Day 21, 27.10.2018, Rio de Janeiro,
A great day out. H had arranged a driver and guide to speed things up. First stop was the train going up Corcovado to see the iconic Cristo Redentor. We had a celebratory caiprinha at the top.
As it was getting dark we dashed on to the Sugarloaf mountain cable cars with more great views over the city and Copacabana Beach. We had another celebratory caiprinha at the top which put me easily over my annual allowance for sugar.
H made a lot of fuss about having a rooftop dining experience with a view of the lit-up Corcovado. This is in the face of occasional rain showers and the fact that Rio has no rooftop restaurants, just bars. Our guide struggled with this for a while but came up with the Assador restaurant. Not on a rooftop but we could see the Corcavado and the Sugarloaf through the rain. Assador is a type of highly non-vegetarian Brazilian barbecue place called a rodízio. You get a beer-mat, green on one side and red on the other. With the green showing, the waiters start carving chunks of lamb and beef from sword skewers onto your plate. We had the green side showing for longer than we should have but we managed to wash it all down with the help of a nice Malbec.
As the night was young, we went to the Deck Lounge Bar at the Pestana Rio Atlântica hotel overlooking night-time Copacabana Beach. H had yet another caiprinha. I was forced to have something a bit less sugary.
I have been told to point out that H usually has the virgin type of cocktail and is a responsible adult.
Day 22, 28.10.2018, Rio de Janeiro,
H was on duty aboard so I took my bike to Copacabana Beach. A 34km round trip. Huge surf at the beach had the red flags flying.
I was expecting political demonstrations on the streets due to today’s Presidential elections in Brazil but I saw nothing.
Day 23, 29.10.2018, Atlantic coast of Brazil,
Sea day. A big swell has been rolling the ship all night.
King Neptune returned from his watery domain as we crossed the Tropic of Capricorn. it came to be known that the Chief Engineer was still a slimy polliwog after missing the Equatorial crossing so we held a private baptism on our balcony.
You may appreciate that it is a rare thing that somebody dressed in drag gets to soak the Chief with water using a toilet brush. The gods of the sea must be obeyed.
Day 24, 30.10.2018, Atlantic coast of Uruguay,
Sea day.
