Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – Day 1

Saturday February 10

One of the big plusses for this particular cruise is that we have 3 days in Rio during Carnaval! (Carnaval in Portuguese and Carnival to us) Knowing it would be very hard to get guides at such a busy time, I booked this tour first. Despite doing it over a year in advance many of the popular tour guides were already booked. I did find a really great guide Gus! He was very responsive and helpful. He got our Sambadrome tickets for us and we booked him for all 3 days. (24 hours of touring) He even agreed to provide our transportation to and from the Sambadrome.  His email is gusguide@hotmail.com

Greg was up for the sail in and said it was beautiful. I slept in.

I received an email from Gus saying he needed to start the tour later in the day, so we had a 9:30 start time instead of 8:00. Then, I find out that through Trish he added more people to transport to the Sambadrome. It was supposed to be just the 4 of us and then someone else transport the group of 6, but instead we had a large van for all of us. Shouldn't have been a problem, but of course larger groups come with needing more time. Plus, since it was a private tour, I should have been contacted to see if it was OK to add more people. (instead of them contacting the guide directly). Ya'll know how much I enjoy a surprise on a tour that had been carefully planned out. LOL

We made our way off the ship and found that we had to take a shuttle out of the port and we waited for quite a while before one was empty and we could board. At t he terminal there were a few ladies dressed in traditional Carnaval costumes. Finally, we made our way through the terminal and out to find Gus.

 at the terminal

We found Gus smiling and holding a sign with my name on it. After all of our correspondence he greeted us with big hugs. Since I am writing this after our 3 day tour I can tell you he was an excellent choice and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him or use his services again. With many streets closed for street parties (as we expected) we encountered closures and delays, but he was great at finding alternate routes and making contact with other guides to see how long waits were at the various places. Gus has a great personality and was very informative about the sites and history of Rio and Brazil in general. He adapted well to our touring style.

I had an outline of the things we hoped to see over our 3 day visit and knew the order during the day or even from day to day could change depending on traffic. We expected the crowds and to be honest, that was the best part of Rio. Watching the primarily young adults dressed for Carnaval and partying in the streets was a highlight. Such friendly fun loving people and they loved to pose for photos. One guy came up to the car to get his picture taken and then turned around and rubbed his butt on the car. Many waved and hammed it up for the camera. The main item of clothing that was part of almost everyone's costume was a tutu. Men and women alike. Most women had thongs on.
Gus said one of his guide friends told him there were long waits for Sugarloaf Mountain (over 2 hours wait) so we opted to push that later in the day.

So, we headed to Copacabana beach and the Fisherman walkway.

 from the car

 street parites

On the way we passed Rio de Janeiro Cathedral that Gus thought would probably be closed, but it was open so we stopped to check it out. Very interesting design. It's a round pyramid shaped building and was stunning inside as the stained glass windows towered more than 200 feet tall. We heard from others that it was closed when they went and they only got to see the outside. (while interesting, it was really the contrast of how beautiful it was inside to the "odd" exterior).

statue of Mother Teresa

We continued now to Copacabana and with no parking places to be had at Copacabana beach Gus dropped us off and then told us where to meet him when we were ready. What beautiful views from the Fisherman walkway down the beach and on to Ipanema Beach. Tons of colorful sun umbrellas and of course lots of thongs. In case you forgot your bikini there were vendors selling them as they walked around the beach selling them on a pole or under umbrellas. I can tell you all shapes and sized wore the thongs. (wait until you see the photos)

 you can buy a bikini on the beach

It was a beautiful hot and steamy day and Chirst the Redeemer was in full view. Many peoplle visit and never actually get to see it due to the clouds.

Traffic was slow going as we made our way to Ipanema beach and we stopped for a photo with the statue of Tom Jobim. (the author of the Girl from Ipenema) We walked along the beach for a while before getting back in the car to see the most sophisticated and upscale Rio neighborhood. The beach front avenue is closed during the Holiday for pedestrians and it becomes a big boulevard where locals exercise, walk, and during Carnaval mostly party. We saw the bar where Tom Jobim was inspired to write Girl from Ipanema.

 Tom Jobim. (the author of the Girl from Ipenema)

It was lunch time and Gus wanted to know what type of food we wanted and of course we wanted to try some local traditional food. Walking to lunch from the beach Gus asked if we wanted a picture with a group of guys parying on the street and we said no, but he said they really love to do it and he pushed us to do it. The guys posed with no problem and one let me wear his bunny ears. (yes, you'll see the photos eventually....) 

they posed with us and let me wear his bunny ears

Finally at the restaurant brasileirinho Cozinha Brasileira, Gus ordered for us and it was a dish more than ample to serve the three of us. Moqueca Caicara was the name of the dish and it is grilled fish and shrimp with tomato, onion & colored peppers (like a stew) served with rice, hot pepper sauce and farofa (a manioc grain). Very yummy!

We got back in the car and encountered many street parties which made for great people watching.
We finally made our way to the Selaron Steps and Lapa area. The steps are beautiful and are made out of ceramic tiles from around the world. Due to Carnaval they were a party place and so not a great way to actually see the steps themselves, but Gus pointed out lots of the famous ones. Again, the people watching was better than the attraction. They are not at all put out by tourists and interact freely with you. If you are taking a picture they want to be in it.

 yep, he rubbed his butt on the car

 Seleron Steps

We stopped at a few more beaches in different areas of town. Finally, Gus got word that Sugarloaf had almost no wait to get to the cable cars to take us to the top.

At Sugarloaf Mountain we took in the local area at the bottom and then rode the iconic Cable Cars, in two steps, all the way to the top of the Urca Hill, 215 meters high for beautiful views of Guanabara Bay and its islands, the Rio-Niterói Bridge, Niterói Beaches and the Corcovado Mountain.

 older cable cars - one used in a James Bond movie

We got off at the mid level and walked around for scenic views of the city and then proceeded onto the second cable car that took us to the top. WOW, what a view! Especially, since we had beautiful clear skies. We stopped for a cold drink and a wonderful hot chocolate croissant.

There were some adorable Marmacets (little monkeys) that came by briefly in the nearby trees.
Throughout the day we drove through various neighborhoods for middle income to the rich. Favelas (their slums) dotted the mountainsides.

Back at the port we made a stop to see a museum with an interesting design. Most or all of the museums (and many other things were closed due to Carnaval). There was also a bloko (the Carnaval parties) that was beyond loud as we wandered past it. It was fairly close to the ship and we heard it going all night long and maybe got quieter about 4:00 in the morning.

Saw quite a few men peeing along the way and even one woman in a squat and I happened to glance that way just in time to see the full flow....

A cute thing we saw was a lady walking a dog and the dog had his own used poop baggie in his mouth as they walked along. (no photo)

We originally had wanted to go out to a steakhouse that night, but we were still full from lunch and just grabbed a quick bite on the ship and made it in time to see the Folkloric show in the Theater which was a Samba group from one of the local Favelas. It was a great show and a real crowd pleaser.

Back in the room we gathered all of our things together for the next days touring and the samba parades and got a bit of sleep before we met Gus at 7:45 the next morning.

What a fantastic day!

Rio Brazil day 1 https://photos.app.goo.gl/lyTuwtydzdDJhaAK2