I arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil a few days before my tour was due to start to allow for a couple of quiet days to acclimatise to the new timezone. Unfortunately my luggage didn’t arrive with me. I do always carry a one spare set of clothes in my hand luggage which paid off on this occasion and kept me going until my luggage was dutifully delivered to my hotel later the following day.
After waking up at 4.30am the first morning I spent the first day going for a wander around Copacabana and of course a walk along the famous beach.
Copacabana Beach taken from Fort Copacabana.
Day two was a pre-booked tour to a little city called Petrópolis located in the mountains about one hour out of Rio de Janeiro. Petrópolis is also known as The Imperial City, due to being the summer residence of Brazilian Emperors and aristocrats during the 19th century. The city was also the official capital of the state of Rio de Janeiro during the first Brazilian Republic, between 1894 and 1902. While in Petrópolis I visited the Imperial Palace which was the summer palace of Emperor Pedro II (1831–1889), built in 1845 and now know as the Imperial Museum of Brazil. Another attraction in Petrópolis was the Crystal Palace originally built in France as a gift to Princess Isabel daughter of Emperor Dom Pedo II.
Cathedral of Petrópolis, Imperial Palace (now a Museum),, The Crystal Palace, Quitandinha Palace (now a Hotel/Casino
Day 3 was another walk along Copacabana beach to visit to Fort Copacabana a military base at the south end of the beach, which is open to the public and contains the Museu Histórico do Exército (Army Historical Museum) The Brazilian army began building the coastal defense fort in 1908 on the headland to protect both the beach of Copacabana and the entrance to the harbour of Rio de Janeiro.
Fort Copacabana
Day 4 I met up with the tour group and our guide for the next three weeks, Etienne. I must say it was great to have some English conversation again after a few days of conversing with sign language and only the few Portuguese words I know (mostly Obrigado meaning thank you). Etienne gave us the grand tour of Rio showing us points of interest including the football stadium, the Selaron Staircase in Lapa, Cathedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião (an interesting cone shaped cathedral), the street where Carnival is held and finally Sugarloaf Mountain which provided some great views of Rio (if a little hazy due to the mist that has been floating over the city since I arrived).
Selaron Staircase in Lapa
Day 5 we took a taxi to Corcovardo Mountain and then the train to the top of the mountain to see Christ the Redeemer up close. Unfortunately the day we went was quite cloudy/misty and so the view wasn’t very clear, but at least I can now say I’ve been there.
At the top of Corcovardo Mountain with Christ the Redeemer
Well that just about sums up my visit to Rio de Janeiro. Tomorrow I fly out to Iguazu Falls and will post some pictures on the Michelle’s Travel Adventures Facebook page. I’m sure no words will be necessary for Iguazu Falls.
Michelle's Travel Adventures 