First full day of touring Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro. Hotel:Arena Copacabana
Guide: Rodrigo Quintello

What a wonderful day we had! We rose with the alarm at 7:00am after a really good sleep, had a very filling breakfast and were ready when Rodrigo met us in the lobby at 10:00. We liked him right off the bat and decided we would ask him if he would be our guide for the next day. Unfortunately, he had a tour for the next 4 days, but he got in touch with the office to try and find someone else for us.

Our first tour was to take a train up Corcovado Hill 2,300 ft. above sea level, to see the famous statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado Hill. The train took about half an hour rising from the base to a halfway point and then continued up the hill through the Tijuca Rain Forest National Park, overlooking the city of Rio de Janeiro. On arrival, we walked up the 240 steps to the base of the statue and were pleased that we could do this without breathing problems. A breathtaking view from all sides! Lots of people were standing with their arms wide open, copying the form of the statue, to have their pictures taken. Lots more lying on the ground looking up so they could get the entire statue in their viewfinder because of its height. We were so lucky because it was a clear blue sky, and everything below was very easy to see.

The statue of Christ is done in art Deco style, created by French sculptor Paul Landowski and built by Brazilian engineer Hector da Silva Costa, in collaboration with French engineer Albert Caquot, Romanian sculptor Gheorghe Leonida fashioned the face in France. It is made of reinforced concrete clad in a mosaic of thousands of triangular, white, soapstone tiles. Constructed between 1922 and 1931, the statue is 30 metres high, with a base 8-metres. The arms stretch 28 metres wide. The statue weighs 635 metric tons. A symbol of Christianity across the world, the statue has also become a cultural icon of both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil and is listed as one of the New 7 Wonders of the World.
Rodrigo took us around to all sides of the Corcovado Hill and talked about all the points of view we could see of the city. The number of beaches is amazing. Flamengo Beach, Botafogo Beach, Leme Beach, Copacabana Beach, Diablo Beach, Aproador Beach, Ipanema Beach, Leblon Beach. We could see the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, the racetrack, and Sugarloaf Mountain. It was spectacular!
On the way back down, we saw lots of Jackfruit trees bearing a sweet tasting custardy type of fruit that can weigh up to 100 lbs. One tree can bear up to 200 fruit in a year. It is used as a dessert or for making custards and in baking.
We returned to the car and drove along the coastline and stopped at Leblon beach right at the end of the series of beaches. We got out and walked along looking back at Ipanema beach. We then continued along to Ipanema and stopped for lunch at a Barbeque restaurant called Carretao. This was a typical Brazilian barbeque lunch. The whole “event” is orchestrated by two head waiters who relay directions to the servers, all wearing earbuds, as to which customers are ready for additional meat. We were given coasters the said Yes -green and Red - No. When we turned the coaster to green a server came around with a meat skewered sword and a significant knife to carve off some meat. The first sword was chicken so a whole breast was served to each of us! Yikes, it is going to be a long lunch! The meat was delicious, crispy skin and tender moist meat inside. We quickly turned our coasters to No and enjoyed our chicken. The next meat served was beef, and then lamb and then steak and then pork. We also had side dishes of fried bananas, garlic bread, fried polenta, and other items, we were not sure what they were but very tasty. We never did get to the salad bar as there was way too much food. What an experience. When we said we had had enough they still brought a dish of the best vanilla ice cream. We were stuffed. Collingwood, this would be a great restaurant!

From the restaurant we drove back to the Urca district home of a military site, to board the cable car to Sugarloaf Mountain. The cable car went up in two stages. We got off at the first stop and wandered around and even saw a helipad for people wanting to take even more spectacular sightseeing rides. We saw the very first cable car and the man who started it Mr. Augusto Ferreiro Ramos. Started in 1912 it ran until 1972 when the cars were retired, and new ones were put in place. The area was very relaxed so we could take our time and lots of pictures and enjoy the beautiful weather. From Urca Hill, we continued in a second cable-car to the top of Sugarloaf which rises 395 meters above sea level and offers a 360-degree view of the entire city including Botafogo and Copacabana Beaches, the Christ Statue on Corcovado Mountain, and downtown Rio de Janeiro. Here Rodrigo suggested that we take our time and walk around on our own for about an hour. We walked down about 5 or 6 levels and found a lookout to a Fort below on Guanabara Bay. The size of Guanabara Bay makes it the second largest in Brazil, but the depth of the bay, by sheer volume, makes it not only the deepest natural bay in Brazil, but the deepest in the world!

The name Rio de Janeiro was given to the city in 1565.It comes from when Portuguese navigators who arrived on January 1, 1502 mistook the entrance of the Guanabara Bay for the mouth of a river (rio is the Portuguese word for “river” and janeiro the word for “January

We then walked back up almost to the top where we sat at an outdoor café and enjoyed some lemonade. The temperature was about 32 degrees C.

We descended by the 2 cable cars back to the parking lot and headed back to our hotel. On the way Rodrigo wanted us to see the residential area of Urca. We drove up and down several streets. There were many houses up for sale. Rodrigo explained that the houses were historical and on very valuable land. The owners wanted their money out, but no one could afford to buy them and fix them up. There is a sea wall that runs along the shoreline of Guanabara Bay and the residents of the area congregate there to visit and watch life go by. In the bay was a statue of Sao Pedro do Mar the patron saint of boaters. He showed us a lovely small church in the area and then we returned to the hotel.

We had an hour-long rest and then headed out to a famous bar/ restaurant in the Ipanema area called, Vinícius Piano Bar, a restaurant and a show bar for those who really like Bossa Nova. It was opened in 1977 and in 1989 it was opened with a show by Carlos Lira. It was then that the bar became known as the Bossa Nova Temple. We had a wonderful dinner sitting out on the restaurant’s verandah.Read more