We left the beautiful island in style…by speedboat in the horizontal rain, which was pretty fun. Then a bus to Rio, where we got dropped at our hotel, the Bandeirantes. Located just 2 blocks from Copacabana Beach, we had to get our togs on and go for a swim. The beach is crazy…full of people sunning, preening, flaunting, playing volleyball, avoiding bikini removing waves and just generally having a good time. Copacabana has a great vibe, and seems a little more rough and ready than Ipanema, but Mark and I actually found we liked it better as it had more character and of course, the people watching opportunities were fantastic. No thong, unsubscribe.
Visiting the Christ was absolutely amazing. It is perched on one of the highest rocks in the city, and you can pretty much see it from everywhere. We took a local bus to the train, which winds up through the rainforest to the summit. It is a great ride and the view from the top is spectacular, although we did spend most of the time in a cloud, but when it cleared, it was fab. The city is so beautiful, with loads of little hidden beaches, coves, rocky outcrops and big towering hills all around covered in lush tropical vegetation. We visited Santa Teresa, which is based on top of a hill, and is full of impressive colonial style mansions with views to die for. It is quite a bohemian area now and definitely has a buzz to it.
Going up the cable car to the top of the Sugar Loaf while whistling the Bond theme tune, in homage to the Bond god, was really fun, and the view even better than from the Christ. In fact you can see it from a distance, which looks really cool just perched on top on the city.
On our last night, we went to a gorgeous little restaurant, where we drank pink bubbles, ate exquisite food and really toasted our last day in style. Wow, what a year. JG
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