Day 23 -- Rio de Janeiro

Up at 5.45 am to shower and breakfast and be ready for day tour pickup at 7.  A dozen of us in a 12 seater Mercedes mini-bus, which is an excellent choice for negotiating the narrow streets and double-parked lanes this city seems to favour.  The first leg was to reach Corcovado mountain on the top of which is the statute of Christ the Redeemer.  It was threatening thunderstorms, and traffic was chaotic.  Hundreds of yellow cabs were out blockading the main streets into the city during peak hour - in protest against Uber!  Police everywhere but they seemed quite powerless to move the traffic.

Anyway we got there and took the mountain train up to the peak which is 2300 feet above sea level and set in a national park.  And believe it or not, all we could see was the staue's feet.  Fog had closed in.  Patient waiting, and we got a few minutes clearing that let us see the 125 feet tall statue.  But of the city below, we got to see not a glimpse until we came down from the mountain again.  The statue is impressive, and there is a small chapel built into the rear of the pedestal it stands on.  They describe it as the largest Art Deco sculpture in the world.  They recently had to repair 3 of the fingers damaged by lightening.

Across town, our next stop was Sugarloaf.  You reach the 1300 ft peak of Sugarloaf in two stages by cable car.  The first ride to Morro da Urca lifts you 700 feet up; then a second car swoops across a valley to reach the peak.  Set on the edge of a bay, we did get some foggy looks at the downtown and Copacabana areas -- but it just wasn't a day for photographs.  Storm broke as we left the area, and we headed for lunch at a Brazilian BBQ restaurant.  Buffet salads, and they kept carving different meats onto your plate from skewers.

A number of short stops after that.  By now it is a very humid 36C, so aircon in the bus is welcome.  Visited the baroque Monastery Church of Our Lady of Montserrat (known locally as Sao Bento).  Gold never went out of fashion there.  Next door the Benedictines run an exclusive boy's college.  They have their own fleet of school buses, and we passed at least 20 of them.  After that we stopped at the main entrance of the city's football stadium, which is to host the opening ceremonies of the Olympics soon.  Then past the Sambadrome -- a street with tiers of seats on either side along which the samba teams parade at Carnivale.  Then to the Metropolitan Cathedral of St Sebastian which is a most unusual concrete and stained glass structure that can seat 5000 and stand 20000.  It's design is reminiscent of a Mayan temple.  Last stop was at the edge of one of the neighbourhoods.  A narrow lane comprising 250 steps has been over the years decorated by a Chilean artist Selaron using very colourful tiles.  He started out just beautifying the front of his own home; but the city encouraged him to work on using tiles donated from all over the world until he died a few years ago.

That was a nine hour day -- so good to get back to the hotel and rest up before a bit to eat.  Found an English-speaking medical clinic in Copacabana, so visited there for a check up and some more medication.  Very old-world with the doctors dressed in long white coats.  Very new-world with prices though - $430 for the visit.  Travel Insurance will cover, of course.

Today's photos in all their foggy glory can be found Here.