"We Will Always Have Rio"

Waking up at 4:45 in the morning wasn’t a fun experience but knowing that I was about to board a plane for Rio in a few hours made the horridly early morning worth it. We left the boat and went to the airport for our short hour and a half flight to Rio de Jainero. We arrived at 11am and we went straight to our hotel to drop off our bags. In total, there were about forty people in our group and 40 in the other group so we were bound to have a good time. After going to the Golden Tulip Hotel we had the rest of the day off to explore the city because unfortunately it was a rainy day so our plans for sight-seeing were postponed. The mall was obviously a good place to go because it was indoors out of the rain and all the girls were ready to stock up on Haviana sandals since they are made in Brazil.Needless to say, we were all exhausted and the mall was HUGE. 5 stories packed with TONS of stores. After an hour or so, we all decided to go nap at the hotel before going out for dinner and drinks. We had dinner at this cool outdoor restaurant called “Vinicio” which was delicious. After that we went to Shenanigans Irish Pub for a few drinks and to taste the Brazilian caipahreino. I’m not sure what was in it except for a lot of lime juice, but they were so good. Everywhere we went, we had to have a “caipi.”Our second day in Brazil was much more fun that the first. Again, there were clouds in the sky, so we couldn’t go see Christ the Redeemer. Instead we went to Pao de Azucar, translated means “Sugar Loaf.” It’s two a set of rainforesty mountains that sit high above Rio and you can see the city in all directions. We loaded onto cable cars to catch the view at the top and it was breathtaking. Now I know why Rio de Jainero is considered one of the most beautiful cities in the world.After the Sugar Loaf we went to Manguira, a “favela” that has developed a project to better the community with centers for the children and people of the slums. We got to go see the children and interact with their community. The have a huge sports program as well as schools and one of the best dance groups for CARNAVAL, their annual street fair (similar to Mardi Gras in the States). It was really fun handing out stickers and presents to the little kids who grabbed and fought over them. On our way out, we saw the facilitiy for the older population of the community, the 20-year olds. The facility helps them prepare for jobs and teaches them trades like construction, being a barber or hair stylist, etc. There was a group of boys that we saw there were really cute and you could tell that they wanted to come over and say hi to us. So when the rest of our tour group walked around the corner, Maggie, myself, and our friend Mariko ran over to them and asked for a picture. They were so EXCITED. A huge swarm of 30 guys came over and posed for the camera. It was the highlight of our day.Going back to the hotel was a relieving feeling because we were all so tired. But we only had one more night in Rio so we were all going to go to dinner and to Bar Emporio for some late-night fun. Dinner at “Eclipse” was so good. The pizza in Rio is phenomenal. After dinner we headed out to Bar Emporio where we spent the rest of the night.Last day in Rio: After Maggie, Brad and I woke up early to get acai bowls for breakfast, we all loaded up onto 4x4 “jeepis” to go see Christ the Redeemer statue. Luckily for us, the day was clear and beautiful, perfect weather conditions for visiting JC. The 4WD jeeps were so much fun and they took us up the Corcodova mountain so we could finally see one of the new Seven Wonders of the World. There is no lack of words to describe how astounding and amazing the Christ statue was. It was 5 stories tall and to get a full picture of it you had to lie on the ground. After spending the morning there and most of the afternoon in the villages near-by, it was time to go off to the airport to head back “home” to the ship in Salvador.

FO RIOOOOOO!