Day 8 on the ship and.. day 9 in Rio!

Day 8 - and the final day at sea before Rio. So after overcooking it in the sun a bit yesterday (well the sun was nearly directly overhead at lunchtime and the boat was only 5 degrees south of the equator), took it a bit easy.

However evening time meant another formal dinner with dicky bows and nice dresses. We dine on a table of six and here are our tablemates - John and Stella (from Maidenhead) and Alan and Vivienne (who now live in Southern France). Oh and that was my pudding:

Early to bed as in the morning it was time for...

Day 9 - Well here we are in Rio de Janeiro! Pulled into Rio about 3am, looked outside the balcony to see us going past Sugar Loaf mountain and.. it´s chucking it down with rain! Eventually left the ship around 9am to start our trip around the city.

First stop - the cathedral. Weird looking place - looked like an Inca temple! But very impressive. Then off to Sugar Loaf mountain, and a trip to the top via two cable cars. What a view from the top of Rio and the famous beaches of Copacabana!! But as you can see it´s a bit cloudy here today and only 21C.

Heré´s some more photos, including Ralph who we´ve met on the ship:

So after a bit of lunch served Brazilian style at the table (i.e. you sit there and the waiters pile your plate with every kind of meat and some token lettuce and tomatoes), it was off to Cristo Redondo (or the Statue of Christ the Redeemer).

So we get on a little fernicular train which takes you to the top... and it´s raining and cloudy!! Oh well, here´s how the pictures came out:

But what a great city! Time for some caiprinhas before we set sail out of here at 11pm! Weather should get better after this - currently blue skies, 30C and sunny in Montevideo where we are on Sunday.

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