in Portuguese) and the waiter burst out laughing and brought us fish. Our next discovered gem had not been on our list. As we wandered, we saw a huge cathedral in the center of a roundabout. It was open so we stepped in and were amazed that this cathedral had not made any of the “things to do \.lists” online. Sometimes the things you find when you are lost are the best part of the day! Church number 427 for the day was Sao Bento monastery which involved asking for directions three times, walking into a plain business-like glass building, taking an elevator to the third floor, walking up two flight of stairs and ending up back outside but on top of a huge hill. The sanctuary was lovely but we were disappointed we could not venture into the rest of the property because it looked expansive. Our final stop was the science museum which was a very modern building on the waterfront. We bypassed visiting the museum because it was all about sustainability and we did not feel like getting preached to in Portuguese. I’d rather face Jim and Tammy Faye! Our last day in Rio was a busy one. We took on the challenge of the metro to head over to see Ipanema Beach. Finding the metro was easy but walking underground to the correct line, we felt as if we could have walked to Ipanema more quickly. The Rio metro was the biggest rat maze we had seen awhile! Ipanema Beach was smaller than Copacabana but equally as beautiful. However, we did not see the girl from Ipanema. Voting to bypass the metro labyrinth, we took a taxi back to the hotel so we could begin our afternoon tour. The tour van twisted and turned up steep hills through small villages until we reached Christ the Redeemer. I had always heard that the statue would be smaller than I expected but it was very large! The views of Rio were breathtaking which made it worth fighting all the selfie shooters to get pictures. The level of selfie stupidity reached new heights at the Redeemer. We were stepping over people lying on the ground and doing all kinds of poses. It was ridiculous and used all our patience for the day. Our next stop was the cable car to Sugarloaf Mountain. Sugarloaf sat across the bay from Christ the Redeemer and had even better views than the Redeemer! By the time we got to Sugarloaf, the tour had dropped off the morning tour people so we had only 4 of us remaining. We enjoyed sunset on the mountain but we were glad to get away from the Instagrammers and get back to our quiet hotel. The next morning, we headed over to rent a car so we could drive to Paraty and Petropolis. Our next leg was a much needed break from large cities! Next week, the beautiful coast and mountains of Brazil!
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AuthorSally Miller Archives
May 2024
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