Jan.31 Rio de Janeiro







It was 28C when Flavio picked us up to take us to the airport. I was a little apprehensive about our pick up time that would only get us to the airport 2 hours before departure. Then Flavio wanted to take Lawrie for a coffee so we only had an hour and a half before departure. There was a huge queue at the checkin counter but Flavio worked his magic and got us into the priority line. It was moving very slowly but we did get checked in just before the deadline. 

We had arranged for a driver to pick us up and take us to our hotel on Copacabana Beach. The ride took just over half an hour. The city of over 6 million is divided by numerous craggy mountains. The houses appear to be cut high up into the sides of the mountains. 


Our hotel is located right across from Copacabana Beach. After we got settled, we decided to walk along the beach. We headed east towards the fort and Ipanema Beach. We went into the fort and toured the original fortification with its armoury. We spent a lot of time in there while Lawrie examined all the machinery and power plant. When we had finished, we realized it was raining heavily out. 

That’s typical of the last three days as it has stormed each day. Most of the country is under an orange warning for rain that keeps getting extended daily. We know that if we want to do an outdoor activity, do it before 4 pm. 

We waited inside the fort for about 45 minutes until the rain eased up before heading back to the hotel. We ate supper in the hotel and called it an early night as we need to be up by 5:30 for our tour tomorrow. 

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