The Big Jee

Corcovado, the peak from where the famous statue of Jesus overlooks the entire city of Rio.  A quick glance skywards reminds any Carioca, not to drink that other caipirihna, not to stare at yet another bikini clad bunda, not to dance the samba a little bit closer, or not to hussle or mug another innocent tourist.  You could call it the conscience of Rio.

Well yesterday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn to pay a visit to the big man in his heavenly abode and, in the process, to catch a few beautiful panoramas.  Our taxi driver Andre picked us up at 8.15 sharp and drove us up the impressive mountain on which The Big Jee is perched.

As we ascended, we beheld a godly vision - escalators to take us up the final few meters.

The view from up there were truely awe inspiring, especially with a few gostosas in the foreground.

And like any superstar, the big man was happily willing to pose with all his fans.

and even some who weren´t necessarily.

Oh, and here´s my idea of the holy trinity.

At this point I was very pleased to discover the panaroma function on my Galaxy SIII. Well Halleluya, praise the lord!!

Here´s the best result I could muster from up there.  Click on it for a closer look.

From the summit of Corcovado one could easily make the claim that Rio is the most beautiful city in the world.

The Road to Rio

The costal road to Rio was beautiful.  Most of the way we drove along winding roads through forest covered mountains which would spill over into the ocean, occasionally cushioned from above by fluffy white clouds.

This typical landscape of Sao Paulo state extended for a couple of hundred kilometers until, a few hours later, the scenery changed as we were approaching Rio.

We didn´t exactly get the welcome we were expecting!

Let´s just say the road turned into a Rio.  As we resurfaced on the other side of the storm, however, we entered the sun-drentched Rio de Janeiro that we were expecting, with views typical of what you see in the movies.

We were feeling rather pekish after our 4 hour journey so we stopped off at the one place in Rio from which we knew that we wouldn´t leave hungry - Porcao!  A Rio institution,  Porcao is the best know Chuhascarria in town serving excellent cuts of all-you-can-eat barbecued beef, by a elite team of knife yielding carving ninjas.

But there were a couple of simple rules every greedy guest has to learn before setting out on his carnivorous journey of debauched greed.  So often do the waiters approach ones table with more meat that a simple signalling system was devised to allow the scoffing customer not to break his meaty momentum if he doesn´t want a 67th helping.

After loading our plates with various accompaniments from the unlimited buffet,

we were all systems go!

Another slice of picanha perhaps?

Yes please!

A little filet?

Why not?

Half a cow perhaps?

I thought you´d never ask!

Some other cow part that you´ve never heard of sir?

No thanks. Go feed some other greedy Porcao before i throw up!

Bursting at the seams, we unloaded our stuff at our rented apartment in Copacabana, before taking a stroll along the beach to aid our digestion.  Even at a late hour the beach seemed to double as a market offering everything any cool Carioca (Rio native) would require.

Bikinis of course,

or a trendy beach hat for Benny.

Not that one, this one.

As the sun set over Copacabana, we anticipated the days ahead with great excitement.

Let the countdown to the New Year begin!

Laranjeiras

I know, I know.  I'm having such a terrible time here in Brazil you're all hoping that something good will finally happen to me.  I thank you all sincerely for your kind sentiments my friends.  It's wonderful that you're travelling with me all way and are able to feel my pain.  Well unfortunately your good wishes have not materialized as my most recent shenanigans have been particularly agonizing.  You'll know what I mean when you observe the picture below.

Introducing the coast around Laranjeiras or "Orange Trees" approximately half way by car between Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.  Here we paid a visit to a certain very close relative of Iris who happens to have a luxury holiday home in these parts.  Well boo-hoo-hoo, poor us!

After breakfast our distinguished host took us for a tour of this exclusive resort's private beaches.  I simply do not have any superlatives left to describe the stunning coastal scenery of Brazil.  The pictures are left to do the talking.

You must understand, my friends, that today was an extremely hot day so after the walk back from the beach we desperately needed some way of cooling down.  Well just our luck that I host just happened to have a pool in his back garden that he had forgotten about and stumbled upon by mistake.

For a rare change, some of us preferred more active pursuits that involved floating over water rather than being immersed in it (see background), but most were happy with usual treatment.

I myself went for a paddle around to check what was good for plundering after night fall.

On my return, caipirihnas in the pool were in order (don't worry Adi's parents, she's drinking coconut water)

not to mention a little erotic fiction beside the pool, from the back

and the front,

before taking lunch on the veranda.

A quick shower later and we were off to Parate, a Portuguese colonial gold-mining town some 300 years old and characterized by typical Portuguese colonial architecture.

We passed the main church,

the town square,

and strolled down some of the town's quaint streets.

The taxis were stuck in a time-warp but were effective on the cobbled streets none-the-less.

Some of the locals were also stuck in the 17th century,

others were a picture of coolness,

or beauty.

After church,

we went to find sin (aval lama cashaca?),

before cooling off our visit with an ice cream - Elena, look this way!

Back at home we finished our dinner with passion fruit tart by torch-light.

What a wonderful day! We sincerely thank our distinguished host whose generosity is unsurpassed.