Rio – 18/19th March 2011- Day 15/16

Rio de Janeiro (January River) is on the SE coast of Brazil, on Guanabara Bay of the Atlantic Ocean.  It is, without a doubt, the most beautiful city in the world.  Rock formations and lush mountains sprout out everywhere, interspersed with fine beaches and breath taking scenery.

Jimmy always wanted to sail into Rio, but he said going in and out with the cruise ship was fine (after a wonderful lunch on board!)

We arrived to fantastic weather (unlike our prior trip with Rio 2 weeks earlier) so set out to take full advantage of the great views of the city.

First to the top of 710m Corcovado mountain, to Christo Renentor (after almost a 2 hour wait for the cog train to take us to the top! – great weather comes with a price!!)

Then to Copacabana for lunch in a beach side restaurant, and on to Sugarloaf Mountain (Morro da Urca) with it’s unquestionable beauty, as we took the 2 cable cars to the top.

While we were in Rio, Obama arrived, with mixed messages - posters on the street “We Love Obama” and small planes flying by trailing “Obama Go Home”.  The timing of the trip was not the best with all the action going on in Libya. While we waited 2 hours to get the cog train to the top of Corcovada, they closed it off 2 days later for Obama’s sightseeing trip!

Rio is due to host the Olympics in 2016 (and the world cup in 2014) and a lot of work and building is needed before then.

The following day we went over to Ipanema Beach (remember the song?) for the morning.

With some passengers departed, and new ones on board, we sailed out of Rio that afternoon, with a good opportunity to see the breathtaking scenery from the water.