We have arrived! I took these photos as our ship was entering the huge bay.You can see "Christ the Redeemer" in the background We arranged an all day tour thru our friend, Sebastián, of VIP Tours BA. Our guide, Diogo, and his driver, Alon, picked us up at 9:30 am right after our ship cleared customs.
Our first stop was to see "Christ the Redeemer." Once we arrived at the train station to go up to the statue, we realized that the statue was completely covered in clouds. So, we pivoted and drove to Sugarloaf Mountain. Sugarloaf is the largest of two side by side peaks accessible by two cable cars.
Sugarloaf was named by early pioneers that thought the peak looked like sugar loafs common in those days. The first peak, Morro da Urga, is 772 ft tall. Sugarloaf Mountain is 1,299 ft tall.
The following photos were taken on both of these peaks. If you look closely you can "Christ the Redeemer" in several of the photos.
The above photo was taken from Sugarloaf during a quick opening in the clouds.
We then drove thru Copacabana and Ipanema beaches. Copacabana is on the left side of this photo and Ipanema on the right side. The beaches looked crowded, but Diogo said the crowds were light today.
While in this area, we stopped for a fantastic lunch at Churrascaria Palace. This well-known restaurant is known for their grilled meats (including Buffalo, Ostrich, and Duck Hearts) and fish. The grilled Piranha and Salmon were amazing! The beer was not bad either! (Diogo photo bombed the beer photo!) Our next stop was Ríos version of Rome's Spanish Steps, "Escaparía Selaron." Also known as the Lapa Steps because they are in the Lapa neighborhood. The steps are the work of Chilean-born artist, Jorge Selaron. There are 215 steps, consisting of 2,000 tiles. As you can see it is a huge tourist attraction! Our last stop of the day was at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Río de Janeiro. This church was constructed based on the Mayan architectural style of pyramids. It was completed in 1979. It is a very unique and interesting church! If you are planning to visit Río, we highly recommend Diogo (not Diego). He is a fantastic guide!
