Three added pics

I thought I had these pictures also, but Blogger allowed me only three.

Sugarloaf and Tijuca Forest

Everyone has heard of Sugarloaf, the rock that sits at the mouth of Rio's harbor. Today we took a cable car to the top (the cable car will be 100 years old later in 2012). Then we went to part of Rio's inner city park system (covering 20 square miles at the top of the mountains - in between which is the city). The Tijuca Forest has beautifully maintained trails, steeply winding roads, and lots of streams and waterfalls.

Rio and Christ the Redeemer statue

Well, it is actually larger than what it seems in pictures. The views are breathtaking - all over the place, because Rio is an enormous city (10 million people) built around one of the world's largest bays and ports. The mountains come right to the sea, which is not unique, but the beautiful beaches that transition the slopes to the sea are unique, at least to us. Pictures from yesterday include: Christ the Redeemer, boats in the bay, the beach just outside our window.

In the evening we went to a place called Vinicius Bar, down in Ipanema. Lots of locals watching a football (not Super, soccer) match. It turns out this was the hangout of the two guys who collaborated on The Girl from Ipanema, back in 1965. Unfortunatly, PopPop is still looking for a modern Girl from Ipanema, but hasn't seen one yet.