Rio de Janeiro...the End of the Trip

Arriving in Rio was awesome. All the famous sites were on display - you could see Ipanema and Copacabana beaches, Sugarloaf mountain, and of course the massive Christ the Redeemer statue (which seemed tiny off in the distance actually. Can you see it at the top of this image?)



They even had their smaller airport with a landing strip right on the water's edge.



We checked out of our cabin, said good-bye to all Soren's fans onboard (I'm not kidding when I say that it seemed that half the ship's staff seemed to know him by name at the end, they were really terrific), and then grabbed a taxi to our quaint little B&B in the hills of the Santa Teresa area of Rio.



From this table we actually saw a pair of Toucans fly by during breakfast! And if we looked up the hills you could see the Christ statue looking down on us. Awesome at night!

Rio gets a bit of a bad rap from in the tourist circles for crime. On the ship we had a person who specialized in the ports. She'd give lectures on the sites, history, and the logistical details. For each stop, she'd list the do's & don'ts to keep all 2600 of our fellow rich fatcats from getting mugged. No small feat, that. Most places had the normal warnings about avoiding showy displays of wealth or wandering around the dicey areas. For Rio she said "Ok, in each town we've been to so far I've told you to be careful and smart, but not paranoid. Well, in Rio, be a little paranoid." Great.

The thought of being paranoid of my enormous camera wasn't too appealing. And I also have to say that the thought of seeing Rio without my enormous camera was pretty much equally unappealing. So we found a compromise. For our first full day in Rio we took a city tour that would whisk us from famous site to famous site ensconced in the safety and security of a guide and a minivan. Genius solution.

The enormous Christ the Redeemer was awesome.





And the view...wow...



The beaches were busy, beautiful and long.



Sugarloaf mountain was another fabulous spot.



The fact that the clouds rolled in while we were ascending only made it all the more amazing.







And while these sites were spectacular, beautiful and totally photo-worthy, I do have to say that the next two days though were when we really fell in love with Rio. No camera to worry about, no watches, nothing to attract any greedy thief. We mastered the public transportation system, hopped buses all over the city. Visited the botanical garden. Frolicked on Ipanema beach. Found out of the way cafes. Poked at the strange barely-dead fish in the markets. Just had a blast. Rio rocks.

And late on night on Christmas Eve, we headed to the airport, the first of several legs of a journey that would bring us safely (and even precisely on time) home. What a great vacation.