Rio and Christ the Redeemer World Wonder 12/31/23

 

Here we are at one of the most visited cities in South America and home to our second World Wonder. We’ll be docking at Pier Maua on the western shore of Guanabara Bay, that beautiful area you see in the iconic pictures of Rio. There were major renovations that took place at the port to prepare for the 2016 Summer Olympics but apparently, they did not include a passenger terminal at this cargo port. We should however be close to downtown Rio for those not taking the tour to Christ the Redeemer and there are also multiple attractions that are near the exit to the pier. Christ the Redeemer sits 2,200 ft above sea level on the top of Corcovado Mountain, it should be visible as we come into port and from almost anywhere in the city. 

Christ the Redeemer was a French/Brazilian collaboration and that it was actually a Romanian artist who created the Redeemer’s face. The statue itself is 125 ft (38 m) in height, the arms stretch 92 ft (23 m) and it weighs in at 700 tons (635 metric tons). It’s made of reinforced concrete covered with soapstone tiles to give it a more finished look. Begun in 1922 this Art Deco masterpiece took nine years to complete and is still the largest statue of its style in the world. It’s also kind of a lightning rod and it gets struck three to five times a year, occasionally sustaining damage from these strikes that has to be repaired, like a bit of thumb, or spot on the head. I’m hoping the escalators won’t be too crowded when we’re there or we’ll need to climb the 200 or so steps from the train station to the top, or maybe we should take them in anticipation of the churrascaria lunch we’ll be eating. One of the most impressive things to me about Christ the Redeemer is that it was paid for completely by the people of Brazil, especially stirring when you consider it was completed during the Depression. Authored by Laurie Hardcastle Seil

Well, it was a packed day for us in Rio.  Left the ship at 8:00 am and had a drive through Rio as we headed to Christ the Redeemer.  It is a major holiday here in Rio (along with the rest of the world) so traffic was a bit light heading up the mountain, but the site itself was packed with visitors.  It is the busiest day of the year at the statue so very happy we were in an early group.  Once we drove through Rio, we went to the train station and took the train (could qualify as a funicular) up to the site to see the view and took multiple shots of the statue. It was a bit hazy and cloudy, so the views were a bit restricted, but we made out on the weather, only 76 degrees so very pleasant. We had about an hour to see the site - and of course had to have a caipirinha (Brazil's signature drink) as we continue our drinks around the world tour. For as packed as it was, the crowds were quite polite, and everyone had their chance at selfies at the top.  Lots of helicopters buzzing around - big attraction to see the statue. Words cannot describe the enormity of the statue and an appreciation of the engineering marvel that it is.  Highly recommend if you get the chance to visit. 

Once we completed our time at the statue, we had another small tour of Rio - the city has a population of 7 million and was remarkably clean.  A lot of pride in their city...we then went to a Brazilian Churrascaria restaurant - Assador's.  It is typically closed on NYE but Royal pulled off a coup - and had them open for just our group.  The food, the drinks just kept on coming - service was impeccable and the food was outrageously good, if you've ever been to one of their steakhouses, you know how much food you get and such a variety.  After 3 or maybe 4 more caipirinha's, it was back to the ship at 3 pm for a nap to get ready for the evening festivities on board.  There was a sail away party at 5 pm, then on to dinner which was a special menu.  From there we went to the headliner show - Nashville Tenor's.  Some good old country music to get the evening started.  On to the next event - cocktails and the pre-NYE party with fab dance music and then the balloon drop to signal the main event would be starting shortly.  The ship pulled off the pier last and we had the "pole" position to watch the fireworks at Copacabana Beach.  Our stateroom was on the viewing side, so we watched from our balcony, and they did not disappoint.  18 minutes nonstop firework display.... we made our calls to family and finally gave in at 1:30 am.  Haven't stayed up that late on NYE in quite a while, but well worth it.

New Year's Day was a sea day - thank goodness!!  We pretty much stayed in our cabin to recover from the day before.... just can't party like we used to....at sea for the next 2 days with all kinds of activities going on - one that is new to us was the egg drop contest.  39 teams built their aerodynamic vehicles which cushioned a raw egg- then they drop from the 9th floor to see if they crack or make it intact.  It was a hoot to watch - I am posting some of the video - Macgyver (you know who you are) you could have built the winner!!!!

Then, on to our first big adventure on our own (with a tour guide of course) Montevideo, Uruguay and the Iguazu Falls, another wonder of the world.  #3 for this cruise...