RIO DE JANEIRO AT A GLANCE- SUGARLOAF AND CHRIST THE REDEEMER

If you followed closely my recounting of our 2017 holiday, you might think that we crammed a lot of stops into it and you will be right.  Up until this point, we have been travelling for 4 weeks and could have easily call Havana our last stop and return home but then we had a different idea and here is why.

The truth of the matter was that my husband and I planned a trip to Brazil and Argentina two years ago but as we were about to pay for the tickets, my husband had to undergo massive heart surgery and, of course, the whole trip had to be cancelled.  We tried to go the year after but we couldn't find travel insurance that would cover both of us while in South America.

When we had almost mapped our regular annual holiday last year, we thought why not try our luck and see if we could score travel insurance for South America this time.  Luckily, we did and since 2017 marked our 10th wedding anniversary, it seem obvious that a trip to South America, just to Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires, should be added to our itinerary.  We called it a gift from ourselves to ourselves.

"

THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER WAS 

THAT MY HUSBAND AND I 

PLANNED TO VISIT BRAZIL TWO YEARS AGO

"

My older daughter had been to Brazil a couple of times and although she had marvellous time, she also warned us that it could be quite dangerous in some places even during the day so we should only chose to go to the places that are safe to visit day or night.  I assured her that we will be very careful and mindful of our whereabouts.

After hours of perusing various hotel sites, we settled for Hilton Rio de Janeiro Copacabana, offering breathtaking views over the city and Atlantic Ocean, close proximity to the airport and its own private beach just meters away from the famous Copacabana Beach.   It looked very modern and comfortable at the same time, its aesthetics highlighted by the extensive use of timber and other natural materials incorporating new eco-technologies whenever possible.

Once settled and unpacked, we went out to explore the neighbourhood.  We took a long stroll along the beachfront which was stretched for miles and miles ahead of us with the smart-looking apartment blocks, hotels and restaurants on one side and a beach occupied by a multitude of people on the other.  Everywhere we looked the sand was covered with colourful umbrellas, tents and beach chairs occupied by tanned beach goers with street vendors darting from one tent to another selling their modest offerings ranging from cold drinks to snacks and everything in between.

It was getting dark and following my daughter's instructions not to walk along the beach after sunset, we returned to the hotel.

The next day was dedicated to sightseeing.  Traditionally, we love to explore a new city from the rooftop of Hop-on, Hop-off tour bus but couldn't find one in Rio and after consulting with the hotel's concierge, opted for the next available option, a private tour.  We met our tour guide, named Bruno, early in the morning and after a quick exchange of pleasantries, we established that he was going to drive us to the most iconic landmarks of the city and would do his best to cram as much as possible in our scheduled 4-hour tour.

With that, we set off to our first stop, Sugarloaf Mountain.  While our car was speeding up along the coast passing by the world famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, Bruno explained to us that the the reason the mountain is called Sugarloaf is because its shape resembles the traditional shape of concentrated refine loaf sugar.

The day was quite hot but the ride in the cable car to the top was quite exciting allowing us to watch the mountain looming towards us at different angles but it was not until we reached the top, that we could appreciate the panoramic view of the city sprawling all around us in all its glory.

The next landmark that Bruno took us to see was the statue of Christ the Redeemer.  Created  by the French sculptor in an Art Deco style, a symbol of Christianity across the world, this colossal statue of Jesus has also become a cultural icon of both, Rio de Janeiro and Brazil.

It is listed as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World .

At first, we couldn't understand why there were so many young people lying on small black mats all over the viewing platform, it was bizarre.  Then it dawned on us that due to its height, in order to capture the Redeemer in his full glory together with the person posing in front of it, you can only do it by lying down flat the floor, that explained it.   Being young at heart, I couldn't help but follow suit.

It was fun despite the fact the I was totally blinded by the bright afternoon sun and couldn't aim my camera properly

Unfortunately, our tour time was up and we had to return to the hotel, leaving the rest till tomorrow.

Until then
Enjoy reading
Anna
xoxo

HOW WE SPENT OUR LAST DAY IN HAVANA

Hello dear friends,

If you are following my narratives about the holiday my husband and I took last year as a celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary, then you would know that today's post is going to be the last chapter(#4) dedicated to our stay in Cuba.  And if you happened to be  a new reader, you can find out what we did on Day I, Day II and Day III here.

AND NOW THE TIME HAS COME TO SAY GOO-BYE TO THIS FASCINATING CITY AND WE WANTED TO DO IT IN STYLE

You might recall that on Day II during our touring around Havana, we were lucky enough to snap up tickets for the ballet, Carmen, at the Ballet Nacional de Cuba that happened to take place on our last night in Havana.  Since both of us have been great admirers of this art, we couldn't think of a better way to end our stay. 

When it came to choose a venue for a pre-theatre dinner, we had a pretty clear idea of where we wanted to have it, at Gran Hotel Manzana Kempninski, one of the best luxe hotels in Havana.  One of its benefits  that it is situated just a four minute walk from the Theatre and about ten minutes walk from our hotel, the other was the presence of the hip rooftop restaurant called San Cristobal Panoramic restaurant with, as its name suggests, has a spectacular view over the city.

In the morning we walked to the Almacenes San Jose Artisan's Market to buy gifts for our children and grandchildren, visiting art galleries and old book stores and other bits and pieces that we had missed in the days before.

I am not sure if I mentioned it earlier that the shopping for shoes or clothes in a conventional way as we know it does not exist in Cuba.   There don't have department stores, shopping malls or boutiques  stocking the well known brands nor would you find any shops selling luxury goods that are so common all over the world.

Instead, there are a number of market places filled with myriads of small stalls where you can buy anything from the wide variety of souvenirs to clothes, jewellery, art and Cuban cigars and refresh yourself with the juice of the freshly cracked coconut.  Not only we were able to find appropriate gifts for our brood but I actually scored a string of beautiful river pearls for a fraction of the Sydney price which I will model for you in a future post.

Loaded with packages, we returned to the hotel and spent the afternoon packing.  We both felt really excited and charged with anticipation of the upcoming evening.  When we walked into the lobby of the hotel and by just looking around the interior we new that the room charges here must be quite high and the sleek lift took us all the way to the top with the view of the brightly lit up Theatre right in front of us.

We started with the pre-dinner drink of a delicious frozen daiquiri, one of traditional Cuban cocktails, followed by a superb dinner of lobster for both of us.  In a previous post I told you about the scarcity and simplicity of food supply in Cuba and how people have to make do with what they have.

Well, the one thing that they have in abundance is lobsters.  You can find them on the menu at almost every restaurant and at a very cheap price at that. The Cubans cook them very simply:  on the grill over charcoal. We ate them by the bucketful.  And so it was only logical that when we saw a lobster dish on San Cristobal's menu, to order it.

After a quick coffee, we hurried outside and it took us less then five minutes to walk to the Theatre.  As I mentioned previously, we had fantastic seats in row B.  In my earlier post, I blogged about how beautiful the Theatre building looked inside but due to the rehearsal, the main chandelier was not lit up.  This time all the lights of it were on and we could admire it in its full glory.  Soon after we took our seats, the lights were dimmed and the ballet began.  If you are familiar with Carmen's music, you would agree with me that it is divine on its own.  Add to it the highly professional excellent performance exhibited by the dancers and the whole experience became sublime.

It was truly unforgettable, thoroughly enjoyable evening, a perfect way to end our Cuban journey.

When the next morning we woke up and went downstairs to ask the concierge to arrange us a transfer to the airport, we couldn't help but wonder what kind of transportation would it be.  Turned out, it was one of those old vintage cars,  Chevrolet 1966 in its "original" condition.

I don't know how they do it, giving the lack of tools, spare parts and gasoline but somehow they made do with what they have at hand to keep these cars on the road.

It was a little bit like a cliche and at the same time it was fittingly perfect sequel to the night before.  Besides it was the first time for both of us to be driven in a car of this age and it was a lot of fun.

Farewell Havana, Rio-d-Janeiro, here we come!!!

Until then,
Anna
xoxo

EXPLORING HAVANA - DAY THREE - VISITING THE VINALES VALLEY

The next day, following the recommendation of friends of ours, we decided to make a field trip to Valle de Vinales (Vinales Valley) situated on the western end of the island they are inscribed in the World Heritage list.  If you miss my previous posts about Havana, you can re-capture Day One and Day Two here.

The Vinales Valley is known for its lush greenery, gorgeous landscape, tobacco plantations and an enormous mural of world history depicted over the face of a rock.

It has always been a very popular resort destination for the locals and tourists alike but in recent years it is also become home for many health and eco-retreats, sports camps and wellness centres.  The demand for accommodation grew and more and more home owners have converted their houses into B&B or small hotels.  They also quickly adopted "field to plate" philosophy and transformed their kitchens and dining rooms into the private restaurants where everything on the menu is home produced or grown in a purely organic environment.

We wanted to see Cuba outside the city life and for that reason we went to the nearest travel agency, San Cristobal Agencia, to book a tour.  This travel agency represents the City Historian's Office and its income helps finance restoration of the old buildings.  It also holds the reputation of offering the best tours in Havana.

The package included a driver with a comfortable and relatively new car, a tour guide, a visit to the tobacco factory, lunch at a private house and a boat trip down underground river to see the caves. 

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SMOKING A CUBAN CIGAR AND VIEWING A HUGE ALFRESCO CLIFF PAINTING

ARE JUST A FEW THINGS YOU CAN DO WHILE IN VINALES VALLEY

"

Our tour guide, a lovely young woman named Suzanna, came to meet us at our hotel after breakfast and together we walked to a car parked nearby.    The drive took us a little more than two hours which we spent doing Q&A with Suzanna.  To our greatest delight, her English was impeccable and she possessed a deep knowledge of her country, from politics to arts.

Once we reached the Vinales Valley, we drove to the lookout to have a full view of the area which was absolutely lovely.  Suzanna pointed to us some major land marks including the beautiful pink coloured hotel Loz Jasmines that looked like a cake with pink and white frosting against the dark backdrop of the mountains.

The famous rock mural was a short drive away.  It was painted in the 1959 by the former Director of Mapping at Cuban Academy of Science, Leovigildo Gonzales Morillo and is officially called Vinales Mural de la Prehistoria.  The mural is about 120 meters long and is one of the largest alfresco paintings. 

 It was absolutely amazing.  We were looking at it in total owe trying to grasp its magnitude.

The next item on our agenda was a visit to a tobacco plantation to participate in cigar rolling and, of course, smoking.

We were also invited inside the cottage but as we looked inside, there were so many visitors in the house that we decided to skip it.

We did however, go inside the barn where one of the owner's sons explained to us the process of cigar making and then rolled one himself, lit it up and handed it together with his hat to my husband.  Both of us are ex-smokers, we quit smoking more than 10 years ago but in that particular situation my husband felt compelled to take a couple of puffs.

Luckily for him, another group of visitors just arrived and we left taking the stinking cigar with us.  I offered it to the driver but he was a non-smoker, so I extinguished the flame, wrapped it into a tissue and handed it over to the concierge at our hotel when we returned.  He was extremely grateful because it was a really good cigar.

It was time for all of us to have lunch.  It was set on a veranda overlooking the back garden and the field below from where all the ingredients were sourced.

Cuban diet is so much different from what we are used to eat:  there are no potatoes nor pasta, their main staple is either rice or beans.  When it comes to fresh vegetables, its mainly cabbage, corn or beans.  When it comes to bread, forget sourdough, rye or multigrain.  It is plain white bread made out of corn flour.  There are no supermarkets but rather ration shops where people get their food supplies and some other necessities in exchange of coupons issued by the Cuban government.  Nevertheless, we enjoyed the food that was served to us and thanked the hosts for their warm hospitality.   

The last item on our itinerary was a boat ride along the underground river to see the caves.  We entered the caves through an opening in the rock and took stone steps down toward the area where we could got into a boat and sailed off.  

 Although some formations looked really dramatic and quite beautiful, I was relieved to see sunlight again shining through the rock's opening.

We had a very enjoyable day and were quite pleased that we went and now it was time to head back to Havana.

Until then

Anna
xoxo