Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Day1 (1 of 2)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Day 1

You may ask why it took 10 days to post our visit to Rio? The reason is that we took 1100 photos of fabulous Rio and we had to narrow it down to 40. Rio is a seaside city founded in 1565 by the Portuguese and the Capital of Brazil until 1960 (when the Capital became Brasilia). It is known for being the second largest city in Brazil (after Sao Pablo) with 6 million people in the city (in 456 sq miles) and another 8 million in the surrounding areas working in local as well as many international businesses (oil, mining, telecom). It’s known for its Carnavale, with a permanent grand stand lined avenue called Samodeomo (we were there just as Carnivale festivities were ending), for bossa nova, samba music, and for its famous beaches. Recently, the 2016 Summer Olympics were held here creating many new venues.

We went to the Sao Conrado district and then to the Copacabana & Ipanema beaches. In addition, the major event for day 1 was a visit to the 124 foot Christ the Redeemer statue, a huge Catholic Art Deco statue of Jesus Christ (surrounding concrete, soapstone from Sweden), one of the 7 New Wonders of the World, that was built in the early 20th century. that’s at the top of Mount Corcovado. To get there we took the electric cog train that has been there since 1882 when it was steam train 2.5 miles, for a 30-minute ride through the Tijuca forest up Mount Corcovado and then an elevator and then an escalator to the summit of the statue which is 2300 feet above Rio. Of course, some people hike it!

Quite a view when you get to the top!!!Read more