Buenos Aires, January 29-30

It's been a very busy few days!  The metropolitan area of Buenos Aires numbers about 14 million people, making it the 5th largest city in the Americas.  Our local guide told us we would need weeks to explore this huge, diverse, 400-year-old city, and I believe it!!

Downtown Buenas Aries

The majority of the natives of Buenos Aires have European origins, with Italian and Spanish the most common.  The Jewish community is one of the largest in the world.   It is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world and is often referred to as "the Paris of South America".

I'll recap just a few of the memorable events there.

Plaza de Mayo is the city center and seat of the executive branch of the government.

   This is the balcony of the building where Eva Peron is said to have addressed the people of Argentina.

The Recoleta Cemetery is one of the most unique graveyards in the world.   It is always listed as one of the tourist highlights of the city. It has 6400 graves, each one different in a wide assortment of architectural styles.  They include miniature Greek temples and Baroque cathedrals.

This is the grave of Eva Peron

Iguazu Falls

The Iguazu Waterfalls system is the largest in the world. It borders Brazil and Argentina and is a stunning feat of Nature.

Elevation: 640′

Height: 269′

Width: 8,858′ 0″

Number of drops: 275 (Wikipedia)

Next stop:  Buenos Aires, Argentina

More highlights of Rio

An area in Little Africa

Because of the huge number of descendants of African slaves, Rio has a large black/mulatto population.   For lunch one day we visited "Little Africa". There we met a woman who practices the African religion Candomble.  The food she serves represents the tenets of her faith.  It was interesting to visit her home.   She also showed us how music is a basis of her faith with a demonstration.

For breathtaking 360 degree views of Rio, its adjacent bay and the Atlantic Ocean, a trip to Sugarloaf Mountain is required. This is done by cablecar in two parts to reach the top at 396m.  Its name comes from its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar.

Our group with Sugarloaf in the background 

Carnival in Rio

Carnival in Brazil is held each year before Lent. Rio is famous for its Carnival celebrations. Over 2 million people a day attend it. This year Carnival dates are March 1st through 9th. The first Carnival celebration was held in Rio in 1723. The heart of Carnival is the amazing floats with world-class entertainment performed during the lively parade.

At the heart of Carnival and its amazing floats are the samba schools located throughout Rio and in other parts of Brazil. Most of  these schools represent the working class community from the favelas.

Each school has its own space to build their floats, create their costumes, and practice their routines for the competition during Carnival.   These preparations continue throughout the year.

We were very lucky to be able to visit a Samba school and get a tour. Everyone was busily creating the float and  practicing  the entertainment that would be presented on the float during its 75 minutes in the spotlight of the parade. The theme for this float was very hush-hush because there is keen competition between the 13 Samba schools in Rio to get First Place.

Terri and Randall

After our tour, we were lead in some fun dance moves

Favelas and more in Rio

Our group of intrepid travelers 

Our tour company used to include a visit to a favela in Rio.  "Favela" is the Portuguese word for slum. It was estimated in 2010 that about 22% of Rio's population lived in favelas. These giant slum areas are usually located on hills above towns or cities. They first began to be constructed in the 19th century by returning soldiers and by recently released slaves. It's interesting to note that Brazil important more than 6 million slaves and did not abolish slavery until 1888,  making it the last country to do so.

Because we couldn't go to a favela, our tour company arranged to have a resident of a favela speak to us. Her name is Sonia, and she grew up and has lived most of her life in favelas in Rio. She's an accomplished Samba dancer also. She told us the compelling story of her life which has included many tragedies.  However, she's learned to make peace with her past and is full of life and hope for her future. Her biography would be an amazing read!

Sonia helping Bill celebrate his birthday 

A favela

Like any big city, Rio has graffiti. Some of it is very artistic and symbolic.

Exploring Rio, 1/25

This is summer and high season in Brazil. Many cruise ships come, adding even more crowds. Danna knew well enough to get us out early before both the heat and the crowds became unmanageable. Our first stop was the iconic Christ the Redeemer statue. We took a train up the mountain where the statue is.

It's like Denali, you never know if you will get a good view. The clouds sometimes obscure  the statue. Danna told us we needed patience, and our patience paid off. It actually gave me goosebumps to look up at that statue. I've seen it in so many pictures and television shots, I had to pinch myself to believe I was actually there looking up at it. It was very special.

"The colossal statue of Jesus Christ at the summit of Mount Corcovado, Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil. It was completed in 1931 and stands 98 feet (30 metres) tall, its horizontally outstretched arms spanning 92 feet (28 metres). The statue, made of reinforced concrete clad in a mosaic of thousands of triangular soapstone." (Wikipedia)

Mel took this shot of it at night from the roof of our hotel

Next up: " Escadaria Selarón, also known as the 'Selaron Steps', is a set of world-famous steps in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. They are the work of Chilean-born artist Jorge Selarón who claimed it as "my tribute to the Brazilian people".

"There are 215 steps measuring 125 metres long which are covered in over 2000 tiles collected from over 60 countries around the world." (Wikipedia)

Our next adventure involved us getting on motorbikes and riding up to the top of a winding hill for lunch in the historic St. Teresa District.

This is Terri's photo of Mel getting on his motorbike (I was busy getting on mine!)

Later, we drove along the iconic Ipanema Beach.  Mel shot interesting sand castles there.

Dinner that night was at a local restaurant known for its rotisserie chicken.  It was tasty and came with lively entertainment,  the cook who grilled on a coal-fired grill.

Welcome to Rio!

After a 9 hour flight from JKF, we arrived about 1p.m. yesterday and came directly to our hotel across the street from Copacabana Beach.

View from our room

Danna

We met our tour guide, Danna, and enjoyed a get-together and orientation with the other 22 people on our trip, complete with Brazilian sparkling wine.

Barbara and Karen show where we will be traveling

This is a BIG trip!

After a brief walk around the vacinity of our hotel, our day ended at a traditional churrascaria, an all-you- can eat steakhouse.  My carnivore husband loved the 7-8 selections of beef served table-side from skewers. 

We slept well last night!

South America, here we come!

✔Bags packed
✔Passports secured
✔Visas obtained
✔Mail and paper on hold

We'll start in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and end on Easter Island.   Buckle up!  ✈