Farewell to Rio

TSH and Diva left the ship at 8:10 after a short sleep and a bath/shower. Diva did not have breakfast but TSH had OJ and a plate of Danish pastries.

As with all the journeys around Rio during Carnival, there were many delays and diversions. The police seem to close roads randomly and differently each day. The tour guides and drivers never know which route will be open.

The journey up to the Christ the Redeemer statue was made by bus, funicular, elevator and escalator. The middle two were traumatic for Diva, but she made it to the top. This was a much clearer brighter day, so the views from the top were extensive and dramatic. The scenery owes more to the jagged peaks and random islands of the south of the continent than it does to the flat greenery of the Amazon basin.

Dinner with two people from Chester. The previous night’s dinner was eaten with a man from Norfolk and there are further dinner dates with the two from Chester and with four people from the USA. Mad social whirl!!

The sail-away at 23:00 was really too late for the guests to enjoy, because they were all exhausted, but TSH and Diva briefly watched from their balcony as the lights of Rio, topped with the flood-lit statue, retreated into the distance.