September 15, 2024

Dateline – Rio de Janeiro

I’m sitting in my suite sipping from a glass of the hotel branded champagne (complimentary bottle came with the room) while I nurse my back (improving, but still sore) and recover from the events of the day. I would have stayed out longer but we have a very early start tomorrow to avoid the crowds at Rio’s top tourist attraction. It’s also Sunday and so the Copacabana is quieter than it has been the last two nights. At least there’s no overly amplified caterwauls of a singer massacring 1980s pop translated into Portuguese drifting through the window tonight and there is much less traffic on the road. I should sleep well. For some reason, I did not sleep terribly well last night so I was a bit draggy this morning.

After getting myself up and moving, a process that’s taking twice as long as it should as I still can’t bend the way I would like, and having another hotel buffet breakfast (I recommend the passion fruit croissants), it was on the bus for a short trip through town to the famous Sugar Loaf (which seems to be surrounded by various Brazilian military installations – back in the day it was the site of various forts protecting the entrance to the bay and harbor from pirates and rival European colonial powers). On we got into the gondolas, the first up about 400 feet to the top of Urca and the second up an additional 800 feet to the top of Sugar Loaf. The current gondola system dates from 2008 and is quite posh and very smooth. There has been a gondola on the route since 1912. There is one of the original cars (which was in place until 1972) on display and they look like they would have swayed all over the place and, being open, I imagine people fell out once in a while which would not be at all a pleasant experience. If you’re a James Bond afficionado, the gondolas are the site of one of his battles with Jaws in Moonraker (but that was the old system in place from 72-08). I haven’t seen that film in years but now that I’ve been on the tramway, I’ll have to rewatch it.

The weather has shifted somewhat, being a good deal cooler today than the last two days. It was a very pleasant high 70s to low 80s with a breeze but the local Cariocas, whose wardrobe seems to consist mainly of bathing suits, T-shirts, and flip-flops were acting as if it were the second coming of the ice age. The maritime air brought in some fog and the smoke from forest fires well to the north of us mixed in to make the day rather the hazy. The view from the top wasn’t as spectacular as it might have been on a clearer day but was still a great look at the general geography of Rio. There isn’t much on top of Sugar Loaf other than the obligatory snack bar and gift shop so, after forty five minutes or so, down we came again. I did spot some more Brown Capuchins in the trees and on top of Urca, there were a number of charming little marmosets clowning for the tourists. They are apparently a nuisance critter in the city.

From the Sugar Loaf, we headed over to the Bay and boarded an old fishing boat retrofitted for bay cruises and spent an hour and a half or so motoring around the bay for water views of the central city, ships of the Brazilian Navy, the Victorian gothic old customs house, and other such things. Then on to a late lunch at a typical Brazilian restaurant. A large buffet of sides, some recognizable, some not so much (although I have decided I quite like casava which I can’t remember having eaten before) and waiters running around and carving a dozen different meats from large skewers onto your plate. I wanted to try everything and consequently ate too much. This required a trip back to the hotel for an emergency nap.

After nap time, a bit more time at the pool, a walk along the promenade (I still won’t go in the water – I don’t trust it), and some shopping as darkness rose and the lights all came on. Time to head back to the hotel for a glass of champagne or two (no dinner needed after that lunch…) and there you have it. Heading to bed relatively early as the alarm goes off at 5:45 tomorrow morning. (That’s 3:45 central time so I’m not looking forward – will have to have several cups of coffee before boarding the bus.).