Santa Theresa is a cool little neighbourhood set up on one of Rio's many hills, and we had to take this classic rickety old tram up. Once up we asked where was nice to go for a wander, so headed off along the cobbled streets, up hill and down dale, me with sweaty soles of feet for some reason, which made it a bloody nightmare to walk in flip flops. We stopped for a juice, before meeting Marcela and Fernanda, who had come with Marcela's sister and another friend. Luis, after his momentary shyness, was chuffed to see 'las chicas' again. They took us to a great little restaurant for lunch, and we chatted about our time in Caraiva, and also the times before. After lunch we spotted a nice shop and bought some wee gifts, the girls even buying Luis a maraca which was sweet. The 6 of us, and Luis, then squeezed into Marcela's sister's car and headed to the Botanical Gardens. We hung out until the evening, then they dropped us back at the hotel. They are so nice, buena gente, and we had a great time yet again, Luis livin la vida loca. Marcela had also invited us to her house over in Niteroi for dinner on Thursday so we'd see them one last time.
We'd bagged a room at the Orla Hotel overlooking Copacabana beach, at the Ipenama end as well so were chuffed about that. After breakfast, we packed up, hopped in a taxi and headed there. Now we're talking, good hotel overlooking one of the planet's most famous stretches of sand, with a rooftop pool, get the Barry Manilow record out now, shabba! The rooftop pool wasn't the biggest in the world, more like a big bath, so we had to swim diagonals to make it worthwhile, but the pool was mainly for the wee man anyway. The views were stunning though. After a swim and a sing, and a quick change of rooms, as Maria thought the air conditioning unit outside the window sounded like a Nimrod aircraft, which took us to the top floor with a view of the beach and Sugar Loaf Mountain in the distance incidentally, nice, we donned out tourist hats and made our way for the Pau de Azucar, Sugar Loaf Mountain. It's pretty cool it has to be said, 2 cable car rides to get up there, Luis peering through the glass to the world getting smaller below, memories of Roger Moore grappling with Jaws in 'Moonraker', but once up there, the views back across the city are amazing and you really get a feel for how Rio nestles into its setting around the bay. Seeing the helicopters take off from fairly close range was definitely Luis' highlight, and for 150 Reais a tour, we nearly considered it! Some obligatory touristy shots later and we were heading back down, ready for the next slice of Rio's cheesecake. That next slice was a wander around Ipanema, with it's shops, restaurants and cafes. I had the most amazing chocolate milkshake which I had to defend vigorously from Maria and Luis (to no avail), and we returned to the hotel with a walk along Ipanema beach - we'd be there soon.
Next day and next on the list was the unmistakable Christo el Redentor, Christ the Redeemer, perched atop the Corcovado. Another train ride beckoned but Luis was asleep. After the train, you have the choice of stairs or a lift. I took the stairs, I wanted to do it properly, even though there was over 200 of them, and the views were already stunning on the way up - it's pretty special to see views from one side of a city, let alone 2. And, yes, at the top, the views are wow x70, and Chritso himself is immaculate, not a trace of bird poo anywhere - I thought he'd be a bit rougher around the edges! It was also weird seeing an escalator taking people to the summit, reminded me of that SImpsons episode, the monorail one I think, that featured the escalator to nowhere. Overall though, bloody amazing, and once Luis awakened, we introduced him to Christo, and then taught him to immitate him, arms outstretched (see below). We then headed into town as we were meeting Marcela at the ferry to go over to her house in Niteroi. Once over, her mum picked us up and gave us a quick tour of the area, the beaches, neighbourhoods, Oscar Niemeyer's museum looking back over to Rio, then to their house. Fernanda couldn't make it, which was a shame, but we were treated to the most amazing hospitality, such warm, wonderful people, Marcela, her sister, brother, mum, dad, her mum's brother and his wife and young boy. We had a gorgeous risotto cooked by Renata, Marcela's sister, great wine and a great laugh. Luis was given 2 cars as a present, so was high as a kite, and they made a suco de abacaxi (pineapple juice), his favourite this trip to top the lot! What with one thing and another time passed so we were invited to stay over, and were given a room with bedding, en-suite bathroom, the works, we were made up, I tell thee. (We're already plotting how to repay them!!). The next morning, we weren't awake before Marcela left for work, so we were gutted we never got to say goodbye, but thought, hang on, let's pop in and see her at work, so we did! She got a surprise but was very happy to be able to say goodbye properly, albeit a tearful one. We'd had a wonderful few weeks and meeting Marcela and Fernanda has definitely been one of the highlights of the trip.
Our last full day in Rio was spent soaking up the rays on Ipanema beach. We hadn't been on a beach in, oh, all of 6 days, so it was time to don the special trunks again. Well, gotta make an impression on this beach of all places! (Those of a nervous disposition should skip photos below). The beach is massive, and the sand just right for making castles, forts, you name it, but the waves are a bit big at times and pretty strong, so you have to keep your wits about you.......and your trunks if you can. Should have remembered to tie the drawstring around my trunks a bit tighter, so inadvertently started working on an all over tan. Maria had had a similar experience a few years back on Copacabana beach, when she ended up with her bikini over her head! A wee while later, I noticed 2 old couples set up chairs a short distance away, and shortly after saw the 2 men head to the water. One was like a slightly smaller version of the legendary wrestler Big Daddy, and pretty quickly they realised the strength of the waves - so he started to stick his belly out to counter them which started to make me chuckle as that was one of Big Daddy's signature moves! He also needed to tie his drawstrings a bit tighter as he was in danger of losing his shorts every time a wave came in! We finished off our sesh on the beach with some catalogue shots, Luis and I the boys from Ipanema and Maria the girl, had to be done, everyone else was posing! We had one last swim in the rooftop pool before heading out for dinner, taking a recommendation from our hotel reception, which turned out to be a very good one, bellies filled yet again.
So, time to leave the marvelous city, simply stunning, some special times, especially with Marcela and her family. Our next stop is equally stunning, the waterfalls of Iguazu on the Argentine border, una ducha muy grande!
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