You've already seen how beautiful Rio
de Janeiro was when we arrived, but you're going to be blown away by the rest
of our time in Brazil. I couldn't have guessed it at the time, but the entrance
to the bay was one of the least incredible things we'd see during our 8 days in
this fabulous country.
I am lucky enough to have had a
wonderful teaching assistant when I took Portuguese. Her name is Sandra, and
she is from Niteroi, a smaller city right next to Rio. Being the wonderful
person she is, she offered to take Jason and I around on our first day, even
though we hadn't seen each other in almost eight years!
We got off the ship and quickly Sandra
pulled up in her car (we traveled in style - it's been a long time since we
were in a private car!!). We had made some tentative plans for the day, but the
fact that is was a holiday in Rio complicated things a bit. It was also about
100 degrees, not what we're used to in late November!
Our first stop was the Parque Lage, a
beautiful park right in the middle of Rio. It consists of an old mansion, lots
of beautiful tropical plants, and a few monkeys here and there. We certainly
don't have monkeys in the middle of the city at home! Sandra was a wonderful
guide and knows a ton about plants.
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| Inside the old house, now a cafe and arts school |
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| Jason and Sandra |
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| Just like late November at home |
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| Peacock? Or Thanksgiving turkey? |
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| Arts school from the outside |
One of my favorite things about Brazil
in general was the availability of all kinds of fresh fruit. I ate some of the
best pineapple of my life there, and most of you know I'm something of a fruit
expert :)
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| They even sell pineapple out of the back of cars! |
During the afternoon we met up
with two of Sandra's friends, Carla and Bruno, and they treated us to a
wonderful lunch of Brazilian specialties, some delicious cake and coffee, and a
great chance to talk with Brazilians. Luckily their English was perfect, as our
Portuguese was a bit rough!
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| Christmas when it's 100 degrees out. |
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| Monkey's paw flower. It smells much better than we did! |
Later in the afternoon we headed to the
famed Copacabana beach. We were heading to part of Ipanema but a nice man
informed us there was a mass mugging currently happening so we decided not to
go there. These happen occasionally on the Brazilian beaches - a gang of people
runs down the beach taking everything from those enjoying themselves. We were
repeatedly warned about the dangers of Brazil but the mass mugging time was the
only time that we felt unsafe.
We walked along the boardwalk for
awhile checking out the old men in their tiny speedos and leathery skin, and
the women of all shapes and sizes in the tiniest bikinis we'd ever seen. If one
thing can be said for the Brazilians, I think it's that they have great
self-esteem! And they are some of the nicest people we've ever met. We then
decided to sit for coconuts and caiprinhas, a traditional Brazilian cocktail.
Of course the place we decided on was a Japanese sushi place and our waitress
was Argentinean. Nonetheless, like all places on Copacabana they served the
things we wanted.
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| Reunited and it feels so good. |
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| Cuckoo for coconuts? |
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I promise he has more hair in real life. The
blondness of it just makes it disappear in pictures. Really, Mom, I swear.
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We had an amazing day, saw a lot of
Rio, and got to catch up with an old friend. I can't imagine a better
introduction to Brazil!
I'm so glad to have had the chance of meeting you guys. Come back soon! Beijos
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