Celebrating in Rio!

Sunrise comes pretty early on the South Atlantic this time of year.  This photo was actually from the morning of the 30th when I peeked out the drapes and then went back to bed since it was only about 5:00 a.m.

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When i woke up about the same time on the 31st I decided I'd get up and go to the top deck to watch Serenade come in to this port that I had anticipated for so long and I was certainly glad that I did.  We were a lot further out than this picture below when I got my first glimpse and it was fun to be able to see the shore with its buildings come closer and closer.  It would stay overcast like this all day, no rain to speak of other than two or three drops, which was what made the temperature stay so pleasant.

Eventually we got close enough for me to zoom in on today's destination, the World Wonder that is Christ the Redeemer.  More on the statue later.

The port site was a blend of old and new, an area that had been revamped for the 2016 Summer Olympics.  It was a busy place that morning with two cruise ships already docked as we came in.

I can't tell you how amazing it was to watch them dock the ship here in Rio!  As we slowly came in I couldn't figure out how it was going to happen as we were headed directly to a space between the two other ships. I pondered, was that space really big enough for us to fit, and secondly, how were they going to do a 180 degree turn to parallel park with a third ship anchored not far behind Serenade.  Turned out yes, there was room and with absolute finesse were the answers to my quandaries.  You can see below how close the bow of the ship got to the dock before they started using the thrusters to make the slow and steady turn.  It was a thing of beauty and later when we saw Captain Stig I had to tell him how impressed I'd been to watch it happen.  I got a smile and a thumb's up in return. 

I find it fitting that the Portuguese landed here for the first time almost exactly 522 years ago on January 1, 1502. For some reason they didn’t hang around, deciding to focus their early colonies up in the northeast harvesting pao brazil as I mentioned before, so in 1555 the French decided to move in.  France Antarctique was the name of the colony they started on what is today known as Villegagnon Island, not far south of where we docked, and the current site of the Brazilian naval academy.  The settlement was named for the man in charge of it who tended to be harsh and intolerant so settlers began leaving, to the detriment of the colony.  Five years later the Portuguese decided they didn’t appreciate this foothold in what they considered their lands so in 1560 they and their Indian allies destroyed the French outpost in two days and nights of intense fighting.  It was suggested by one source I read that if the French expedition had had more support from their king and a better leader than Villegagnon we might have been speaking French in Brazil rather than Portuguese.  We’ll never know!

We got a whirlwind tour of bit of the city as we headed for Corcovado.  At this spot they unearthed the location of the original port in Rio as they were prepping for the Olympics  and now have the area blocked off.

Rio was the colonial capital of Brazil from 1763 until 1822, then the capital of the independent nation until 1960 when the capital shifted to Brasilia. These are some of the older buildings in town.  Please excuse my bus window sticker in the corners of some of these photos, I was taking pictures as best I could over Karl's lap.

Also on our way to Christ the Redeemer, we got to see this conical building that is the Cathedral of Rio de Janiero.  We were assured that it's as beautiful on the inside as it is ugly on the outside. 

Also along this street is what was formerly an aqueduct but is now just a nice architectural feature of the city.

Here's a little Rio street "art" for your viewing pleasure.  There were lots of contrasts of older and newer building throughout the areas we went through.  It's difficult to keep buildings looking great in a tropical climate.

Our guide made a big deal out of this street and arch that are where the Carnival samba competitions take place each year.  They have samba clubs where the members practice by the thousands to participate in the parade.

Each member of an entered club must cross under the arch at the end of the parade for the performance to be valid.  There are multiple viewing stands along the street which I believe will hold a total of about 80,000 people.  It's got to be quite the spectacle with the colors, music and dancing!

This was our closest glimpse of one of Rio's favelas that you find on the hillsides.   It’s good to remember that besides the glitz of the beaches this city is also known for its favelas or shanty towns.

Although we only saw one, vendors with trucks selling pineapples like this can be found all throughout the city.  One of the unfortunate things about cruising is that you can't take any kind of fresh fruit or produce on board with you.  I would have loved to have eaten one of those!

Once we reached the tram station to go to the top of Corcovado the crowds started in earnest.  It was a little bit of hurry up and wait a couple of times during the tour as we had to get in crowded lines for going both up and down the mountain.  Once the tram got us to the top we still had a ways to go to get to the statue itself.

Corcovado is located in one of the world’s largest urban forests, Tijuca National Park.  It is actually a manmade forest that was a reclamation project for cleared lands in the 19th century,  When the Portuguese first arrived they planted coffee on these hillsides but there wasn't enough water available to make it profitable so the governor ousted the coffee growers and turned it into this forest instead.  Today you can still see all kinds of plant life here like the lovely False Bird of Paradise below

In all honesty, Rio is built on one of the most beautiful locations that I have ever seen.  In Portuguese the name means River of January, and it's also called “the marvelous city”, thanks to its picture-perfect setting between the forested mountains and the sea with glorious white-sand beaches thrown into the mix.

The cloud cover was great for cooler temperatures but not as great for beautiful pictures but hopefully you can get an idea of how glorious the setting really is from some of the photos.

Notice the barges in the photo above off of Copacabana Beach, these were where the fireworks were going to be shot from at midnight.

Time to share some of my findings about Christ the Redeemer with you.  It sits 2,200 ft above sea level on the top of Corcovado Mountain, and is visible from almost anywhere in the city.  I was surprised to learn that creating Christ the Redeemer was a French/Brazilian collaboration and that it was actually a Romanian artist who created the Redeemer’s face. The statue itself is 125 ft (38 m) in height, the arms stretch 92 ft (23 m) and it weighs in at 700 tons (635 metric tons).  It’s made of reinforced concrete covered with soapstone tiles to give it a more finished look.  

Begun in 1922 this Art Deco masterpiece took nine years to complete and is still the largest statue of its style in the world.  It’s also kind of a lightning rod and it gets struck three to five times a year, occasionally sustaining damage from these strikes that has to be repaired, like a bit of thumb, or spot on the head.  We both climbed the 200 or so steps from the train station to the top, I took them down as well but Karl used the elevator to save some wear and tear on his knee.

One of the most impressive things to me about Christ the Redeemer is that it was paid for completely by the people of Brazil, especially stirring when you consider it was completed during the Depression.  I love the peaceful look on the Savior's face.

More beautiful views of Guanabara Bay and Rio, we could even see Serenade in the distance.

This view was all we saw of the famous Maracana Stadium, soccer/football nirvana in Brazil.  We also had a lovely view of Sugarloaf Mountain and wished would could have had the opportunity to take the cable car out to its summit.

This photo may give you an idea of how crowded it was at the top, pretty much like a Disney park on a holiday weekend.  We were just grateful to be able to be there and see this incredible statue in person, along with the surrounding beauty of this lively city.

As we arrived at the Assador Restaurant where we were to have lunch our guide pointed out large brown pods about the size of a grapefruit, growing on trees near the street.  Our friend Mark went exploring a bit after lunch and brought back one of the Fireball Flowers that grows inside the dreary pod.  Who would have though something so gorgeous would grow inside such a plain wrapper.

We also had a nice view of Sugarloaf from near the restaurant.  Batafogo Beach below was as close as we got to any of the city's famous sands. Lunch was another outstanding churrascaria with all you could eat Brazilian BBQ.

Once the tour and lunch ended it was time to head back to our stateroom for a nap and to get ready for the New Year's Eve festivities.  It's traditional in Brazil to dress in white that evening to ensure good luck for the coming year.  Our friends Cecilia and Ian had found a vendor by the port who was selling these colorful headbands so they surprised us all with one just before dinner.  Jane, Cecilia, Lea Ann, Cathy and I were quite the sensation as we walked into the dining room!

I was feeling pretty fancy so I had Karl take a picture that I could send to the grandkids and kids.

We knew that after the balloon drop inside the ship around 10:30 that the decks were going to get pretty crowded so we skipped that and went out to stake a claim on some space right after dinner.

The lights on shore looked like strings of diamond necklaces as they glittered in the distance with the light on Corcovado hovering above.  

Karl taught Mark how to play Farkle as we waited for fireworks to begin.  With beginner's luck he rolled five ones shortly into the first game and completely annihilated us!  Then he won again in a rematch so we know if we play again he's going to be insufferable!  Just kidding!

Serenade was lucky to have what the captain called the "pole position" of the seven ships that were anchored to watch the fireworks, we were right in the center with a perfect view of the shore.

At the stroke of midnight the fireworks show began and it was twelve to thirteen minutes of nonstop spectacular!

All sort os colors, shapes and varieties of pyrotechnics were part of the show, all synced to go at the same time from each barge.

By the end so many had gone off that it was tough to get a picture through the haze of smoke but looking at it live you didn't really notice it as much.

It was an absolutely unforgettable day and evening, exceeding our expectations in every way.  Royal Caribbean really did this one right for us!