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Rio de Janeiro
We only slept 3:30. We are still in the wonder of the parade. After breakfast we decide to return to the historic center to go to the neighborhood "Santa Theresa".
Once crowned with a sulphurous reputation, this district has become the center of intellectual and artistic life.
The city of Rio is full of artistic works, but none is as popular and visited as the Selarón staircase. In the 1990s, the eccentric Jorge Selarón worked to transform this classic staircase into an original and colourful work of art by assembling more than 2,000 ceramic tiles.
It is very hot and we choose the terrace of a restaurant ... very noisy!!
We go baclk to the appartment to cool down a bit.
Last promenade on Capacabana beach before our tomorrow’s departure
Rio de Janeiro
Today, our morning tour is dedicated to "Pao de Açucar". A true symbol of Rio, Sugarloaf is often confused with Corcovado.
The summit is 395m high and is accessible by two cable cars, via the Morro da Urca.
The route offers an extraordinary panoramic view of the surroundings and from the summit you can see the beaches of Leme, Copacabana and Ipanema, as well as the neighborhoods of Botafogo and Flamengo, not to mention the Christ Redompteur.
We booked online, and this time the organization is at the top.
Then, we return to the apartment to rest for our special evening.
Salvador da Bahia
Before Rio de Janeiro
Today we go to the assault of "Corcovado"
Granite peak 710 m high, where on its summit is the "Cristo Redentor".
The statue of Christ the Redeemer that dominates Rio de Janeiro, has become the universal symbol of the city. Designed by Heitor da Silva Costa and Paul Landowski in 1922, after a contest launched to celebrate the centenary of Brazil, the monument weighs 145 tons and is 30 meters high.
We booked access at 12 pm, which allows us to collect our tickets for tomorrow night’s parade and return to Copacabana beach to soak up the atmosphere of a Sunday morning carnival. It is a show already seen on television but nothing beats a direct: Here the majority of Brazilians are in beach clothes ... Embellished with carnival ornaments (tutus, sequins and headbands or caps).
All along the promenade, street vendors offer costumes or drinks.
In the beach restaurants, singers and orchestras perform "Sambas".
It’s a festival of colours. All the themes are represented.
Then we go by Uber to the train that goes up in 10 minutes at the top of the Corcovado.
The way up takes us 1h30 ... We are in the presence of a Brazilian anarchy.
Several people with departures time after ours, pass in front of us while we are supposed to have a priority lane. The same applies to tour operators.
The site is invaded by a huge crowd ... But once at the top, a fabulous show awaits us.
The view of the bay and the city Rio de Janeiro is breathtaking, not to mention the jewel of the site : the appearance of the "Christ"
It is the emblem of Rio and for us a dream come true ... We are aware of being lucky.
It is very difficult to take a picture or a film ... Here the cult of personality is at its maximum ... The vast majority of visitors spend their time taking "Selfies" in all positions without admiring the site and the surroundings.
It’s a fight to reach the platforms.
It takes us the same time to get back under a blazing sun ... It’s 32°.
We then decide to have lunch late in the neighborhood "Ipanema"
A chic and fashionable neighborhood located in the south of Rio next to the ocean. Ipanema Beach, which rivals Copacabana Beach, was at its peak in the 1960s, when the bossa nova arrived on the scene.
We then see a "bloco" on the beach ... it is impossible for us to reach the center, a human tide invades the neighborhood. Always in beach clothes, Brazilians gather and drink while the sun goes down.
We take the metro back: It’s the equivalent of a day of transport in Paris ... A horde of carnivaliers in beach clothes (bikini, swimsuit and flip flops) hurries to go home.
Rio de Janeiro
We booked a "Walk Tour" in the historic center and we have an appointment at 10:30.
We take the subway for a few stations.
The meeting place is under the clock at 10:30. Our turn starting later we go around the neighborhood and join the square.
The group is so big that we are divided into two groups "English". Our group coounts 42 people!!
3 hours of uninteresting tour, our guide teaching us nothing special about the Rio, and not making us discover monuments ... We could have made this circuit ourselves.
Before lunch we visit the "Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião".
A huge concrete cone, the building can accommodate some 20,000 people. At each cardinal point is a huge stained glass window that descends from the top to the base.
In the afternoon we go to the "Mosteiro de São Bento".
Behind the façade, sober and elegant church built on a small hill, hides an amazing baroque interior. The walls are entirely covered with gilded wood ornaments, the marble floor, the organs... give the site all its splendor. A real gem.
After a short break at the apartment we go down the street to see a "Bloco".
It is a group of people gathered, often with a tank, and who invade the streets to a more or less organized parade.
They are often dressed in the same way to show their belonging to the bloco. A bloco can bring people from the same neighbourhood, school, etc.
Very nice ... everyone sings and dances.
Rio de Janeiro
Finally it is the departure day for Rio de Janeiro.
Awakened early by the screams of children having fun outside at 6 am ....
We quietly prepare our camper, then it is the turn of the suitcases.
Around 11:30, we ordered an Uber that arrived in just 3 minutes.
Before stepping in the car, the driver offers us another price for the race
.
'We tell him that we have already paid via the site, then he announces he has to stop to buy his lunch because he has been fasting since this morning. His driving is rather cahotic, he honks non-stop, drives at high speed and we discover that he drives barefoot.
Before arriving at the toll, he tells us that he will leave the highway through a village to avoid paying.
Finally at the height of the airport of Rio on the expressway it crashed the vehicle in front of us.
After waiting 10 minutes we ask him what we need to do. The answer is simple: order another Uber ... Easy to say but not easy to do, we are on a three-lane highway...
We try anyway and the site keeps changing each our pick-up location ... to the other side of the track ... To be reached swimming, because we’re in the middle of a lake!!
We end up stopping a taxi ... What emotions! We arrive safely, always stunned by our adventure.
The apartment we rented corresponds exactly to the description and photos.
We settle down. We then do some shopping before going to take the temperature on the mythical beach of Copacabana at the corner of our street.
Quiet evening
ROAD BOOK 173
ROAD BOOK 090
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