Across the pond westward - Brazil for the first time....

Six days at sea on a ship with marginal food, slow and erratic internet, no television and a very crowded pool deck.  I guess we could look forward to dressing for dinner every night although I was relying on spaghetti Bolognese as my main course most nights.  I’m not sure Peter and I found a wine on the list that we could appreciate although we tried.

We solved the problem in our normal way; we read a lot and had drinks with our friends.  We had made a few including Peter and Veronique, our dinner table mates, the boys from Salzburg; Augie and Marcus, and Marie and Narush and we spent most days chatting with some or all of them.  The good news was that it was getting warmer every day and while we did enjoy the warmth, there was a marked increase in the skimpy bikinis worn by the over 60 crowd.  For the first time we were looking forward to the end of a cruise.

Finally, land ho!  Brazil!  First stop; San Salvador Bahia.  Unfortunately for us, the ship was unable to give us any historical or interesting information about this surprisingly large port city so; we took a tour hoping the guide might be able to tell us more. 

We wandered around the very colorful and beautiful old section of the city on a gorgeous, sunny Brazilian day stopping for spicy shrimp sandwiches from a sidewalk vendor.

  Of course there was a stop at an interestingly decorated local church complete with nativity scene which seemed strange to us northern hemisphere folks given the summer weather outside. 

Was it really that time of year (almost Christmas)?

We stopped for a drink and some chips (fries) before reboarding the ship a little frustrated that the tour guide had not really enriched our knowledge of the history and relevance of this city on our first visit to Brazil.  In two days we would be in Rio de Janiero which we anticipated with a little trepidation because we had heard it was dangerous, polluted, crowded and filled with poverty stricken beggars. 

Two days later and thirty minutes into our tour bus ride in Rio we were still feeling the same, things looked a little scary.  We only passed by the Sambodromo, the 700m stretch of Marques de Sapucai street that has been turned into the viewing stadium for the annual Samba competition that is Carnival in Rio.

  At the end of the stadium area it opens up into Praca de Apoteose (Apotheosis Square) where there is an interesting arch sculpture, it really looks like a tanga, which is rather appropriate for the venue.  We caught glimpses of beaches as we traveled but alas, the bus turned into the inner city and pulled up to a weird looking cone-shaped building which, we learned, was the Rio de Janiero cathedral.

  We were able to wander around this unique and strangely beautiful building for 45 minutes which for us, was about 20 minutes too long.

Back on the bus for another half hour to the featured stop; Sugarloaf.  This place is really a must on a first visit to Rio.  You take a double cable car system from the station at sea level which stops at a peak midway and then you can continue on to the top of the peak some 1300 feet above Guanabara Bay where the peninsula sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean.

  From the top you can see some of the complicated and interesting geography of this huge city.

There are really several cities on different peninsulas and islands all seemingly with their own beaches.  You can see Impanema and Copacabana beaches from the top as well as the statue of Cristo Redentor (Christ the redeemer) on Corcovado.

Looking back toward the cathedral you can see how the architecture of two tall office buildings near it has been designed and structured to make a cross.

It is also apparent that the poor sections of the city have grown up in the foothills and small valleys of the mountains in the opposite manner of cities in the U.S. where it is usually the well-to-do that build their dwellings in similar locations.

On the way back to the ship we were given an hour at Copacabana to shop or simply walk the beach even though it wasn’t on the schedule.

  As the ship left the harbor that evening we were treated to an indescribably fantastic sunset over the peaks and mountains of Rio.  We came away with a completely different viewpoint of Rio de Janiero than we had arrived with.

The city is absolutely beautiful and certainly worth putting on your bucket list.  Yes, there is poverty, like any large city, and I am sure there are plenty of dangerous areas where you wouldn't want to walk alone at night, like any large city....you get the drift.  Be just a bit conscientious and you can enjoy this beautiful area and come out no worse for wear and very much enriched.

Two more days at sea and we would be in Buenos Aires.  We were looking forward to South America and getting off this damned ship.