Day 43. Rio De Janeiro. 28.2.25

"EXCLUSIVE CORCOVADO AND SUGAR LOAF After departing from the hotel, the tour takes a scenic drive from Copacabana beach, continuing along Botafogo beach and passing the Palácio Guanabara, official residence of the State´s Governor, on the way to Corcovado Hill (704m), and the greatest national icon – The Christ Redeemer of Rio de Janeiro. Here, you will have time to enjoy panoramic views of Rio and appreciate the giant statue, which was recently named as one of the seven new wonders of the world. Descending from Corcovado hill, we make a quick stop at Santa Marta lookout, which sits at 360 meters above sea level, and offers a panoramic view of the Sugarloaf, Maracanã, Guanabara Bay and of the Christ Redeemer, providing visitors with a more comprehensive view of the city’s biggest attractions. From here, the tour continues to the district of Urca and the world-famous Sugar Loaf, where you will board the first cable car to the top of Urca Hill (215m), which offers spectacular views of Guanabara Bay. A second cable car will take you on to the Sugar Loaf (395m), giving you a chance to take in the spectacular 360-degree views of the city and surrounds. Upon descending from the Sugarloaf, we return to the famous beach of Copacabana en route to a traditional Brazilian BBQ lunch at a local Churrascaria (lunch is included - all beverages are at your own expense). Following lunch, the tour continues with a visit to the city’s historic city centre and Saint Benedict Monastery, located on Sao Bento Hill in the city centre. Founded in 1590, the museum is one of the main monuments of colonial art in the city and the country. After a quick stop at the home of Brazilian Carnaval, the Sambadrome, the tour makes it’s way to the Metropolitan Cathedral, before continuing on to Lapa via the famous arches to the Selaron Stairs, an amazing urban work of art by the late Jorge Selaron. Returning to the hotel along the Aterro do Flamengo, we pass by the Monument to the Fallen in World War II and the beaches of Flamengo and Botafogo. Notes:**During periods of major events and subsequent road closures, the Sambadrome is inaccessible to the public, thus visitation is not guaranteed. If you have already visited Selaron Stairs we will endeavour to allow an alternative stop if time permits."

What a wonderful bonus today is (we weren't really planning to come to Rio). After lots of YouTube researching this trip we are looking forward to seeing Christ Redeemer and taking the cable cars to Sugarloaf.

We had a 7.15 pick up. The streets are busy as Carnivale starts officially today. It's chaotic and colourful. We spent a bit of time driving around on this tour but the main things we wanted to see were a good distance apart. 

The views were amazing. 

Inside the Redeemer 

Next we headed of to Sugarloaf Mountain. We had a quick look at Red Beach while the guide found somewhere to park his car.

It's called Red Beach because of all the bloodshed during an invasion. 

We were definitely over dressed 🤷‍♀️

Brazil fought against Nazi Germany and Mussolini's Italian army in WWII. 

Cable car entrance. 

Our guide made sure we had a good view in the cable car.

Brazil is named after a tree called Pau Brasil. The Brazil tree is the picture is about 15 years old. We got out at the first mountain. 

Urubu(Vultures) flying over the bay. We took a 2nd cable car up to the higher mountain. 

Our guide, again, got us into a very good position to take photos.

Heading up.

The entrance at the top.

Our hotel.

On the way down we saw a small marmoset monkey. It was very hard to photograph. ⬇️ "Common marmosets do not naturally occur at the Sugarloaf Mountain. They are an invasive species in the woods of Rio de Janeiro. This causes several problems. On the one hand, common marmosets feed on eggs of native birds, and on the other hand, they compete with native fauna of Rio de Janeiro for food and territory. Furthermore, common marmosets reproduce very rapidly and they can transmit diseases."

"Common marmosets possess specialized incisors which enables them to gnaw holes into the tree bark, because they feed on tree saps and gums. They also eat fruits, flowers or nectar. They are not vegetarians as they also feed on frogs, lizards, spiders, and other insects."

Red Beach on the way down.

The aqueduct we rode across yesterday in a tram.

We missed Selaron's Staircase yesterday. It's a  masterpiece crafted by the late artist and a highlight of our Rio tour. This area was over crowded, apparently thanks to over exposure on social media. People have stolen pieces of tiles. It was really hard to get a half decent photo. 

Then it was off to church we go.

Monastery of Sao Bento 

So much gold.

We passed the Copacabana Palace numerous times on our tour.

Bell tower. 

Part of the road was blocked as the floats arrived for tonight's samba dance display. 

The temperature was 34° at 2pm and we were happy to finish our tour with lunch at a traditional style restaurant.  The meat was BBQ'd on a rotisserie and sliced off the skewer straight on to our plate. There was a huge array of fresh salads and cheese bread.

The rest of our day was spent at leisure.  We watched the sunset drinking fresh juice on the rooftop. 

We have ✅ off all we wanted to see and do, and more, in Rio and we are excited to be heading north west early in the morning.  I'm very excited about going to Peru 🇵🇪.