First and most important ~ I want to wish everyone a Happy Valentines Day.
Last night upon arriving at our cabin after the show ~ 2 of our fellow female passengers left us pink & red goodie bags filled with heart goodies, a flashing heart bracelet, a heart pen and lots of candy plus 2 valentines each. Thank both of you so much ~ Kay & Deb! We feel special!
After a quick breakfast Ruth & I headed off the ship = 945am to meet up with Ian & Lilian in the Cais do Porto at 10am ~ friends of Ruth’s who will be cruising together in Asia & just so happen to live right here in Rio De Janiero, Brazil.
As we made our way thru the terminal there were telephones, Internet, Post office, Gift & Snack shops.
Ian & Lilian were patiently waiting for us at the door of the terminal where we greeted each other & then walked thru the rain to the main gate.
Ian brought the car around ~ we stowed Ruth’s scooter in the trunk ~ & were off to see the city thru the wet raindrops which we prayed would soon disappear . . .
We drove past Candelaria Church, Municipal Theatre, Lapa Aqueduct & Arches, Metropolitan Cathedral, Modern Art Museum, Gloria Church, Museum of Brazilian Republic & thru the tunnel Sta. Barbara where you could begin to see Corcovado ~ Statue of Christ the Redeemer peak out from behind the clouds.
We continued to make our way to the foot of Urca, Pao de Acucar ~ Sugar Loaf Mountain at Guanabara Bay ~ where we took pictures of the cable cars coming down and going up the mountain.
From there we headed to & paralleled Copacabana Beach and made our way to the Forte Copacabana.
Lilian bought 4 tickets and we headed into the forte, unloaded the scooter from the car & toured the Forte and their museum getting many wonderful pictures ~ noting above us on the top of the hill over the Forte there was a brand new Ferris wheel.
Below us were fisherman’s boats set out on the sand to dry & fishmongers selling their catch of the day. When we finished at the Forte ~ Ian & I walked a little way to get the car and as we past a group of elderly women dressed in bright colors singing and celebrating Carniva, I got a great picturel.
Once we loaded up the car we headed past Copacobana Beach & the Copacabana Palace sighting many sand scupltures and continued paralleling Ipenema Beach & Leblon beach until we came to a beautiful Vista Point where we parked to take a few pictures looking back on many beautiful hotels behind them a watched the huge waves crashing on the Leblon shore.
We retraced our path back along the beaches watching as walkers, sunbathers, surfers, joggers, sand sculptors, etc came alive on the beach as the warm sun peeked thru the clouds and dried up the rain for just a little while.
We stopped for lunch at Taiping Restaurant in the Shopping Rio Sul mall (I think) ~ where mostly the locals eat ~ away from the tourist areas.
And after a leisurely lunch we all headed back to the Carnival Splendor and said our goodbyes to a absolutely wonderful couple that I will not soon forget!
Thank you ever so much Ian & Lilian ~
You are precious!
PS. We were supposed to set sail at 6pm . . .
Well we were still docked and boarding passengers and crew arriving late from their tours at 830pm – I think we finally set sail out of the Rio Harbor = 9pm. And now the ship is doing a bit of rock & roll making up the time!
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