LOCATION: Rio de Janeiro
Day 22 of 44 completed today and we are halfway! It is all downhill from here. And what better way to mark that milestone than hit the streets with laundry bags. We had considered using the hotel service but had a little frugle moment when we ticked the quadruple carbon form in the rooms: @DeLoys had about $12O and we had $60.
I have a cake of sunlight soap and have been rinsing as we go for my gear (the hair-dryer is my friend for drying) - it was just @Mac's stuff and at US $3 for undies and $9 a shirt it adds up. And there were plenty of self serves around us. Threw the bags over our shoulder, picked our way down the block and around the corner, followed the colour coded instructions in the fulky digitied laundry, loaded the machines and set up a rotational guard duty that included time for breakfast. And after 6 140 steps over 75 mins we were on nodding terms with a couple of the stall holders on the way (love the translation app - one of the ladies had helped with directions - she was a waver) we had washed dried, folded and packed away 3 loads between us at a cost of $10 per load! Felt self satisfied and puffed up with importance. Not sure why we wanted to save that US$150 but we did!
Meanwhile, @Mac was on hair-dryer duty in the room - still no luck with my phone - going to leave it on the window ledges today while we are out - it has to be a good sign that it spits messages and alarms when i try and charge it ... there is still proof of life. Not sure what a phoneless day will look like for me. I tend to take loads of pics so I can "remember" what we did and use them as writing prompts. Oh well it will be travel journal a la @Mac today ... it'll be like this:
Woke up early.
Ate brekkie.
Saw some places... a church, maybe two.
Got some money out.
Went to the beach. Ate dinner.
Played the game. Packed.
Early start so set the alarm for 2.45 am.
Great day.
.... and that would be it in a nutshell. With a few pics it would be a great photo journal. Here did well all day snapping and saving!
Here are a few more details of today's walking tour with @Barbra. Yes, we did walk, but we had a van to zip us from venue to venue and then we walked. @Barbra was super -dooper informative, caring, fun loving, obliging and a hugger. Very keen to help us see the best in her city. Talkative and engaging and always happy to repeat or rephrase. Pronunciation, letter importance, inflection, even pacing and phrasing very different across languages. I swear, it took us nearly two blocks to finally decode "ould"" .... but the hilarious response of doubled over laughter when we realised, with @Barbra patting a tree, that the word was "wood" and that was the bonding moment of the day. That was a group hug moment.
Because I have been phoneless for a couple of days and am behind schedule I am following @Mac's lead and going for the brief option today - we did see lots and had constant descriptions.
It was a jaw dropping morning and afternoon - lots of drive bys, loved the stories which today were a little more flavoured by the perspective of a devout Christian and a proud Brazilan of indigenous descent. Saw highs and lows, new and old, warts and all great contrasts of Rio de Janiero always under that watchful gaze of Christ the Redeemer.oh, and of course @Barbra.
The description from the itinerary ...
"This is an unusual walking tour which gives you a feeling for the legends and stories woven around the narrow streets and old historical buildings of downtown Rio. The walk includes a visit to many interesting points, such as the Sao Bento Monastery, Candelaria (the candle-makers),
Praça XV, the "Travessa do Mercado", Imperial Palace (Paco Imperial), the cultural centre located in the beautifully restored Banco do Brasil, the Casa França-Brasil, Ouvidor (the listeners) Street and Goncalves Dias Street. The tour ends with the visit to the famous landmark of Rio de Janeiro, the extraordinarily decorated, vibrant and impressive Escadaria Selaron, a staircase covered in more than 2,000 pieces of colourful tiles, mirrors and ceramic stairs. Nestled between the bohemian neighbourhoods of Lapa and Santa Teresa the stairs are an accidental art project of painter Jorge Selaron and today the steps serve as a source of optimism and inspiration for those who use them, as well as a never-endingreminder of the artist who created them. "
Ticked them off - and collectively voted the following as favourites:
The Benedictine Monastery - São Bento Monastery, founded in 1589 and so ornate with all the "ood" covered in gold. We were there as the organist was warming up the pipes and practising on Brazil's oldest pipe organ. Certainly added to the atmosphere.
The Library - Real Gabinete Portugues de Leitura- thought it was straight out of a movie! You enter via an unobtrusive stone doorway with a gold hand clutching a lever and it is wall to ceiling leather bound books. Smells great. Looks even better. Just tier after tier of books -topped with spectacular blue and white glass mosaic dome and supported by ornate mosaics of patrons including Vasco da Gama and Princess Isabel.
The Cathedral - built to mimic the Aztec/Mayan temple circular pyramid - makes a statement... we saw it yesterday from Sugar Loaf - 83 meters high outside and 68 meters inside with no internal columns to support the structure. The church has a diameter of 104 meters and a capacity for 5.000 sitting and 20.000 standing (yep, I fact checked @Barbra) a figure that was surpassed when Pope John Paul II visited the Cathedral.
Four huge stained glass windows dominate the inside of the church - so spectacular - their patterns dance on the floor depending on time of day and angle of the sun - , each measuring more than 20 by 60 meters. Each window has a predominant color scheme and they represent the ecclesiastical (green), the saintly (red), the catholic (blue), and the apostolic (yellow).
The Steps - we made it to the top and felt a little Rocky moment in the wrong city. The first 3 to 4 levels were shoulder to shoulder crowded and had to watch out for people sitting and posing (but we were experienced after yesterday's antics at Christ the Redeemer) but after that it definitely thinned out. I don't know why we do these things- we see them over the years and just want to say I was there."
Rio is so vast and diverse - we haven't even scratched the surface - but do love it and want more. Just not today.
Back home, @Barbra walked three blocks with us to an ATM in a pharmacy. Made our withdrawal at last, for the princely sum of bank charges of $6:.. bit different from the airport! Yeah got cash for dinner, guide tip and a market splurge possibly.
Afternoon delight was a 3 pm return to the hotel. We are right on the beach and have great views of the action. Dressed for the part and headed to the infinity pool and bar on the 19th floor. Glorious. But I was so intimidated by the svelte tanned tight bodies swanning around, near naked in the pool, with g strings perfectly lying in place that were never lost. I was quite content to leave my neck to calf cover all on and sit in the air-conditioning, eating and babysitting my outdoor sunbathing phone.
Met up again at 5.30 on the beach for a walk. Still over dressed in comparison with the locals. Totally different opinion of the beach close up. Tide was coming in. Sun was setting - it was a hazy, salty sunset end to a humid day. Plenty of action as we transitioned to evening. Water was icy cold. Sand was dirty. And everywhere was covered in litter! Bottles, plates, food, paper, plastic - just everywhere. There were two lonely picker upperers on the 2 k stretch that we walked but they would need two thousand to make a difference. The tide was picking the rubbish up and it was bobbing in the water no doubt making its way around to the polluted no swimming bay! Machines must come in at night otherwise we'd be climbing over mountains of debris.
Off the beach foreshore we just picked the beach restaurant we came across. An Italian joint - we had front row beach seats which was handy because we had ready access to the gentleman wandering outside the railing offered us Viagra tablets. We must have looked the type who needed them because we had so much clothing on. Did note he wasn't pausing at the young couples! Anyway, moving on.
Felt a little like we were in Fawlty Towers. Food and drinks were aok , when you could get them, but the service was on another plane. So low. @Deb felt so sorry for the people in the table next to us she was almost on the table dancing trying to get the some attention. The indignity of it all was when the bill came it had a cover charge and a tip already included on it which rounded out to 20%! Figure the cover charge was for the drug dude. Forget not happy Jan .. it was not happy everyone!!
That bl$$dy tip took my iced coffee money and my market cash stash. Didn't they know we'd slogged all morning in the laundry and walked 500 miles (well three blocks) to save on bank fees?]
Back home to pack amd consume the last of the in house stores. Twigged the ladt of the Pinit Gris out of the bottle still gripping about the restaurant.
Set the alarm ... and settled in for our three and a half hours of sleep. Hey, we had a great day - loved our tour, got clean clothes and a working phone. Life is grand.
Can you believe this?
🌟 Jaw-Dropping Facts About Old Town Rio from Co-pilot ... we did drive bys with @Barbra and got heads up ... but no time to visit ... need loads more time in Rio!
1. The City’s Name Is a Mistake
- Rio de Janeiro means “January River”—but there is no river. In January 1502, Portuguese explorers mistook Guanabara Bay for the mouth of a river and named the city accordingly.
2. The Royal Palace of Brazil
- The Paço Imperial (Imperial Palace) in Old Town was once the seat of Portuguese royalty when the court fled Napoleon in 1808.
- It became the only European capital outside Europe, as Rio briefly served as the capital of the Portuguese Empire.
3. Underground Slave Tunnels
- Beneath Old Town lie hidden tunnels and cellars used during the transatlantic slave trade.
- The Valongo Wharf, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, was the largest slave port in the Americas, where nearly 1 million enslaved Africans arrived.
4. The Oldest Street in Rio
- Rua Primeiro de Março is considered Rio’s oldest street, lined with colonial buildings, churches, and the Candelária Church, which witnessed both royal ceremonies and political protests.
5. Coffee Barons and Opulence
- In the 19th century, Rio’s Old Town was transformed by coffee wealth. The Theatro Municipal, inspired by the Paris Opera, is a jaw-dropping symbol of this opulence.
6. Carnival’s Roots in Old Town
- The first organized Carnival parades began in Rio’s historic center in the 19th century, blending European masquerade traditions with African drumming and samba rhythms.
7. A Hidden Aqueduct Turned Tramway
- The Arcos da Lapa (Lapa Arches), originally built as an aqueduct in the 18th century, now carry the famous Santa Teresa tram—a living piece of engineering history.
Survival Barometer
Steps 22 104 .. it was the washing in the morning and the beach and dinner walk that threw us over the edge!
Weather 33 and high humidity!
Health - ok except for the nose niggle and the cough. Started altitude meds today
For Jesse ... took you for a walk on the steps today! Taking it to the top.
"I am a hugger too, just like @Barbra."
No comments:
Post a Comment