Grand South America & Antarctica Voyage, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil... Part 1 of 2

After our breathtaking sail into Rio De Janeiro, we decided to get off the ship a bit earlier than our tour to have a look around.  We did a short tour down Olympic Avenue to capture some wall murals, some of them are pretty amazing... Our guide Tatiana met us outside the terminal and we headed to the Santa Teresa area for street art tour before our helicopter tour. We passed the Lapa Arches and started our climb up the hill to Santa Theresa. We first visited Ruins Park and Chacara do Ceu, former mansion of art patron and industrialist Raymundo Ottoni de Castro Maya. We visited gardens surrounding the building, and viewing platform with its panoramic view of downtown Rio and Guanabara Bay. Next, we headed to Santa Teresa. It was a difficult climb as we had car trouble…we had a leak and hoped it was not brake fluid. This neighborhood has a diverse history, culture and is a of the picturesque area…Situated on a hill about 10 minutes from the Rio’s inner-city. Santa Teresa preserves the old-world charm of Rio de Janeiro from centuries gone by. Every corner tells a new story, and the squares and public spaces reveal breathtaking views of the north, south and central areas and vibrant street art scenes. There are mansions that are now home to artisan workshops and craft shops, along with bars and restaurants that attract artists, writers and intellectuals from around the world. Finding and photographing street art in the city is easily one of the best things to do in Rio. Street art was officially legalized in Rio in 2009. Since then, many murals and individual pieces have popped up all across the city. We made it down the hill and our next stop was the car rental agency to exchange the car…boy what a labor intensive process…they took more photos of the car inside and out, than I do on a full day tour!!! Once we swapped cars, we headed to the airport…we were over an hour late. If Mayans and aliens collaborated on a building, it would probably look something like Rio’s vast Metropolitan Cathedral we passed on the way to the airport. Arriving at the Rio Golf Club, the location of Blue-Sky Helicopters. We were so hopeful the clouds would clear as taking a helicopter tour is one of the most exhilarating ways to see Rio! We were able to see aerial views of Rio’s top landmarks on a flight path along Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches, Maracana, the Sugarloaf Mountain, and Christ the Redeemer. Disappointingly, Christ the Redeemer was shrouded in fog…the Pilot said he would circle Corcovado Mountain and hope the clouds would clear for us…as we approached it was like Christ was rising from the dead, the clouds disappeared, and we had the full view of Christ the Redeemer…what a site and the highlight of our day. I even got the money shot I was looking for, Christ the Redeemer with Sugarloaf in the background.  On our route back towards the ship, we drove along the beaches of Rio…we made brief stops at Lebon and Ipanema Beaches…this stretch of beaches is massive. Rio de Janeiro is a huge city of 7 plus million people, and it takes a lot of time to get from one area to another…today we accomplished our mission, wall art and the flight…a great day despite a few bumps in the road. Tomorrow we will be exploring some of the major sites of Rio.