It's time to fill you in on our first week in Brazil. We arrived in Rio on November 14, after two weeks in Peru. This next part of our RTW ticket proved to be another whirlwind of sights, sounds and smells.
Our less-than-direct flight from Lima to Rio passed without incident. As some of you will know we flew Lan Chile which saw us transit via Santiago. The flight left Lima at 1:15 am and took three hours to reach Santiago. However, Santiago is currently two hours ahead of Peru so we found ourselves awakened for breakfast barely two hours into our flight. Ouch! The early start did enable us to watch the sunrise over the Andes. A magic moment.
From Santiago, we flew on to Rio with a brief stop in Sao Paulo. Flying into San Paulo was an experience in itself. From the air, we could see that this was truly an enormous urban expanse that seemed to extend to the horizon in every direction. I’d say only Tokyo comes close to matching such an overwhelming urban landscape. After a long day of dog-leg routed travel we finally arrived in Rio shortly after 2:00pm.
After checking in we spent an afternoon strolling along the beach promenade trying our best to soak in the wonderful laid-back culture. By the time we were done, we'd walked almost 8km. Sadly, I didn't think to take my camera. At the time we'd only intended to take a relatively brief stroll along the waterfront.
Instead, our route ultimately took us past Vivo Rio, a post-modern conference centre, and on as far as Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, the city's famous pyramid-shaped Catholic cathedral. The cathedral is located across the road from the terminus of the restored Santa Teresa tram line. We watched a tram pull in with tourists perched along its outward-facing bench seats. However, I couldn't talk Garry into taking a ride so we retraced our steps slowly back to the hotel.
Later that night we caught a cab to Marius, a popular seafood restaurant, located on the eastern edge of Copacabana Beach. This local institution is a crazy place. The entrance, shrouded by oversized palm fronds, sits at the base of a nondescript apartment complex. Inside, you find a sprawling and suitably chaotic venue decorated with all manner of eclectic items including suits of armour, crystal chandeliers and marine brass fittings. The images I've pulled from the internet above give you a feel for the experience.
The meal itself was an endless rodízio style degustation menu consisting of every fresh seafood dish you can possibly imagine. We literally rolled ourselves out the door after one too many prawns! Garry recently reminded me that we also took a brief stroll along the Copacabana promenade to soak in the evening air.
Marius operates a churrascaria restaurant with the same rodizio format next door. Garry immediately made me promise we’d try this establishment the following night. Those of you who know Garry will also know that there is no more dedicated carnivore than he. We did indeed return the following evening and consumed every conceivable part of a cow known to man, plus a few pigs, chickens and other meats I was too nervous to ask for a translation.
Catching a cab to either Marius restaurant is something everyone should experience once in their life. Rio cab drivers are all in training for the national Grand Prix, revving engines loudly at every red light, taking any corner at breakneck speed and generally doing their best to pass every vehicle on the road.
Of course, road chaos is nothing new to me after many years in Asia. India and China definitely have mastered random driving as a national sport. However, Rio adds the frightening element of speed to the mix!
Given how little time we had in Rio we wanted to make the most of it. To give us a headstart, I shouted Garry a private guided tour for his birthday. This involved a whirlwind day exploring most of Rio's most iconic locations. Our guide was excellent. He was incredibly laid back and gave us plenty of time to experience each stop before moving on to the next.
Our tour kicked off with a visit to the famous Corcovado mountain where a 30-metre statue of Christ watches over the city. As expected, the view was spectacular and gave us our classic postcard photos. We reached the summit via the famous Corcovado cable car. This rack railway operates from a base station in the hillside neighbourhood of Cosme Velho, rising to 670 metres over a distance of 3.8 km. The 20-minute ride, through narrow cobblestone streets and lush tropical vegetation, was an experience all of its own.
Thank goodness Garry refused to ride one as we passed the terminus station the previous day. He was exhausted thanks to the limited sleep we’d managed on our overnight flight. Although, in hindsight, I think a hair-raising cable car ride would have woken us both up!
Of course, Rio wouldn't be Rio without Carnivale. Our guide took us to the famous street where it all happened. Television can be so deceiving. You'd think the parade was snaking its way through miles of city suburbs when in reality, it's all happening on a purpose-built 800 metres long roadway, bordered by concrete stadium seating. While there we toured a local museum housing some of Carnivale's colourful costumes. On a whim, I boldly rented one for a photo shoot and had my own little Mardi Gras.
We then caught a cable car up Sugarloaf Mountain for more spectacular views. This included watching ant-sized climbers making their way up the rock face the hard way. From Sugarloaf, our guide took us past an endless stream of beautiful coastal beaches reminiscent of the best in Sydney. This included brief stops to view Ipanema Beach and a glimpse of luxurious lakeside villas lining the shores of Lagos de Jacarepagua in the Barra da Tijuca district.
Later that evening we joined our next overland tour group. Then, early the following morning our small group departed for the heritage-listed town of Paraty. Imagine a dozen of us crammed into one large minivan driven by another complete and utter manic.
Our Brazilian adventure continues here.
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