the boomer live

Rain! Rain! Rain! Its pouring down. But these two travelers are going to enjoy Rio come hell or high water (it very well maybe high water!) Breakfast delivered to cabin again, on time and Vicki commented that the waffles are excellent. Down to meet Marcelo at 9am. First stop Maracana Football Stadium (soccer), it used to hold 200,000 (yes you read right) but they put seats in and it only holds 120,000 now. I did my Pele bit and ran up the player’s tunnel out onto the pitch. Its quite amazing standing there and looking around at all those seats, imagining everyone of them chanting your name .

Next stop the Sambodromo where every February Carnivale is held. Next up we  drove thru the San Teresa neighborhood, this is a fairly wealthy area of cobblestone streets with shops and restaurants, it also has a street trolley that run to it from downtown. It would have been great to walk around but the rain was quite heavy. Onwards, to the downtown area to the Catedral Metropolitana, it stands 248ft high and holds up to 22,000 people for mass. (standing) The next few stops were downtown and Marcelo asked if we minded walking in the rain (difficult, no, impossible parking).  No problem, on to the Confetaria Colombo, this famous tea room built in 1894 has an Art Noveau / Baroque interior, we had coffee and a shrimp and cheese thingy, it was delicious. Next it was Vicki’s turn (yes, shopping) looking for a CD of music heard on the radio, 3 stores sold out. What a shame !

We walked a bit further to the Theatro Municipal, the center for ballet & symphony in Rio. We were hoping to see inside, but it was closed, being prepared for a gala that evening. Next up was the downtown market (not the hippie market) this is an open market for locals, this place was really bustling, everyone was on a mission, very hectic, noisy and fun. Note: Not sure if we would have been comfortable in this area without a guide. Onto our final stop the Mosterio de Sao Bento built by Benedictine monks. When got inside we noticed we had lost Marcelo, no worries, a few minutes later   he turned up with a young college student who gave us a very informative tour.  (see pix)……and back to the ship, very soggy but we had a great time.

The sailing from Rio was spectacular, or it would have been except for the rain!

After a rest, shower and clean up, we went to dinner, highlights Lamb Shank (Vicki) Tiramisu (Mick), then up to the show Cabaret Lounge for the Captains toast and show. No formal cocktail party, but about an hour before the show complimentary drinks are served and then before the show starts the Captain introduces his Senior Staff, and gives his welcome speech. It works quite well in our opinion. Some may not like it as there is no formal Captains handshake. But a lot of ships are getting away from this. The comedy act, Tom Duke was quite good, original material, funny, not the same old jokes you normally hear on ships.

Parati tomorrow, rain, rain, go away!