Last days in Rio

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

We began the day on a boat chartered for our group, touring Guanabara Bay.  As you can see from this map:

the city is located on the inlet to this very large bay, with the beaches on the Atlantic due south of downtown.  We are staying on Copacabana Beach which is just east of Ipanema Beach, but the bulk of the city is at the mouth of the bay and there is a nine-mile long bridge spanning the mouth of the bay.  Here’s a view of downtown as we left. 

A word about guarana.  This is the berry of a local plant which must be magic, as it apparently cures anything which is wrong with you.  As a result, it is made into a soft drink, named Guarana Antarctica, and distributed, according to the label on the can, by Anheuser-Busch!  Quite popular here, Joyce tried it on the boat:

 Nothing bad happened to her, but a little research shows there’s a very large caffeine content.  The flavor must be an acquired taste.

Views from the water are wonderful!  Here’s Sugarloaf: 

And here’s the castle of Emperor Peter II of Brazil, built in 1889.  Yes, Brazil has had emperors as well as revolutions, military dictatorships, and versions of democracy—the history is fascinating.  Peter II was overthrown just one week after this castle was opened.  

There were also great views of the Museum of Tomorrow we saw adjacent to the Olympic site yesterday: 

There is some interesting architecture.  Here, the horizontal and vertical lines are just slightly off, giving a sense of something slightly disquieting: 

Well, I haven’t mentioned food too much, but we have been eating as if we needed to put on weight.  Badly.  Today was the topper, however.  For lunch, after the boat tour, we went to a locally popular churrascaria.  We started at the giant salad bar, and then came the waiters, each with a skewer of chicken, fish, and beef, beef, and more beef.  Apparently everyone here knows and understands the many cuts of beef, and each has its own characteristics of flavor, texture, tenderness, and palatability.  We barely know a t-bone from a filet mignon from a strip steak, but here there are many cuts, many of which are unfamiliar to us.  So a piece from each skewer as the waiters came around, and soon it felt like we had eaten a whole side of beef.  Of course, then came the ribs waiter with a trolley instead of a skewer: 

After lunch we needed a nap, but they kept us going, this time on a two-section cable car up to the top of Sugarloaf where there were more spectacular views:

 Here's Copacabana Beach from Sugarloaf:

We came across some amusing marmosets making a meal out of a breadfruit:

 Finally, we got back to our rooms and washed up for our final dinner together, at Restaurant Lasai, newly awarded a Michelin star, and run by Chef Rafael Costa e Silva, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America!  We had the restaurant to ourselves, and as we were having cocktails and wine, we were treated to a wonderful bit of Latin dancing by an extremely talented pair who danced to live music by a wonderful trio.

 Many of us then joined in with a sort-of conga-line developing.  We didn’t look like the pros.

Our flight home on Thursday was in the evening (arriving Rochester at noon on Friday via Atlanta) so in the morning Joyce and I took a tour of the H. Stern jewelry factory which was fascinating, and did some shopping there, too. It’s in the Ipanema Beach portion of the coast, which seemed somewhat more upscale than Copacabana.  The beach itself, is glorious: 

In the afternoon, we walked with two other Rochesterians, Carol and Dick Crossed, deep into Copacabana town to a large mall which contained a surprising number of very large antique stores (which Carol had learned about).  We bought nothing but had a good time looking.  Our flights home were uneventful, and so ends the story of our South American odyssey.

Many Faces of Rio

Tuesday, March 21, 2017

A busy day, and lots to tell.  But first the warnings.  We were warned to wear no jewelry, no watches, to not carry our passports but only copies, and to carry little money, only our room key-card and a credit card and a few dollars in local currency.   Pickpockets and robberies are everyday things, and we are not to look like we are worth robbing.

But perhaps the strongest warning was on a card in our room:

We awoke early to sunrise over Copacabana Beach outside our hotel window:

  

After breakfast we took the train up Cocovado Mountain to visit the colossal Christ the Redeemer statue at the top.  Christ’s arms are extended in a welcome/blessing to all of Rio.  The statue is truly massive, 96 feet tall on a 26-foot pedestal!  His arms stretch 92 feet wide:

The views from the top of Cocovado are spectacular.  There were some clouds moving in and out, but these will give an idea.  In this view you can see the lagoon where crew races were held during the Olympics: 

In this view, Sugarloaf Mountain can be seen:

A word about favelas.  These are ramshackle shantytowns which may or may not be authorized, where poor people live without any social services.  Our guide tries to put a favorable slant on everything, and she claims that 95% of favela residents have fresh water, electricity, and sewage.  They can be seen all over Rio, mostly on mountainsides, climbing up above the nicer areas to live.  This one was easily seen from Cocovado Mountain:

Here’s another we saw in another part of town: 

Rio also suffers from a terrible graffiti problem: 

The “new” cathedral, dedicated to St. Sebastian and built in the 1960s, is in what was described as “brutalist” style in concrete:

The interior is vast and, to me, not very welcoming:

A very large cross hangs down from the ceiling suspended in the middle of the space:

After leaving the cathedral we went to the site of the recent Olympics, where there is a giant mural done by a street artist named “Kobra”.  This mural portrays aboriginal individuals from each of the five continents represented by countries in the games.  It was very impressive:

Adjacent to the site of the Olympics is the Museu do Amanhã or Museum of Tomorrow, a science museum designed by Santiago Calatrava, in front of which is a giant “Rio Te Amo”, the equivalent of “I Love New York”.

 We walked a while in the very crowded streets of Rio’s downtown, where no one is dressed up for business.  Our guide told us that dress is extremely casual here, and we saw that slacks and an open-neck shirt seems to be the everyday business dress for men.  When not working, dress for men and women could easily be a bathing suit and a t-shirt, she said. 

We had lunch at a famous café, Confeitaria Colombo, which dates from 1894: 

After lunch, we had an introduction to Carnival in Rio.  This is a year-round project, with “schools” of neighborhood participants who prepare the floats, costumes, percussion bands and the dancing for the following year’s competition.  Each school has 4000-5000 members, 300+ musicians, and the preparations are amazing.  We visited a series of warehouses which serves just one school.  This year’s floats are being dismantled, and planning for next year is underway: 

 Some of the costumes are incredibly elaborate:

  

We had a chance to try on some of the costumes: 

We were like little kids playing dress-up. 

This evening Joyce and I walked Copacabana Beach.  Sewage is a problem here, and the smells were not consistent with the beautiful views.  Tomorrow we see Rio from the water as we go out on Guaranaro Bay.  More then.

Iguazu to Copacabana

Monday, March 20, 2017

This morning after breakfast we drove to the border of Argentina with Brazil and crossed over into Brazil.  We then went to the walk along the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls, which was also very nicely done.  There was a concrete path with a slight downhill cast to it, ending at an elevator to take you up to the parking area.  The major difference between the Argentinian side and the Brazilian side is that here we have a far better overview of the whole falls, compared to an up close experience on the Argentinian side: 

Although I have many more photos, that one gives the best feeling of what the walk was like.

After lunch we transferred to the airport and flew to Rio, and by the time we checked into our hotel on Copacabana Beach, it was dark, so I have no more photos.

Tomorrow we’ll tour Rio, including the giant statue of Christ which overlooks the city.  More then.

An Amazing Day at Iguazu Falls

Sunday, March 19, 2017; Iguazu Falls

We explored the falls all day, and what a day.  Iguazu Falls is formed by the Iguazu River which is a very wide, very shallow river.  Just before the falls it is a mile wide in multiple channels, and averages only three feet deep.  The falls form a horseshoe with a very long tail, and we began with a 1.5 mile walk on beautifully constructed catwalks along the tail of the falls.  As we started we saw a beautiful Plush Crested Jay:

And, in the water, the head of a cayman waiting for his lunch.  We couldn’t see the rest of the animal in the murky water:

We soon had a good view of the long part of the falls.  Here’s a panorama:

And we took the proper tourist photo:

 The walkways from falls to falls and over the river were easy to walk:

 Here’s a video of the multiple falls on the “tail” of the horseshoe: 

Finally, after about 1.5 miles viewing this part of the falls, we came to a station where a very local train takes you to the point from which the ¾-mile trail to the horseshoe falls leaves: 

The river is very wide here, just above the falls:

It’s ¾ mile on a catwalk to the horseshoe falls, and the viewing platforms are just above the falls: 

The power, the volume of water, the sound, all were incredible.  As was the spray!  Here’s a video:

 After lunch we had an optional excursion by power boat up the river and under the falls.  There was a 6 km. truck ride on dirt roads to get to the top of the canyon above the launch site, and then a 250 step stairway down to the boat.  With Joyce’s back as fragile as it is, she wisely chose not to do this, as did a number of the people on our trip.  But it was pretty special!  Here’s the truck which took you to the top of the canyon:

We climbed down the steps to our boat: 

And up the river we went at a remarkable speed:

 Here’s how the “tail” looked from the river:

 And here’s approaching the horseshoe:

  

After that we were told to put away our cameras in the waterproof bags we were given.  A good thing, as we went right under some of the falls and got totally soaked!  The power of the water and the roaring were exhilarating!  Truly an amazing experience.

Tomorrow we’ll tour the Brazilian side of the falls and then off to Rio.  More then.

From Buenos Aires to Iguassu Falls

Saturday, March 18, 2017  Buenos Aires to Iguazu

This morning we walked from the hotel to the Lady of Pilar Church:

This church serves the adjacent World Heritage Site Ricoleta Cemetery, where 4800 mausoleums hold the remains of the rich and famous when they die.  It is amazing.  Most of the mausoleums serve an entire family, and have stairs going down to crypts underneath.  Here is a general view:

 We found the mausoleum of this family particularly interesting, where a life-sized female figure, under a giant cross, was pouring oil into a large menorah:

We sat in a small open area as our guide related Eva Peron’s life story, and then visited her resting place.  Her body was returned here from Italy after democracy was established—a long story.

  

It’s Saturday, and we visited a giant park in the middle of Buenos Aires which was full of people enjoying the beautiful weather.  There were lots of bikers, joggers, and people with their yoga mats working in groups together.  The park has an extensive rose garden: 

We passed a remarkable sculpture by the famous Argentinian architect Euardo Catalano.  The flower opens in the morning and closes at night:

 After lunch we went to the airport and flew into northern Argentina, right at the Brazilian border, to Iguazu Falls.  Or Iguasu Falls.  Or Iguassu Falls.  I guess Spanish is different from Portuguese which is different from English.  I’m not sure which is which.  But the flight was memorable as the pilot, as we approached the airport, banked the plane first to one side and then to the other and gave us a wonderful view of the falls from the air, twice in each direction to allow people on both sides of the plane to get a good view.  An amazing flyover in a 737!

There is only one hotel in the national park which contains the falls, and we are staying there with a view of the falls from our room:

  

Tomorrow we walk the falls, and in the afternoon there is an optional Zodiac excursion to the base of the falls.  There are 250 steps down a stair with no handrails, we’re warned, if we want to do this.  And, of course, 250 steps back up. Joyce is thinking no, I’m thinking yes.  More to come.