We arrived in Rio de Janeiro around 8:00am and docked next to three other cruise ships. After one ship leaves later today, we’ll be moving location so we can dock right next to the port exit gate, otherwise it’s a five-minute shuttle bus ride.
Cristo Redentor
This morning I took the Christ the Redeemer tour. Might as well get the obvious out of the way. In every movie everywhere it’s shown as the sign of “Oh, the main actors are in Rio now.” As the bus pulled away, we saw many folks leaving the bars still dressed in their “night life” outfits. They were going home after a carnival Sunday night out on the town. At 8:30am. Party hard, I guess.
We spent about an hour driving around the various neighborhoods before arriving at the tram station that takes people up the hill to the statue. There is also an access road that supports vans, but not buses. We had reservations, so there was only a 10-minute wait before taking the 20-minute ride up the hill.
It was crowded, but not too bad. Out guide said it would get really bad once all the young carnival tourists sobered up in the afternoon. The almost-noon sun gave a shadow across the face I tried to reduce afterwards using software. The concrete statue has an outer coat of soapstone, which you can see on the close-up picture.
As you’d expect, the view is amazing. You can almost see my ship. Look at the bridge, find the island just below in the center. Keep going down and you’ll see the three ships. The Silver Moon is on the right, between the two buildings.
Tonight, we have front-row seats for the carnival parade. I hope my low-light photo skills are up to scratch. We leave at 8:30pm and don’t get back before 1:00am.