Río de Janeiro

It's Friday, April 2, 2010, and we arrived in Guanabara Bay just outside of Rio de Janeiro, the last stop on our 40-day adventure to South America. As we look west toward the city we see the mountains poking up and touching the clouds all around Rio. European Explorers first discovered this area on January 1, 1502.

We take a scenic drive through both the old and the new parts of the city as we make our way to Cosme Velho District, which is at the foot of Concovado Mountain. This is the most photographed place in Brazil. Built of white marble, standing 120 feet tall on the top of Concovado is the statue of Jesus Christ with outstretched arms. To reach the monument and see the city from that vantage point we must ride the cogwheel train to the summit. The lines to see the monument are long. The reason is that today is Good Friday. One of the holiest days, in this, the most populous Catholic country in the world.

Sadly the monument is completely covered with scaffolding and special protective covers. Just two weeks ago, for the first time in 70 years, a cleaning and restoration had begun. It is expected that the complete process will take as long as six months. This reminds us of the time we visited Venice and discovered that the front of St. Mark’s Cathedral in St. Mark’s Square was undergoing similar restoration.

After leaving the monument we headed to the Leblon section of the city for a special treat, a traditional Brazilian Churrascaria lunch. In addition to traditional side dishes of rice and vegetables a wide selection of seafood was available today because of Good Friday - filet, roasts, ribs, chicken, sausages, all in unlimited quantities. A fabulous lunch and a great introduction to Brazilian culinary artistry.

We left Leblon and headed toward Sugar Loaf Mountain. Along the way we drove along the beachfront avenue to see the world famous beaches at Copacabana and Ipanema. Beautiful sandy beaches with blue-green water and the walkways are lined with coconut palm trees. Lots of people on the beach because it is a holiday weekend and the weather is fantastic for sun worshipers.

After we arrived at the mountain we boarded the first cable car for a short ride up to Urca Hill, there is a lovely garden up top and the view is terrific. We then boarded the second cable car up to the 1,200 summit of Sugar Loaf Mountain. On the way up we could see mountain climbers working their way up to the summit. The panoramic view of Rio de Janeiro from the top of the mountain is spectacular.

A beautiful introduction to one of the largest and most famous cities in the world and a terrific ending to our big adventure. Back to the U.S. and home, sweet, home.