Day 13 22 January

The Sugar Loaf Mountain

On top of the Sugar Loaf

Views from the Sugar Loaf Cable Car

View from our balcony



We awoke in Rio with large black birds circling around using the thermals to glide. They were a mixture of frigate birds we had seen earlier and buzzards. On the nearest hillside was one of the infamous Rio slums built on the steep side of the hill. In Rio, the rich get the flat ground and the poor the slopes. The harbour is on the huge bay that is crossed by a nine mile long bridge that we can see from the port side of the ship. We are on the starboard side.

This afternoon we went on a trip around the city and a visit to the Sugar Loaf, a large mountain with views over the whole city and coast. On our way to the mountain we drove alongside the Copacabana beach which was an amazing stretch of brilliant sand. There were thousands of people on the beach, swimming, sunbathing, playing volley ball and building sand statues. The sand is apparently so hot it can burn bare feet.

The Sugar Loaf is reached by going up two cable cars. The first journey was to a smaller mountain and then a final leg to the top of the Sugar Loaf. It was quite busy and we had to use a series of disable lifts which took a long time, not least since you had to have a member of staff operate them. On the way down we did it ourselves to save time.  The view at the top was breathtaking. The cable car was not for those with a fear of heights.

On the way back we stopped at the new cathedral which is a pyramid shaped building that can hold 15000 people. Inside it was spectacular with huge stained glass windows. At the door volunteers were organising the distribution of aid for the victims of the mud slides that have hit Brazil in recent weeks.

Our guide was a German Brazilian and he was excellent. The temperature was 33C and we felt drained by the heat. We leave at 10.30pm to sail to Montevideo, Uruguay. We arrive on 25^th January.