Rio de Janeiro

Preparing to go home!

We packed after breakfast then rushed off to RioSul Shopping Centre in an attempt to buy Christmas presents. It was not very successful, so we came back to the hotel and bought a t-shirt and purses in the shop there. We finished in our room and left a tip for Franzisco, our very nice room cleaner. We left our bags downstairs then went next door to the usual place for drinks and snacks with the Moffatts, Lennox, the Borns and some others. We exchanged addresses, etc, and there were lots of goodbyes. The Robinsons finally turned up - they had been up to Corcovado.

Final farewells.

We took a very fast taxi to the airport. We were on the same flight as Angus Stamper and his wife, Emma, the Barnes, Chris and Linda and the Doreys. Sadly, Geoff Dorey's mother had just died.

The flight left at 6.30pm (8.30pm London time) and took us south from Rio via Sao Paulo where we were one and a half hours on the tarmac. More passengers joined the flight and we then had a full plane to London. We finally arrived at Heathrow on Tuesday morning at 9.45am. We had dreadful food on the flight. Daniel met us at the airport and we were finally home at 12 noon. It was lovely to see all the family. Although we didn't want to leave Rio, it's great to be home!

Rio de Janeiro

A beautiful clear sunny day. We had breakfast outside and there was a parade going on in the street with many Father Christmases. There are lots of Christmas decorations which look very odd in the summer heat.

We went by taxi to Corcovado and there was a big queue for the train to go up to the top.

Entrance to train station and one of the funicular wheel trains..

They have opened a Visitors' Centre since we were last there, 2 months ago. We were up by the statue just before midday. It was very hot but clear. Tim took photos and the sun was in a much better position than later in the day, when we were there before. We had mandarin juice and a sandwich and bought a t-shirt for Ed.

My co-driver and navigator extraordinaire, enjoying herself relaxing at the the top of Corcavado.

Back at the hotel, we changed and walked to the Copacabana Palace to see the Moffatts. Unfortunately, they weren't there, so we decided to see them tomorrow. We then walked back to the Sofitel.

We had a swim in the Sofitel pool, which was very pleasant, then we sat in the sun and had tea. We said goodbye to lots of people, promising to keep in touch. We met Steve and Nicky and had a drink outside the upstairs bar. We all went to dinner at the Satyricon restaurant in Ipanema. It was excellent and we had wonderful fish, including lobster, with a risotto and a very good Chilean Chardonnay. We went back to the hotel and met Greg, Chris, Lennox and others.

Rio de Janeiro

We said goodbye to the Mitchells, the Pelly-Frys and Colin after breakfast.

We took a taxi to the Santa Teresa tram-stop, but were dropped off at the Metropolitan Cathedral dedicated in 1976 to Saint Sebastian, the patron saint of Rio. It is an astonishingly ugly cone- shaped building, designed by Edgar de Oliveira da Fonseca. It has 4 huge stained-glass windows and is very tall and impressive, but rather sinister.

There was a special service taking place with some sect or order with many in the congregation wearing red sashes and others bearing flags. As they all filed out of the cathedral, a man with a beautiful voice sang a hymn or religious song and a lot of people joined in. It was powerful and very moving.

We walked to the Bonde or tram station and waited quite a while for the tram to Santa Teresa. There was a lot of shunting back and forth to make room for the trams coming in the opposite direction. It was a bumpy ride with locals hanging on the side of the tram, which is free. We got off at what was supposed to be the centre, but there was very little in the way of shops or restaurants. We walked quite a way and became very hot, so went into a bar for a drink - Bar do Mineiro - and ordered lunch. We were feeling over-heated by now, but the lunch was very good - salad, chips and fried fish. Ronnie Biggs used to live in Santa Teresa, but we didn't discover which house. We took a taxi back down and tried to visit the Candelaria, a church, but it was closed.

We went instead to Praca 15 de Novembro, named after the date of the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889.

 
The square, which has many old buildings, including the Imperial Palace.

The area was rather seedy and as we went back to the hotel, it was raining heavily. We walked around the Antiques Fair next door, then went to the Copacabana Palace to say goodbye to the Marklands. We gave Paul a Rio numberplate and had a drink with them and the Moffatts.

We went on to Nicky and Steve's in the evening to see the lighting of an 82 metre high Christmas tree in the lake. We met some of their Brazilian friends, including their Portuguese teacher. We walked over to look at the tree and listen to a concert. Then we went to the Wheelers' friend Graham's flat, also overlooking the lake and the tree. The tree is  a huge illuminated structure towering above the lake. There were very impressive fireworks.

We left to go to the Samba School rehearsal, but were not sure where it was. The concierge couldn't help us, so we didn't go in the end. I was very disappointed, although I don't think Tim was. Instead, we went to the Garota de Ipanema restaurant where they wrote the song about the girl.

We had a late dinner there which was very good, although it was really crowded. We met the Robinsons and went back to the hotel.