Gym's Ramblings: Rio and the Regatta

We pulled out of Rio de Janeiro last night but we didn't leave before getting the lay of the land from a couple of locals that showed us around a little bit:

The first guide was the taxi driver that drove us from the hotel in Barra da Tijuca to the port in downtown Rio. This gentleman could not speak English at all but with my limited ability in French and a smattering of Spanish he was able to discern that we wanted to take a look at the Ipanema and Copacabana beach areas. So with a running commentary in Portuguese, he went out of his way to show us what we wanted, notwithstanding that the fact that he was getting paid a flat fee and we were not on a meter. We saw the city in the aftermath of Carnival but it was still beautiful. Subsequently, we arrived at the pier and we offered the driver a heartfelt "obrigado" (thank you).
The next morning, we had arranged a city tour through our cruise line, Oceania. On the dock we met a professional guide named Anna and she lead us onto a bus for a half-day tour of Rio that included a trip up Corcovado mountain, to see the world famous, art deco statue called, " Christ the Redeemer". We ascended the mountain on the Trem do Corcovado and the trip was very reminiscent of a similar ride we took in Hong Kong in 2011. The Peak Tram in Hong Kong is a similar excursion up to the top of Victoria Mountain on Hong Kong island. However, even though the Peak Tram began service 3 years before the Trem do Corcovado in 1881, the Brazilian experience wins hands down. I think what waits at the top of Mount Corcovado has the Hong Kong thing beat all to hell. Not only is the view 360 degrees on Corcovado but Christ the Redeemer is magnificent (do go to Hong Kong though, there is also so much there to offer). Christ the Redeemer weighs in at 635 tons, is 30 meters tall and 28 meters wide. Check out Mrs. Gym's fine photos shown after my verbiage.

Now touring Rio was certainly a goal of ours but we were also getting on a cruise ship that would be our base camp for the exploration of the Brazilian Riviera, and parts of Uruguay and Argentina. Our home for the next 12 days or so would be the Oceania Regatta. Boarding the Regatta was very settling. Mrs. Gym was happy to have been able to finally unpack all of the luggage, knowing that we would not need to look at our suitcases again for almost two weeks. As we boarded the Regatta, we felt like we were safely home again.

We had never been aboard this particular ship but we were pleasantly surprised to find out that there were at least a dozen staff onboard that we had sailed with in the past. How did we know these people? It is easy when you realize that Oceania is a smaller, boutique cruise line. This is our fourth cruise with Oceania but since this particular outfit only has 5 ships, if you are a loyal customer, it is likely you will see some of the same great staff again, even if you cruise on a different ship. That is because the staff move from ship to ship with each new 7-month contract that they serve. Therefore, you will see these great Oceania employees again and again if you are loyal to the company. For example, the Cruise Director, Dotty, was with us on two previous cruises and two maitre d's in the Dining Room, Miguel and Amalcar were with us in 2011 aboard the Insigna. They all remembered us and there were hugs and handshakes all around. There is something special about this cruise line.

btw

Rio de Janeiro means "January River" and that sounds way better in Portuguese.
If you are born in Barra da Tijuca, you are called a Barrista. The only other place you can get that tag is Starbucks.
Rio is hopping, they have the FIFA Soccer tournament this summer (2014) and the Summer Olympics in 2016. But we were there before all of that stuff happened.