During our passage from Recife we encountered rough seas; a deep weather depression to our south resulted in a ‘heavy’ swell and strong winds, accompanied by rain, not quite what one would expect in these latitudes. Although the wind had eased by the time we arrived off the port, it was dull and misty; the swell persisted and we kept our stabilisers out until we were tucked in behind the shelter of land.
Approaching the harbour, Sugarloaf mountain, prominent to the right
Our compulsory pilot boarded and acted as ‘adviser’ as we made for our berth, guests out on deck for the vista and the opportunity to photograph this iconic port.
Corcavado and the statue of Christ in the distance, with Copacabana beach in the foreground
Our track into the sheltered harbour
A turn to port, past the airport and latterly, the Naval base
…and the final approach to our berth
Approaching our berth
A wall, on the other side of the shed, gloriously painted murals, each representing a ‘face’ from the 5 continents.
All fast and a rush to the cabin, to change. We were going ashore, a ‘ship’ excursion; “Highlights of Rio” and yes, it was my turn to take my camera and not rely entirely on K1’s photos, (as good as they are).
Off down the gangway, in the company of 31 other guests.
The throng assembling for battle
We meet our guide for the day and board the coach, our first destination is Corcavado and the statue of Christ. One can either ride the ‘tram’ up to the top, or one can drive, however, if the latter, all cars have to stop about halfway up, park and take one of the recognised mini-buses to the drop-off point near the top. We had the luxury of the former, the ‘tram’ and having been given our tickets, we boarded the tram.
Once at the terminus, our guide having given us a time to re-assemble, we set off. A mix of stairs and escalators took us to the viewing area, packed with other sightseers. Many of the younger ones, obsessed with ‘selfies’ had the annoying habit of lying down on the floor, (in order to obtain them and the statue in view). Initially one tried to avoid them, however after a while it became impossible and I just walked over them. (Hopefully many of them will take home a memory of my foot and other body parts) 😀 . Despite this, the journey was worthwhile and the vista, stunning. Later in the post is a video of the sights, photos do not quite do it justice.
K1 taking the easy way up
Sugarloaf mountain in the distance
Descending the same way we came, into the coach and off for lunch, a massive buffet in a bay side restaurant, accompanied with the Brazilian custom of waiters presenting us with cuts of meat, chicken and sausage on skewers, slicing off portions onto the plate. Conveniently, the other side of the Bay lay Sugarloaf, our destination after lunch.
The transport to the top of Sugarloaf can be seen as tiny specks, a cable-car. This is the 2nd stage that you can see; the first being from the terminus to the mountain on the right.
The coach dropped us off near the cable-car ‘ground’ station and we boarded the car, our guide asking if we all had a ‘head for heights’! 😯 ….
Up to the next station and a short walk to the last ‘stage’ terminus.
We followed #3 all day 🙂
Magnificent orchids on a tree next to the path
….And then to the top, what a view!
Just for a change, someone was kind enough to take this with my camera……….
Finally, after 8 hours, tired but happy, we returned to the Amsterdam. Here is the video…………
We leave at 5 p.m. for our next port of call, Punta del Este on the coast of Uruguay; a tender port and a relatively short stay too, only 8 hours. This is because we need the time to get to Buenos Aires pilotage and the convoy, inbound on the River Plate, almost 12 hours of passage.
