Rio de Janeiro

We sailed into Rio late morning and it was a pretty spectacular introduction to the city. Even though it was hazy the approach is incredible as it brings you past Christ the Redeemer on Mt. Corcovado, past beautiful white sandy beaches, scenic bays, historic forts and the world famous Sugar Loaf Mountain. You see the Palace of Emperor Dom Pedro and go right by the Brazilian navy's aircraft carrier and war college. You travel parallel to the nine mile bridge which connects to the neighboring communities and dock right near downtown.

Hearing that the traffic in Rio rivals many cities for nightmarish-ness we opted for a ship's tour to Sugar Loaf and the Cathedral. By the time we left it was well into the 90's with humidity to match so we were glad that we weren't clamoring for a taxi. Those of you familiar with my aversion to heights will be proud that I went up both levels of the cable car (gondola) to the very top--without sedation!

The views were spectacular. You could see 360 degrees and the beaches and bays looked very enticing on such a hot day. From there we traveled back into the very bustling downtown (population of Rio is around 9 million) to the Metropolitan Cathedral.

From the outside it looks a bit like a concrete bee hive and it wasn't very well received by the local populace when it was first built. It wasn't until Pope John Paul came and said how much he liked it that it became a source of pride for the community. It was late afternoon when we arrived and the sun was streaming in through one of the four stained glass windows. Each window is about 150 feet tall and they are gorgeous. One is mainly red tones, one blue, one yellow and one green. Our guide was telling us that at Christmas the Cathedral is completely full and the outside courtyard too--over 5,000 people.

Tomorrow we disembark and head for our hotel on Ipanema Beach for a couple of days before heading home!