Learing about Carnival

Carnival in Brazil is a huge business. It starts in about 10 days. Today we toured a huge complex where the floats are made. We learned about how each team's entry into the Carnival festival is judged. We had the opportunity to make fools of ourselves by donning a Carnival costume. 

Each team's entry for Carnival costs about 5 million US dollars. We had not choice about what costums we were given to wear.

Samba dancers tried to teach us some very basic steps and the drummers taught use some basic rhythms.  

 

These are some pictures of the many parts from previous floats that we saw on our tour.

Looking up-close you can see that the work can be very intricate. I learned that Carnival is a very important part of of Brazilian Culture. Plans for the event go on all year around. It is watched on TV and tickets to attend in person rival the price os Superbowl tickets although there are cheap seat for $15 to $30 US dollars because the event location is huge. 

 

 

 

Highlights of Rio De Janeiro

We had an early start today to go to see the Christ the Redeemer statue. There is a train, then an elevator, and then an escalator for those like me who do not want to hike 2 and a half hours and then climb 220 steps up to the base of the statue. Our guide said the we needed to get there early to beat the crowds but it seemed to me that the crowds were already there when we arrived. The statue is very impressive and the views were clear on one side and foggy on the other side at the top. 

Next stop was the Escadaria Selarón. In 1990, Jorge Selarón began renovating dilapidated steps that ran along the front of his house. There are 215 steps measuring 125 metres (135 yards) long, which are covered in over 2000 tiles collected from over 60 countries around the world. 

 

^{There were so many people that is didn't seem like a very fun experience to me. Although if you looked closely some of the tiles were quite nice.}

 

Our final stop prior to lunch was at the Cathedral of St. Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro. It opened in 1976. With architecture inspired by the Mayan pyramids of Mexico, the conical shape is believed to give proximity to God. Four stained glass windows run from floor to ceiling forming a cross at the top. 

We had lunch at a local restaurant and had a traditional black bean dish called Feijoada that was served over rice. 

Late afternoon we learned about the favelas (slums) from a young Brazilian man who grew up in one and still lives in a favela with his wife. There are many favelas located throughout cities in all over Brazil About 6 percent of the Brazilian population lives in favelas. Our guest speaker shared how each favela is run by a different cartel. The topic of favelas is one of the major controversial topics in Brazil.

 

The day ended by listening to a Bossa Nova group at a small cafe not far from our hotel.

 

Just in case anyone thinks that I slacking on exercise the pedometer on my phone registered that I walked 6.7 miles today. I also realize I need to think more about traveling to hot humid places since the weather is definitely not my favorite.  

 

 

 

Official Start Day for the Tour

Four pm today was the official start for our tour. We met our tour guide, Aline, who graduated from Dickenson College in Carlisle, PA. This is important because that is where my grandson Micah attends. Aline is Brazilian and fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English. I really admire anyone who is fluent in 2 or more languages. After a delicious buffet breakfast and catching up on sleep Jo Elllen and I walked to the Forte de Copacabana. It is one of six forts that guarded the Bay of Guanabara.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is not an old fort and is considered a bunker fort. Most of it is underground. The fort was inaugurated in 1914. The view across the bay is Sugar Loaf Mountain. My guess is that during the World Cup this summer you will see lots of the Brazilian flag.

There were several sidewalk cafes on the grounds. By the time we walked back to our hotel the heat and humidity had made me feel like I was in a sauna so I headed to the very small hotel swimming pool. Very short laps still provided the opportunity for much needed exercise. There was also an excellent view.

We ended the formal part of our day eating at a restaurant where the main course traditional bar-b-que and lots of beef was served.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Interesting facts about Brazil - It is the world's 5th largest country both by geographical area and by population. Explorer Pedro Alvares Cabral claimed the area for Portugal in 1500. Its independence was achieved in 1822 with the creation of the Empire of Brazil but it became a presidential republic in 1889. However, the bicameral legislature, now called congress, dates back to the ratification of the first constitution in 1824.

Arrived in Rio De Janiero

All of my travel plans worked out great. My cousin Jo Ellen arrived in Rio an hour ahead of me. She got a ride with 6 other people from our travel group to our hotel. When I arrived at 9:15 am there was a driver to get me and take me to the hotel. The hotel is very close to the world famous Cocacabana Beach. The view from our room is less than spectacular. 

Today is is a rest day to catch up on sleep before our group meets tomorrow afternoon. After a short nap Jo Ellen and I walked to the beach and ate a very tasty salmon dinner at a beach side cafe. We sheltered under a leaky canopy during an intense tropical thunder, lightning and heavy rain storm that lasted about 20 min. 

 

 

It was about 100 degrees here this afternoon. The hot sticky tropical weather with late afternoon storms reminded a lot of Malaysia weather. 

 

Plenty of time at the Houston Airport

 If you look closely at the picture of departure flights the current time is  February 2, 1:19 PM. About halfway down the list you see that the United flight to Rio De Janeiro departs at 8:20 pm.  When I arrived from Portland I had 7 hours at the Houston airport to wait for my next flight.  I walked around and discovered that there is lots of art on display here. 

 

I really like the ceramic bunny. I located my departure gate and in case I want to do duty free shopping that is right by the gate.

My primary destination was to find the nearest United Club lounge since a small bag of free pretzels on the plane didn't quite meet my food needs. I had saved one of my two free United club passes to use today. I ate lunch and learned that I can come and go as much as I want today. Maybe I'll locate more art and I will certainly eat more food before I board my flight to Rio De Janeiro.

 

 

 

A Trip to South America

I have a 7 am flight on February 2 from Portland to Houston, a long layover and then an overnight flight to Rio De Janeiro. If all goes well I will arrive at 9:30 am on February 3 in Rio.  I am going on a trip that is with Overseas Adventure Travel  (O.A.T.) My trip is "Exploring South America: Rio, Buenos Aires, Patagonia & Chilean Fjord Cruise." I will be traveling with my first cousin Jo Force who is a retired forestry professor from the University of Idaho in Moscow, ID. If all goes well we will meet at the airport in Rio de Janeiro on February 3. I am spending the night at a hotel near the Portland Airport so I can take a 4:30 am shuttle to the ternimal. I hope to post updates regularly on my blog about the trip. Anyone who is interested and check my blog to see postings. Here is a map of the tour. 

 

This is the map of when the ship we board goes through the Fjords in Southern Chile.  

We added a trip extension to Easter Island onto our trip. Then we fly back to Santiago, Chile and I hope to be back in Newberg, OR on February 28.
 

 

Heading Back ro Oregon

I had a flight that departed at 7 am and it was still dark in Honolulu. Eli left a on aa 8 am flight and Mark had one more day in Honolulu. 

Mark did a run in Tasha's neighborhood and took a picture of these signs.  

Mark had an overnight flight back to the mainland. Tasha was a wonderful hostess and tour guide for our time in Hawaii.