South America and Antarctica

Today we had a pretty full day exploring Rio de Janeiro.

We were up early and down at breakfast just after 7 am. Our plan for today was to get out early and explore the city. We enjoyed a very leisurely breakfast and then decided to go for a walk on Copacabana Beach, which is just across the road from our hotel. The hotel has its own private section of the beach and maintains its own security on the beach. We chatted to them before going for a little walk and they thought we’d be fine to wander down the beach and take a few photos; that is, until they saw our camera! At that point they suggested that a security escort was warranted, so one of the two staff stationed on the beach accompanied us while we walked around and took some photos. We didn’t ever feel intimidated but, apparently, we were keenly watched by a number of people as we walked around on the beach with (rather large!) camera in hand.

We then went back to the hotel and waited for our driver, Evandro, to pick us up. We left the hotel at about 10am and headed for our first stop, Sugarloaf Mountain. The mountain is a monolithic granite and quartz mountain that rises out of the sea in Rio de Janeiro. We ascended to the top via two cable cars. The views at the top are spectacular and we got some nice photos looking across the city.

After the cable car we headed to the trendy neighbourhood of Santa Teresa. This area used to be the upper class area of Rio de Janeiro but many of the older and wealthier inhabitants have moved to placed like Copacabana Beach. It is now a more bohemian area, full of artists, restaurants, and craft shops. We stopped at a very nice restaurant in Santa Teresa for lunch before heading to the next area to explore.

From Santa Teresa we went to Lapa, an inner city neighbourhood, famous for its culture and nightlife. We particularly liked the Escadaria Selarón, a set of world-famous steps decorated with ceramics that were created by Chilean-born artist Jorge Selarón.

Next we headed to Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro, a very impressive modern cathedral that was completed in 1979. It is built in the brutalist style and is quite a departure from the many other churches in the city.

After we left the cathedral, we toured around the downtown area of the city, admiring the buildings and hearing a bit about the city’s history.

Our last stop was Confeitaria Colombo, a magnificent tea room opened in 1894. This tea room is considered by many to be one of the most beautiful cafes in the world.

After having been out most of the day, we decided to head back to the hotel. We spent a little time relaxing by the pool before heading back to the room to get ready for dinner.

We had a beautiful dinner in the hotel and are now back in our room after a very big day.

Tomorrow, we think we’ll walk to Ipanema to do some more exploring and then probably just relax for the rest of the day.