Sunday and Monday, January 19-20 --Rio de Janeiro

Today I did a tour in a giant open air Jeep. Not what I expected but fun and I got to see quite a bit of Río.  I'll be adding photo captions and more posts before we head out to sea tomorrow evening.

If you want to ignore all the blah, blah, blah, skip down to the photos.

Ok, now it's Monday, January 20, 2020.  It is grey and overcast today so opted to not take the helicopter ride.  Instead, I'm staying on board and playing with my blog, along with calling and texting friends while I have phone service.

Yesterday I took a HAL shore excursion titled Tijuca Rain Forest Tour in a 4X4.  We left the ship at 9:15 a.m. and walked over to a parking structure a couple of blocks away.  There about 38 of us and we fit into four vehicles.  I lucked out and was offered a seat with the driver in the front.  (Hey Mary Lou, remember in Guatemala when we took the truck taxi and you were in the back with the chickens while I got the front?  You know parking karma?  I have front seat karma).

I wasn't sure exactly what we'd be doing but assumed it would involve going off-road in the aforementioned forest.  The tour information mentioned sloths and monkeys. 

No.  Instead we drove through Rio, through downtown and past Cococabana and Impanema.  We passed a large lake with biking and running trails, exercise equipment, dog parks and lots of people exercising and enjoying the Sunday morning. 

We went through a lot of very, very long tunnels.  If you are uncomfortable with tunnels this is NOT a city for you.

Then we headed up.  It seems the forest, which is a government park, is over 7500 acres and it's on a mountain.  The drive up to the first overlook was great.  Cool, shady and beautiful greenery.  The only way we'd see a sloth or monkey, though, would have been if they had been riding one of the many bicycles we passed.

We reached the Chinese Scenic Point, which has a pagoda shaped area near the incredible views of Rio and the Ocean.  And, Christ the Redeemer.  Sadly, the foggy, overcast day was not the best for photos but still amazing.

From there, we headed to another part of the park and another photo opp.  This time, it was a waterfall. A lovely waterfall which seemed very popular with the locals.  We hung out there for awhile.  When people came back from taking photos the grumbling began in earnest. 

It seems we were originally supposed to make a stop to do a bit of hiking through the woods to see the sloths and monkeys.  Some people in another vehicle said they had mobility issues and didn't want to do the hiking.  So someone, either the tour operator or one of the HAL staff with us decided to change the itinerary, mid-tour.  Some weren't happy about it.  We made a last stop at a pond with koi and turtles.  Frankly, I can walk out my front door and see something similar.  The guides said they once saw an alligator!  Yeah, I live in central Florida.  Seeing an alligator to me is about as exciting as seeing a dog.

Anyway, we stayed there longer than needed to kill time since we didn't do the walk.  More grumbling. 

Based on some of the grumbled comments it seems that some are very sensitive about people not paying attention to the mobility requirements on excursions.  I agree that if you are on a walker perhaps a 4X4 ride and jungle trek might not be your best choice.  Please check BEFORE the tour to ensure you can safely participate.  On board I've heard more grumbling about earlier tours, mostly about fellow passengers who are either unable to keep up or don't pay attention to time constraints.  So far we've left port late twice because of delays on shore excursions getting back.

And if you are on a tour and they're doing something that you can't easily do, sit it out.  I think HAL made the wrong call on this one by making an arbitrary decision in the middle of a tour but I didn't care.  I still saw Rio, a beautiful nature area and amazing views.  And now I know what the corn plant I keep on my front porch would look like if I planted it in Rio - huge!

Military building, complete with ceremonial cannons.

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We took turns taking photos of each other.  This tour could easily be done in a mini-van since we never left the tarmac.  The fresh air was nice but getting in and out of those trucks is a challenge.

I assume the Rio roads are a bit more crowded when it's not Sunday.

The sign said it was a river.  Really?

This is part of a HUGE soccer stadium.  Like most buildings we passed it was in serious disrepair.

Graffiti, murals, art?  Everywhere.

In the Tijuca area.  Straight ahead is one of the many favelas (slums) around Rio.

15 minutes from the slums is the Tijuca Forest.

See the turtles?  Some of the passengers were so excited, bless their hearts.  I need to invite them to Blue Springs State Park

Love the flowers on this tree.

Typical street.  

We were told not to take the stairs.

Fallen trees in Tijuca.

A church.  The cross might have given it away.

Lots of old VWs in Rio.

A picnic area.  These folks were barbecuing and it smelled wonderful.

The waterfall.

When they put the tour number, they weren't thinking about the view of whoever was sitting in front.  The driver took this off after our last stop.  LOL.

Fancy entrance to the park.

The Chinese look out.

That's Ipanema beach on the right.  Six foot waves!

Christ the Redeemer

As I was taking photos I noticed a mom and her two grown sons taking photos of themselves with the view in the background.  I offered (pantomime) to take a photo of the three of them.  I did, they thanked me in Portuguese then the mom gave me a long hug and kiss.  Have to say I'm a fan of the hugging and kissing culture.

Those are trees with white flowers.

More slums.

The entrance gate to a private home.

They were having a church service.

Can you see the two hang gliders?  Those people are NUTS!

Fancy new building with condos for sale.

View as we drove past the busy beach.

Lots of parks and each has exercise equipment.

One of many stores to buy houseplants.

The beach.  They turned the other side of the road to a pedestrian way.  Lots of joggers and walkers.

I wish we could have stopped at a local restaurant like this.  Several had huge ovens doing rotisserie chickens.