Rio de Janero baby

Friday, March 8, 2013 - Rio de Janero baby!

Rio is a huge bustling city.  There were 3 ships in port including ours while we were here so traffic was heavy everywhere.  Today we joined a tour that would include the Sugar Loaf mountain and Christ Redeemer statue.  Our first stop of the day was sugarloaf.  We took two different trams to reach the top.  The views were magnificent.  We took photos of Copacabana Beach, the harbors, even a couple of the statue in the distance.  We were allowed about 30 minutes which was more than enough to get our photos.

Afterwards we were treated to lunch at a local Brazilian buffet.  I could not tell you the names of anything we tasted but after eating the same foods on the ship for over a month....it was great to get different.  My favorite was a fried banana that was with a cinnamon coating.

Next, we headed for the statue.  It took two vans to reach the top.  The driver was crazy.  I felt like I was on a rollercoaster that was out of control.  On the way down I kept my eyes closed lol.

When we reached the statue on the top it was covered in haze.  We soon realized that if we were patient and waited for the wind to blow a little it would clear the statue for a fraction of second to take pictures.  It was an awe inspiring experience.  Afterwards we bought a tiny statue and a cheap silver pendant of the statue.

We were dropped off by the ship terminal around 5pm.  I was a little disappointed that our tour guide did not let us get out at the beach to take pictures for a few minutes.  I would have loved some photos of the sand sculptures while Hubby wanted bikini pics lol

The wall of humidity that met us upon arrival in Rio was just let Nawlins and we felt right at home ;)