Monday was a little weird because it technically was the end of the cruise and a lot of people (600-800) were leaving. Every few minutes starting at 6:45 an announcement was made for people with certain colored tags that they needed to exit the ship. It was kind of cool to know we were staying on.
Monday was an entire day of sweating in crowded lines. That said we got to see some awesome places that we would love to see again – on our terms. The first stop was at the Christ the Redeemer statue that towers over the city. To get to it we had to take a train/tram up the mountain through the largest man-made rain forest in the world. Once we got up to the top we took an elevator to a platform and then an escalator to the base of the statue. Words cannot describe this experience. The statue is immense and very beautiful and moving.
Being so high above the city we had a 360 degree view of Rio. Breathtaking.
Once we left the statue we went past many beautiful beaches, including those in Copacabana and Ipanema, and saw a few interesting sights.
Later we went to another Brazilian Barbeque, Barra Grill, for lunch. The restaurant was similar to the one we went to Sunday night but a bit roomier. Although there was a lot of food that we did not recognize, we did find a few things that we liked. The meat that they brought to the tables on skewers was similar to what was served Sunday night.
During the afternoon we went to a place called the Sugar Loaf. This is actually a tall granite hill/mountain that overlooks the bay and the city. To get to the top we had to take a tram hanging from a cable extended from the ground to a hill called Morra da Urca and then a second cable car to the Sugar Loaf. Linda and Jane were not thrilled at the thought of dangling over the city in a car crammed with 60 people. But we made it and again the view was spectacular. We would have loved to have had a chance to stay on top to explore but time was limited. There was also a thunderstorm moving in which was a little scary.
The last part of our tour was a visit to a cathedral which was unique. Instead of a lot of heavy gold and huge statues, it was very plain. The church was pyramid shaped with four stained glass windows running from ground to peak.
Once we got back to the ship we were shocked to see so many people onboard. A lot of people from Brazil got on for the trip around the Cape. We have about 2200 passengers now, which seem like a crowd. We think most of them are getting off in Chile.
The next two days will be sea days. We were nervous that there would be too many sea days on this trip, but the truth is we really enjoy them. Today we were able to watch the inauguration on the television in our cabin(thank goodness for CNN International). What a historical moment! They have been televising the inauguration and all the festivities in the ice rink and public place throughout the ship.
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