Rio de Janeiro

Just what it looks like and why you come to Rio

We arrived at Rio at noon, a whole day before our scheduled arrival due to the "medical emergency". This meant we had an extra day for excursions, which in turn meant that two of our excursions were up Corcovado to Christ the Redeemer, one up Sugar Loaf, and one to the Botanical Gardens. Rio is a fascinating City to visit, but in truth you go there to see the bay and the view from Corcovado and Sugar Loaf. Copacabana Beach is not one of the great beaches of the world: it was once, but now surrounded by high rise buildings and tens of thousands of people, it resembles Benidorm rather than a tropical paradise.

Rio is violent, one is warned by hotels and guides not to wear even a neck chain nor a watch. Brazil, particularly Rio, lives with violence. UK Foreign Office advice says " Avoid wearing expensive jewellery, watches and clothes. Don’t carry large sums of money. Keep mobile phones and cameras out of sight and leave your passport and valuables in a safe place, though you should carry another form of photo ID like a driving licence with you at all times. Be ready to hand over valuables if you’re threatened. Don’t attempt to resist attackers. They may be armed and under the influence of drugs. A Guardian reporter wrote I live and work in a country where over 70% of reported homicides are a result of guns. In my neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro, the murder rate is less than two per 100,000, which is well below the global average. Yet a favela around the corner from my apartment has a homicide rate that’s 10 to 20 times higher. So at night I hear the crack of gunfire echoing across the city; it’s disturbingly routine.

The JW Marriott hotel, supplied by the cruise company, gave us a good view over Copacabana Beach, but is not one of the great luxury hotels of the world. Nevertheless it was adequate, and was very central on Copacabana Beach. We were in Rio over Christmas, which as in Spain is just a normal fiesta, not an extended holiday. And as in Spain most restaurants close on Christmas Eve for their own family celebrations.

At the end of 5 nights (2 on the ship and 3 in the hotel) I felt that I had "done" Rio.

The approach by sea into Rio ranks with any of the top sea approaches in the world. Dramatic with the mountains rising up behind the city, which is squeezed into narrow coastal strip.

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Our first tour was in spruced up ex-army jeeps. One did not really need the benefits that they offered of 4 wheel drive, but it was a much more pleasant way of doing a tour than in a bus.The jeeps took us up the mountains to a waterfall, then dropped down via the "Vista Chinesa" ( a viewpoint built many years ago by Chinese Labours who had been brought into Brazil to work) and on down to the Botanical Gardens

The tour runs through the Tijuca Forest National Park which is in an Atlantic Rain Forest area. There are the odd animals, common species, such as the Saguis and Capuchin monkeys, as well as the quatis ( brazilian raccoon), can be easily spotted there. In terms of birds, toucans, canarians, buzzards, hawks, and many other species may be seen along the way. Vista Chinesa (Chinese View) was another stop, then the Botanical Gardens

The Botanical Garden was founded in 1808 by King John VI of Portugal. Originally intended for the acclimatisation of spices like nutmeg, pepper and cinnamon imported from the West Indies, the garden was opened to the public in 1822. The 140-hectare park lies at the foot of the Corcovado Mountain, and contains more than 6,000 different species of tropical and subtropical plants and trees, including 900 varieties of palm trees. A 750 m line of 134 palms forms the Avenue of Royal Palms leading from the entrance into the gardens. These palms all descended from a single tree, the Palma Mater, long since destroyed by lightning. Only about 40% of the park is cultivated, the remainder being Atlantic Forest rising up the slopes of Corcovado. The park is protected by the Patrimônio Histórico e Artístico Nacional and was designated as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1992.

The gardens house collections that include bromeliads, orchids, carnivorous plants, and cacti. These include Brazil’s largest botanical library and collections of dried fruits, rare Brazilian plants, and many photographs. The painted cast-iron Fountain of the Muses was made in Derby, UK, and until 1895 was sited at Henrique Lage's villa at Largo da Lapa, as part of the landscaping by the English painter John Tydall. The park contains 140 species of birds, many of which have become accustomed to humans and are consequently much easier to observe than in the wild. These include the channel-billed toucan, rusty-margined guan, slaty-breasted wood rail and the endangered endemic white-necked hawk. Tufted-eared marmosets are also frequently seen in the Botanical Gardens, and we had an opportunity to see some close up.

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The journey by funicular up the Corcovado is a must in Rio, even though the queues are horrendous. Each train takes about 100 people and they go only every 20 minutes. In theory one can book a particular train, but in our case, and I suspect in most cases, Rio traffic delays peoples arrival, and in the end they abandon timed bookings All in all we waited about an hour to get on the train, it only takes 20 minutes to get up, then you jostle for a suitable photo position for a snapshot of you with Christ the Redeemer. Going early, as we did on our second tour, was much better, and we had to contend with fewer people at the top.

But you go for the view, and you certainly get the view.

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The other de-rigeur tour is up the Sugar Loaf. The cable car is in two parts, with a short walk and a change of cable-car at the mid-way point. Yes, queuing and patience is again required as you jostle with your fellow tourists, but again the rewards are worth the hassle.

The first ascends to the shorter Morro da Urca, 220 meters (722 ft) high. The second car ascends to Pão de Açúcar.[1] The Italian-made bubble-shaped cars offer passengers 360-degree views of the surrounding city. The climb takes three minutes from start to finish.

The mid way station in itself is worth a pause to take in the views, and we saw aircraft landing at the small local airport in the city. As well as vultures soaring above us.

At the top the vista takes in Copacabana and most of the city

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Jutting diagonally into the sky from the old port of Rio de Janeiro is an other-worldly edifice that looks like a cross between a solar-powered dinosaur and a giant air conditioning unit. The Museum of Tomorrow had just been opened. There were (again) long queues, but we were told as pensioners we could enter by a special door without queuing, which seemed a great idea to us.

The Museum of Tomorrow was designed by Spanish neo futuristic architect Santiago Calatrava, and built next to the waterfront at Pier Maua. He was responsible for the Science City in Valencia, and the similarity is striking between the two projects. The structure – which was supposed to have opened before last year’s World Cup – was finally opened on December 17, 2015 with President Dilma Rousseff in attendance. So we were there only a week after it opened, and the queues were understandable. It sits waterside in a port area that was left abandoned for decades, and is now being renovated with new office blocks, apartments and restaurants. The museum is part of the city's port area renewal for the 2016 Summer Olympics.

The main exhibition takes visitors through five main areas: Cosmos, Earth, Anthropocene, Tomorrow and Now via a number of experiments and experiences. The museum mixes science with an innovative design to focus on sustainable cities.

Funded by the Rio city government with support from sponsors, the building attempts to set new standards of sustainability in the municipality. Compared with conventional buildings, designers say it uses 40% less energy (including the 9% of its power it derives from the sun), and the cooling system taps deep water from nearby Guanabara Bay. The structure looks set to be one of Rio’s most famous tourist sights. Its solar spines and fan-like skylight have been designed so that the building can adapt to changing environmental conditions

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Located in the centre of Copacabana Beach the JW Marriott was certainly conveniently situated, but otherwise an unmemorable hotel. One of those large American 5 star hotels that offer 4 star comfort at 5 star prices. Bland, could have been staying in any city in the world, nothing Brazilian about it.

We stayed here 3 nights. In spite of its location in the centre of Copacabana beach, you really want to find a better hotel to stay at in Rio. This is just not the quality expected of a JW Marriott .We had an ocean view room, but 75% of the rooms look onto a central courtyard , not the sea, so take note. Our room was not ready when we arrived, but nobody bothered to tell us when it was ready. Hence we spent an extra hour hanging around in the lobby

For an expensive hotel they are involved in penny pinching: for example I asked for a cappuccino coffee at breakfast, but was told that I would be charged extra for that. The lifts take an age to arrive when called.

The top floor pool has views over the beach, but is badly laid out. For example there are only 3 shaded sofa chairs, and a very limited number of other sun beds The beach area of the hotel only offers a small number of sun beds, and you are likely to get turned away disappointed. The bedrooms are "tired. " You get accosted regularly in the lobby by an in-house salesman for H Stern, the jewellers. In short, stay at the Belmond, not here.

We sampled dinner at Manoel & Jauquim. This is not, nor would they claim it to be, gourmet food. It is a relatively cheap cafe/restaurant, just off the main drag at Copacabana. It had a nice "local" atmosphere and the staff were very pleasant. The owner speaks English, but I was happy to speak Spanish to the rest of the staff. We ate here as a better local alternative to the Marriott. Having had the one meal, it was not so memorable that we felt we wanted to return, but the place is certainly worth a visit if you are staying nearby

We also ate at Maxims - a little over the top in self agrandisement naming. It is in reality a busy tourist restaurant on the main drag at Copacabana, offering better food and service than one might expect from such a location. This is not gourmet food, but good food. And the service is well done by people who have spent years in the job. Because of the location, the restaurant is always busy, so if you are going, time your visit with that in mind, otherwise you may have to wait for a table. Take a bit of care in selecting your table if there is a choice, and don't get bundled onto a poor table that the waiter is trying to offload.

And an icecream at Leos when all the restaurants were closed. It is a small, and I mean small, ice-cream shop offering a good selection of ice-creams. It is a shop rather than a cafe - in other words, there are not many places to sit down inside. And although there is a small area you can sit outside, its just that, a small area. I enjoyed the various flavours we had, and itis worth seeking out if you are in the area, but not worth a trek across town.

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On to Iguassu Falls

Cape to Paraguay Holiday