Artfully Ann's Adventures

Travel - Rio De Janeiro, Brazil – March 1 & 2, 2014

Rio de Janeiro (technically the River of January) or the “Marvelous City” as it is fondly called, is the second largest city in Brazil, the fifth largest country in the world. The city has a population of 7 million people. It occupies 485 sq. miles with 31 miles of shoreline.

Fourteen million people live in the greater metropolitan area. Its main industries include petroleum, pharmaceuticals, furniture, clothing, textiles, processed food and chemicals. More tourists visit Rio yearly than any other part of Brazil.

The Portuguese first came to Rio in 1502 when Americo Vespucio and Andre Gonçalves sailed into the Guanabara Bay. The area officially became Rio de Janeiro on March 1, 1565. It was Brazil’s capital (as a Portuguese colony) from 1763-1815 and then capital, first of the United Kingdom of Portugal from 1815-1821, and then the independent nation of Brazil from 1822-1960, when the capital city was relocated to the newly constructed Brasilia. Rio receives the most visitors per year of any city in South America with 2.82 million international tourists annually.

Rio’s cultural life is intense and varied. Perhaps at no time is the city’s festive reputation better displayed than during the annual Carnival which enlivens the city for three solid days with music, singing, parties, balls, and street parades of brilliantly-costumed dancers performing the samba.

We arrive in the midst of Carnival. Certainly it was one of the draws of the trip. Who wouldn’t want to say that they have been in Rio de Janeiro for Carnival? However, with the party comes the people!! I think that all 7 million people were driving their cars on Saturday morning when we arrived. As our bus moved slowly through the streets of Rio, small groups of impromptu bands began to march and dance through the streets, and all the traffic stopped. Large floats blocked one side of the road, making two way traffic impossible. Then there are other streets under construction due to the upcoming World Cup and Summer Olympics. We saw a fair amount of the inside of the tour bus, but at least we were cool and comfortable.

Sugar Loaf

Due to the traffic, our tour guide rearranged our tour a bit. We saw the well know hill in Rio called Sugar Loaf first. It has two fairly high tram rides to get to the top. The view is beautiful; although, during our visit there was quite a bit of haze.

All of Rio is at our feet below this peak. The beaches are beautiful and full of people. Then it is over to Christ The Redeemer for a second spectacular view. We climb the mount there on a cog train, similar to those in the Swiss Alps. The ride through the jungle is beautiful and cool. The view from the top is again eye popping and

breathtaking. I’ve seen lots of pictures, but it is nothing like what I imagined. It is fun to watch all the people and the innovative ways they take pictures of themselves with this most iconic statue. Some stand on the railing. Some stand with out-stretched arms. Some photographers lay on the ground. In any case, the statue was so big it would not all fit in my camera lens at one time when up on the observation area. The overall effect and dimensions are gigantic.

No trip ever comes without some excitement. At one of the stops, we had a handicapped lady in the front of the bus get off first. As she came down the stairs with her hand in the tour guide’s hand, she slipped on the last step into the gutter and broke here leg. She eventually was put in a taxi and sent to the local hospital with a tour representative. Later, we heard that she had undergone surgery on her leg and was resting comfortably in the hospital. We figured that her cruise was over. She would never make it back on ship in time to continue, even though the ship has a good medical department.

We all stepped a little more carefully after that! It could have happened to any one of us!!!

The tour concluded with a dinner (should have been lunch) at a Brazilian barbeque restaurant. The waiters walked around the room with skewers of various types of meat and sliced them off onto your plate with a large knife. The entertainment is the slicing. Some young men are quite masterful in their slicing techniques.

Back at the ship, we see probably the best Brazilian show available in the most comfortable seat with limited crowds. 

Others from our ship went to the
“Sambadrome” in Rio. I was happy to be watching the rhythm band play, the scantily clad girls dance, and the acrobats twist and turn from a fourth row seat. All is well on the Crown Princes. I can only hope and pray for peace in the rest of the world.


YES…the adventure shall continue. HURRAH!

Ed, Cindy, John and Carol Ann