Brazil

Iguazú – Off to Rio de Janeiro

From Foz do Iguaçu to Rio de Janeiro -Iguazú – Flight to Rio de Janeiro

6:00 a.m. Get up. 7 a.m. Breakfast, packing and checking out at the hotel. At 8:30 departure to the Iguazú Falls. Today the Brazilian side.

We passed the Aeroporto Internacional de Foz do Iguaçu – Cataratas Afterwards we passed the portal to the Parque Nacional do Iguaçu and at 9:30 am we reached the parking lot of Macuco Safari. With a vehicle with trailer we crossed the jungle towards the river Iguazú. After about 1/3 of the drive we had to change into a jeep with reduced capacity. We went on until we stopped at the boat landing stage.
An inclined elevator brought us to the boats. The landing stage is about 6km away from the waterfalls.

After a short briefing and putting on life jackets we boarded our rubber dinghy. Inge sat in the first row. I found place right outside in the 2nd row. Altogether 11 persons of the travel group, our entertainer Max and 2 boatmen were on board.

The boat took off at 10:00 o’clock for a dry run towards the waterfalls. On the way we were allowed to marvel at a rock crystal on the Argentine side from a distance.
Whow and then the first bigger waterfalls on the right side. We continued our trip with rapid speed in the direction of the Devil’s Gorge. Here the biggest water masses fall into the depth. Our boat stopped on the left side of the Iguazú River with respect distance to the Devil’s Gorge. The swell was already impressive.
On the right side we could watch the spectacle of the wet trips. The boats went directly under the waterfalls. All persons on board were really wet. Incredible!

We had booked a dry trip for approximately 75 €/person. Well we flew in the late afternoon further to Rio, because we wanted to stay dry. At 10:45 o’clock we were back at the landing stage.
Life jackets deliver, with the inclined elevator it went again uphill and with the jeep we headed for the first station. Change and back through the jungle.

With the bus we continued on the Av. das Cataratas. At the next stop we admired a rosewood tree. At the Belmond Hotel das Cataratas was the last stop.
What a view to the waterfalls!

We walked the 600 m to Mirante da Garganta do Diabo (Lookout Devil’s Throat). Putting on our 2€ rain cape was announced. Then we ventured onto the freestanding platform close to the Salto Santa Maria waterfalls.
Awesome. Dead rain protection we got quite wet.

We continued with the Elevadores da Garganta do Diabo (Devil’s Throat lifts) to the top – what a view – and on foot to Porto Canoas Restaurant.
Here were coatis at work. Suddenly they were on the tables and gnawing at everything edible. Even Ulla was nibbled by them with a mighty leap on the table. We preferred to drink our cappucino standing up.
With our minibus we went back to the hotel. For Monika we went straight on to the airport. She had not booked Rio. After a relaxed stay with Caipirinha the rest of the group went to the airport at 4 pm.
Farewell Max. Foi ótimo com você!Check in. Security. Boarding.
And then the highlight of the day: Our dear Lothar was again late for boarding. When he wanted to board the plane over the tarmac, there were no human signs left. Promtly he got into the machine, which was parked next to ours. Unfortunately it was the wrong machine. Fortunately for him, the place indicated on his boarding pass did not exist in this machine. On request of a stewardess he was expelled from the machine. He made it just in time to board the plane to Rio de Janeiro. The other flight would have taken him to Colombia. After a quiet flight and a soft landing, our new tour guide Sigrid Filipe welcomed us at the Airpotz RIOgaleão – Aeroporto Internacional Tom Jobim (GIG) at 21:20.
Sigrid is Brazilian. Her ancestors 3 generations ago come from Stuttgart.
Were the Swabians so badly off in the past that so many emigrated? Max’s ancestors also came from Swabia. 10 pm we were in the Hotel Mirador Rio. After a fat Pizza Calabrese the day was over.

Wow! From our room we had a beautiful view of the brightly lit Cristo Redentor.
What more could you want!

From Corcovado and Cristo Redentor to Copacabana

Cristo Redentor, Cafe Colombus, Opera, Cathedral, H-Star, Copacabana – Take the Corcovado mountain railway to Cristo Redentor

7 a.m. get up, 8 a.m. breakfast, 9:30 departure for the Corcovado cable car. Departure at 10 am with the Corcovado mountain railway through the Tijuca rainforest up to the Corcovada.
By foot and escalators we reached the Cristo Redentor. 36m high Cristo spreads his arms protectively.
Crowds of people besieged the Cristo!
We had 30min time to walk around, stand and take pictures. Time management was the order of the day. Visit of the Cafe Colombus in the city centre. On to the opera.
Visit of the Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião do Rio de Janeiro.
Drive to the H. Stern jewelry store – sales event.with H-Stern taxi to Copacabana House No. 7.
Always along the beach to the Skol. Inges idea.
Caipirinha. Music. Dance. Back to the hotel.after a short break we walked to Restaurante Manoel & Juaquim.at 21:30 we were back at the hotel. Fini.

From Urca via Maracanã to Copacabana

From Pão de Açucar to the Maracanã Stadium and Copacabana – Rio de Janeiro – Sightseeing

7 a.m. get up, 8 a.m. breakfast, 9 a.m. drive to Urca to the cable car to Pão de Açucar (Sugar Loaf Mountain).
At Praça General Tibúrcio we could watch the dance of a wedding party in the open air. This is also Brazil.
At the Morro da Babilônia mountain we watched mountaineers climbing the Trilha Do Morro Da Babilonia and at the valley station of the cable car Bondinho Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf) we queued up. In the first stage the cable car took us up to the Morro Da Urca. On foot we went to the second stage of the cable car. This brought us up the Pão de Açucar – Sugar Loaf Mointain – Sugar Loaf (365m).
After a tour and a photo session or even several, the cable car brought us back up to the Morro de Urca. During a small round through the park we could admire monkeys before we reached the valley station with the cable car again. the next stage was the port of Rio. Near the Igreja de Nossa Senhora da Candelária we could see the construction for the Olympic fire and we went on to the Boulevard Olímpico. Over the Av. Rio Branco with its old Portuguese Conolial houses we reached after the Praça Mauá the futuristic looking Museu do Amanhã. The toilets were excellent. Due to little time we couldn’t visit the museum, the next stop was the legendary Maracana Stadium. Inge had to be photographed with a Brazilian football oldie and the Pele statue. The purchase of a brazilian tricot failed, they only had up to size L.
Unfortunately we couldn’t go to the stadium, because for the evening a game Flamingo (league leader) against Wasco da Gamma should take place. According to the tour guide it should be a highly explosive game.
At 13 o’clock we were back in the hotel, we could have visited the game. A guide would have picked us up at the hotel and accompanied us to the stadium. Costs converted approx. 30 €.
But we had already decided for a Samba-Show in the evening. After a short stay at the hotel we decided to enjoy an ice cream at the Sorveteria Momo Gelato. The Momo is accommodated in the Hotel Copacabana Palace and therewith, it is the most famous iced coffee of the Copacabana. Three string ice-creams and a Capucino with 22 Realos were really delicious and we went to the Farmacia do leme via Av. Atlantica, Av. Princesa Isabell and Viveiros de Castro. Then the rain broke loose. We just made it to the Paof Companjha. There we settled down to wait for the end of the rain. We bought cookies by weight, 100gr at 6,57 Realos and a Capucino for 7,9 Realos. All together about 3€ 20cent. When the rain stopped we went to the hotel and in the evening we went to a samba show at the Ginga Tropical Theatre. At 20 o’clock we were picked up. The price was 85€ per person and we took a central place in the 2nd trip. Start was at 21:15 o’clock. The first quarter of an hour we practiced different Samba steps with a Brazilian tutor and then the show started.
incredible! What a show! for the finale of the show Inge had to go on stage to dance different samba rhythms with the other spectators. inge stood up to the brazilian girls – great! after the end of the show the bus brought us back to the hotel. Before that it went to two more hotels to deliver more guests. Two Chileans, three Americans, one Brazilian and except for two persons our travel group were in the bus. by the way, the game between Flamengo and Wasco da Gama ended 1:1. riots were not reported.
Shortly before midnight it was over.

Return flight from Rio de Janeiro

Copacabana, Tour, Return flight – Last visit to Copacabana and return flight

After breakfast, the five of us decided to visit the Sorveteria Momo Gelato again. Was the ice cream yesterday already an experience it was topped today.

After the pleasure we strolled over the Av. Atlantica always in view of the Copacabana beach. On Sundays the road to the beach side is closed for cars. There, we and the people could stroll well.

We comfortably strolled alongside the Copacaban in direction to the Forte de Copacabana. A few rows of houses later, we decided to turn in direction to the hotel, as the Copacabana was so impressive. Well and when do we come back here?

At some point we turned in the direction of our hotel. Suddenly we were at a tunnel that was unknown to us. Where were we, anyway? After we had tried our mobile we could find our location thanks to GPS and MapsMe. Well now we only had to navigate around the tunnel back to our hotel. We were only 2km away. It was just in time before we left for the airport.

The transport to the airport was on time.
Sob: One last time we could have a look at the Copacabana, the Cristo Redentor and the Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf Mountain).

Check in, give our suitcases and Sigrid Filipe of our travel management.
With Ulli and Ulrike we enjoyed a cappucino at MC Donalds.
After the security we flew with LATAM-Airlines to Sao Paulo. The arrival in Sao Paulo was at the Domestica Terminal.

Now we had to cross the whole airport (felt) from the Domestica Terminal to our gate at the International Terminal. We had to hurry, the connection time to our onward flight to Frankfurt was quite short.
We had to pass the security again. Of course it costs time and especially nerves.
The flight to Frankfurt started on time. Unfortunately we had gotten the two middle seats in the middle row. A nice flight attendant accompanied us on the flight.

Take-Off – The last flight of our journey with LATAM.

Arrival in Germany

Return flight to Frankfurt – Back home again

After a 12 hour flight our LATAM machine landed in Frankfurt in the afternoon.

Pick up our suitcase. Ours were of course the last. Then we went to the long-distance train station and an ICE train brought us to Stuttgart on time.
At 7 pm we were home.