Sue's Travels: 2013

Monday, February 4, 2013

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 21 January 2013

Monday, 21 January 2013

The wake-up call came promptly at 6:00 am and I really tried to move. I headed downstairs for breakfast and noted that the internet computers were available; consequently I took the opportunity to check my e-mail. I can only check facebook on my machine because I no longer remember the password.

After breakfast, I got on the bus and we departed at 7:30am. We were headed for Corcovado where they have the statue of Christ the redeemer. Apparently the night that we went to the Samba show, there was a massive rain storm, which caused significant mud slides and some trees went down. One of those trees fell on the railroad tracks of the railroad that takes one up to the top of Mount Corcovado. As a result, our guide was anxious to get us there early so that we would be on the first train up. We were there on time, but the 8:00 am train did not run. At one point, it appeared that we might have to go up by van, but the 8:20 am train ran. Unfortunately it was raining when we got to the top and the elevator was not running; consequently I had to walk up the two hundred odd steps. By the time we reached the top, it had stopped raining. When the clouds cleared, which they did momentarily, we had fabulous views of Rio. Coming down was not too bad. I sat for a while waiting for the train. I was emphatic about getting a seat on the left side which is where the views were best. We had to wait a while for the bus since the buses were not permitted to remain in the area where we got on the train. I picked up a chotsky and I also bought an umbrella. Luggage has to be out by 12:00 which is the check out time. It looks like I will make it with time to spare. I plan to spend my last hour in Rio sitting around the pool watching the ocean.

The Christ the Redeemer on Mount Corcovado in the rain

View of Rio de Janeiro from Mount Corcovado - Starting to clear a bit

The Catholic Bishop and the Engineer responsible

Statue from the front

Rio De Janeiro in the mist

Rio in the mist

Starting to clear

A bit clearer

Almost clear

Map of Rio as seen from Mt Corcovado

It finally cleared!

Chapel behind statue

Heading down the mountain

Ipanema Beach in front of hotel

At 1:00 pm, we were driven to the airport and check-in was quite easy. Unfortunately the wait was considerable, but that is the way things go. The flight was a bit bumpy, but short. We arrived in Sao Paulo in under an hour and a half. I went thru security and emigration here. I forgot that I had left my bug spray and sun screen in my carry-on; consequently they were confiscated. I wasn’t terribly upset since they probably were close to expiration anyway. I bought another key chain for 12 Realis, which is more than twice what I paid in Rio. I should have bought more when I bought that one at the foot of Corcovado. The plane to New York is scheduled to leave at 11:25 with boarding to begin at 10:25.

The flight to New York from Sao Paulo was the usual uncomfortable situation. It was a nine hour flight and I did get some sleep, but I kept waking up and my back hurts. We landed at JFK around 5:00 am. The line through immigration was long, but moved quickly. Apparently several planes had landed about the same time. One was from Israel. I had no problem going through customs. I took a cab home and started unpacking.

Petropolis, Brazil 20 January 2013

Sunday, 20 January 2013

From my room - Ipamema Beach

Along the road to Petropolis

Roadside stand - sold bananas, cocanuts, water, purses and rugs made from bikinni left overs

Along the road to Petropolis

Former Cassino in Petropolis

Me with former Petropolis Cassino in background

Royal Family just before they were expelled from Brazil

Royal summer residence of Pedro II

Railroad engine used in the past

Carriages used by the royal family

Brazil Tree with me in front

Cathedral spire

Cathedral spire

Tomb of Pedro II, his wife, his daughter and her husband

Inside Cathedral

Tomb of Pedro II, his wife, his daughter and her husband

Houses near the cathedral

Mark swimming

Me on the beach at Ipanema

Me in the water at Ipanema

Farewell Banquet

I woke up with my 7:00 am wake up call. This was the first night that I slept through. I had a problem in that I couldn’t turn off one of the lights near the bed, but I really slept. Once I woke up, I figured out how to shut the light off! I uploaded my pictures and wrote my log before I headed downstairs for breakfast.

The breakfast was quite good. Most of the people made a sandwich to take with them. I supposed I should have, but I didn’t. We got on the bus at 9:30 and headed for Petropolis, which was the summer home of Emperor Pedro II. I was aware that Brazil had a “royal family”, but I really didn’t know anything about it. When Napoleon Bonaparte conqueror Portugal, the royal family fled to Brazil. When Napoleon was thrown out of Portugal, the King returned and his son Pedro I became the emperor of Brazil. The King advised his son to declare independence from Portugal, because virtually all the countries of South America were declaring their independence.

Pedro I was a playboy who fathered quite a few children by his various mistresses. He was married twice and had some legitimate children by his two wives. When Pedro I’s father died, he became King of Portugal. Since he never really liked Brazil, he returned to Portugal, where he was born. His son, Pedro II, at the age of 14 became the emperor. Apparently Pedro II was quite well educated and he was successful at ruling Brazil. At a appropriate age, Pedro II sent his representatives to Europe to find an appropriate bride for him. The only royal who was willing to come was from Italy and she was not very pretty. A very flattering portrait was painted of her and sent to Pedro II. He agreed to marry her and when he saw her for the first time, he was shocked because she didn’t really look like the portrait he had received. Despite a rocky start, the marriage was a success. They had several children, but only two girls survived to grow up. Isabella the older signed a decree which freed the slaves in Brazil. The support for royalty came from the farmers who depended on slavery which meant that there was no support for royalty, who were then thrown out. There were strong positive feelings about the royal family and were permitted to return as private individuals. Pedro II, his wife, Isabella and her husband’s bodies were brought back and buried in the cathedral in Petropolis.

We stopped at a stand (the only stand on the road) where they were selling cocanuts for the milk, bottles of water and items made from the leftovers from making bikinis. I bought a small purse for my little Muffin, which means that I have to find something additional for my little Avi. We continued on the road to Petropolis. We went to the summer residence of the emperor and I was quite impressed with the building and its contents. We wee asked to wear slippers so that we wouldn’t damage the floor. We were not allowed to take pictures inside the building. From the palace, we went to the cathedral, which contains the tomb of Petro II, his wife, his daughter and her husband. The cathedral was much nicer than the cathedral in Rio, but I’ve seen more impressive. From the cathedral, we went to the place where we had lunch. It started raining. Driving down the mountain in the rain was not exactly my favorite thing, but the driver got us there in one piece.

By the time we got back to Rio, the rain had stopped and we went to the hippie market. I treated myself to a necklace and a pair of earrings. I was looking for a wallet like the one I had seen at the ranch, but I didn’t see anything like it. I did see one lace dress that I’m sorry that I didn’t buy for my little Shoshi. One of the people was not on the bus when she was due which had most of us concerned because she is not the type to be late. Most of us were quite concerned. It turned out she went to the wrong corner!

After we got back, I raced up to my room to change into my bathing suit. I had to go on the beach at Ipamena. A few people came down and Barbara took pictures of me on the beach. I actually went into the water and went out a short distance. I didn’t trust my swimming skills since it has been so long since I’ve gone swimming in the ocean. At about 6:40, I went up showered and changed into suitable clothes. Naturally I wore the jewelry that I had treated myself to. The food was quite good. I had a glass of wine. At about 9:00 pm, I came up to my room.

We were warned that tomorrows trip may fall apart as a tree fell down on the railroad tracks which leads up to the cross. We have to leave at 7:30 am to make sure that we get back on time.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 19 January 2013

Saturday, 19 January 2013

I normally write up my experiences before I go to bed, but last night I was too exhausted.

I had my wake-up call for 6:00 am and had my luggage out early. I think that I was the first one to pay my bill and then went off for breakfast. We headed out for the airport at 7:30 am as Alex had indicated the night before. The airport at Iguassu Falls was relatively small and there were no problems except for Kathy and Jeff. They had to pay an exorbitant overage fee. We got to Rio and were met by a guide, Lillian.

We got into the bus and started our tour. We were taken to the Cathedral which is shaped like a pyramid and has four sets of stained glass windows. I was not terribly impressed with the building. It didn’t create feelings of awe in me the way many of the old gothic cathedrals do. From there we drove through the city and what I saw did not impress me. We headed to Sugar Loaf Mountain for the cable ride to the top. The bus dropped us off and we got on line to wait! The area was very crowded. We were told that there were several cruise ships in port and as a result a lot of buses and vans had been rented for their use.

Samba Parade is held here during Carnavale

Cathedral - built in the shape of a pyramid

Description

Stained glass windows

Modern buildings

View of city

Fine Art Museum

Sugar Loaf Mountain

Library

Sugar Loaf Mountain

cable car to go up to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain

Mobs of people going up in the cable car

Cable car

Jack fruit

View of mountain from cable car

Looking down on the bay

View of the city from the top of the mountain

Flemingo Beach

View from the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain

Me with Flamingo Beach in the background

Me with Copacabana beach in the background

Looking out to Sea

Buzzard flying over head

On the ground

We finally got up to the intermediate stop and walked over to take the second cable car up to Sugar Loaf Mountain. The wait for the second car was not quite so long. When we finally go to the top, it was definitely worth the wait. The views were spectacular. The lines to go down were not quite as long.

We loaded up in the bus to head to the hotel. The area that we drove through – Copacabana and Ipenima – changed my opinion of Rio. It was beautiful. The beaches are exquisite. Copacabana is an older neighborhood and is not as desirable now, because of a lack of parking. Most of the residents are retired people to whom the lack of parking is not quite as much of a problem.

Copacabana Beach

Favela behind hotel

Ipenama Beach

People celebrating St Sebastian day - patron saint of Rio

The Samba show trip had been cancelled because they need a minimum of 15. The problem was that the dinner involved with the show was meat and about 12 people on the tourdo not eat meat. If the restaurant had other options, it would have been a go. There was a lot of back and forth about the show. Apparently we could go to the show alone. I would have like the bus to take us and pick up, but some of the people wanted to go out to eat and not have dinner at the hotel. Barbara was annoyed over the fact that people would not agree to the bus. The cost of the bus per person would have been $30 versus considerably less for a cab. I would up going with four couples. It was not a problem as the hotel as they have cabs that will take up to 6 people.

We went to dinner at La Mole, a place suggested by the concierge. The food was good and more than ample. I was only able to eat about half of what I ordered. As we got to the restaurant, people were dancing in the street to celebrate St Sebastian day. St Sebastian is the patron saint of Rio and the people of Rio enjoy celebrating. One of the women had insisted that we eat outside and initially the celebrating made conversation impossible. Eventually the group moved on to continue their festivities elsewhere.

We walked approximately six blocks to the theatre. We felt that as a group of nine we were probably safe. When we arrived at the theatre, we found other people from the group already there. Lillian our guide was there and she had arranged with a lady in the theatre to help us get cabs to head back. The show was very bright. The customs were what you expect at carnival. A lot of the woman wore almost nothing except for very elaborate head dresses. A good time was had by all, until time to head back. We had trouble getting a cab. Eventually I said that I would take a cab alone since the cabs didn’t want to take five people. Finally one cab agreed and Diane sought of lay on top of Barbara (whose name I thought was Margaret!). We paid him thirty riales. Chuck gave the driver 10 and I gave him 20. Mark reimbursed me 10 so everything worked out. Larry told us that his cab driver had turned on the meter and the fare was 15!