Rio de Janiero

Saturday, 24 Dec 2011 – Today was a very long day, starting when we boarded our tour bus about 7:30 A.M. after a light breakfast.  Our first stop was Sugarloaf, one of Rio de Janeiro’s famous landmarks that offers stunning views of the area.  We rode two separate cable cars to reach the top of Sugarloaf, and the same for the return.  From the top, the view of the city, surrounding harbor, and mountains, was breathtaking.  We were given a lot of leisure time on Sugarloaf, mostly to stall time until noon, when our tour guide had scheduled our tram ride for Christ the Redeemer statue.

By noon, the temperature had risen to the 90s which, along with the humidity, was very uncomfortable on Christmas Eve.  At 12:40 P.M. we finally started our tram ride up to the statue.  Although the slow-moving tram through the heavily forested area (which included trees with large, strange-looking fruit) was open-air, it did not create enough of a breeze to counteract the heat.  The tram ride took about 30 minutes; then we climbed about 220 steps on foot to the top of Corcovado Mountain to visit the 125-foot statue of Christ the Redeemer, who literally embraces the city below with His outstretched arms.   After enjoying the view for about 30 minutes, our tour group stood in line for another 45 minutes or so before boarding the tram back down the mountain.

Afterwards, we rode in our tour bus along Copacabana Beach, which Jesse had always referred to incorrectly as “Coca Banana Beach,” and made a short photo stop.  We ended the tour with a visit to the Selaron Staircase, where a local artist had adorned a neighborhood street staircase with thousands of ceramic tiles.

Today marked the end of the first cruise, and three couples from our little group were taken on to the airport immediately after our tour so that they could fly back home.  As we re-boarded the ship at about 4:45 P.M., many new arrivals to the ship were also boarding for the second cruise.

After dinner at a newly assigned table beside a window (as our group had requested), we returned to our cabin, exhausted, and called it an early night.