River January and Corcovado Tour. See there is a god!

There was an early start (for some) today as we hove into Rio de Janiero at around 5:30am. Gabrielle wanted to be out there to witness the glory of Corcovado Mountain and Sugarloaf whereas I felt that she'd probably be on her own. How wrong was I? Around 6am I felt lonely without my playmate, threw on some clothes and went in search of her, witnessing at the same time the fabulous skyline and impressive geography of the location, mistakenly named River January by its original discoverers.

At the same time, Gabrielle came looking for me and found the cabin empty. There then proceeded one of those French farce episodes where we finally caught up with each other on the top deck after many misses. We docked with our cabin overlooking huge murals and the port terminal. Christ the Redeemer was visible in the distance between two skyscrapers, but it kept hiding behind clouds. The weather was already quite hot with thunderstorms forecast. We had breakfast overlooking The President Costa e Silva Bridge, commonly known as the Rio–Niterói Bridge, which is a box girder bridge crossing Guanabara Bay. At 8.26 miles in length it stretched across our whole vista.

Everything in Rio is on a giant scale - it's a huge city of some 12 million people including its greater metropolitan area. Consequently, it's a city of noise, with the clang of tram bells, distant drumming and a constant beat of traffic and ... just, people. Opposite us is a noisy warehouse which acts as a bus station and we started our first trip there this morning.

Our guide, Isabella, was a tiny seemingly ancient lady who was an unstoppable force as she blagged us to the front of the queue for the tram up Corcovado Mountain to see the Christ the Redeemer statue. We quickly learned that this was her major modus operandi and, whatever she said to the young security staff always seemed to open pathways for us. On the cog railway tram, we zoomed up the hill at a rate of knots for 20 minutes - it's a total of 731 metres to the top - and we were alerted by our guide to get cameras ready as we reached a break in the vegetation. There was just cloud and much hilarity thereafter!

You're not there yet though. There were mad queues for the lift to take you to the next stage - cue Isabella who magicked us to the front. A guy at the top with a whistle was seemingly pointless as he tooted regularly to encourage people emerging from the lift to disperse. Next came the escalators, but already as you went up, you could see the statue looming above you in the mists.

There were huge crowds at the top, all watching the cloud misting across the statue and hoping (praying?) desperately that it would clear. Suddenly, there were cheers when it briefly emerged - and by briefly, I mean for seconds - then was swallowed again. Of course, at the same time, none of the magnificent view was visible on any side. We had travelled thousands of miles by sea, bus, rail, elevator and on foot. And? No view at all. Slightly dejected, we went back down the escalators and lift to join the queue for the tram. And then the mists began to clear and ...

... And then most of us went back up! Isabella twisted the arms of the security guard and he just caved in. The clouds cleared and quickly we took pictures in every direction. Up, down and round the sides. 

The statue is quite awe-inspiring and with the moody lighting it created an atmosphere that is difficult to describe. So many people were gasping in amazement as they emerged from the final lift, taking selfies and laughing and crying - Gabrielle being one of the latter. 

We finally got our views and our clear pictures of the statue.

But then there was a very long queue for the train back down - or was there? Isabella to the fore and suddenly we were on the very next one going down. We were all tired because although it wasn’t too hot, the experience was draining. And not to be missed. There were hoots on the train down as a pristine cloudless view of the bay came into sight. With Wi-Fi on the train and in our coach I was able to have a text exchange with Charlie. 

Then, a very belated whistle stop tour of beaches: Leblon, Ipanema and Copacabana. Yes, we did see the girl and yes she was "Tall and tan and young and lovely" although Gabrielle observed that many of them had very large derrières!

And as a final point, we drove through one of the very deprived shanty towns - Favelas they are called - and were reminded that Rio is, if nothing else, a city of contrasts. Home for something to eat, drink and a snooze before our Rio Samba Extravaganza in the theatre tonight!