27 Jan 06

The ship pulled into Rio and tied up exactly on time, as per the new schedule. Due to the announcement last night that Cunard are going to improve compensation offer NO sit-ins or protests were carried out by passengers disembarking. A few TV camera crews and reporters were waiting, but they only seemed to go through the motions. Some passengers did try to get their "15 minutes of fame", but my feeling is that the story is now dead and buried.

Sugarloaf Mountain, Cathedral and Rio City Tour

We got off the ship at 8:30 and boarded an air conditioned coach for a drive through Rio to the main cathedral. The tour guide was a very pretty young Brazilian woman. She gave a good commentary of the interesting buildings and developments, highlighting the old and new parts of the city. The coach stopped at the cathedral at 9:00 and we had 10 minutes to look around. It's a splendid building shaped like an old Inca type pyramid. I did take some panoramic shots both inside and out, but have not processed them yet.

After a short drive we arrived at the foot of Sugarloaf and boarded the first of two cable cars. As the first car pulled away, Ann buried her face in my shoulder. It seems she's absolutely petrified of heights and wouldn't look down at the scenery "for love 'nor money". Actually she didn't miss much as most of the city was covered in low clouds and none of the famous panoramic views were on show. After 30 minutes we descended in the cable cars, again with Ann clutching my arm and not daring to look down. While on top of the mountain we bought some small gifts and I got a Brazil football shirt for my son (just in case England crap out early in this year's world cup).

With hindsight, we obviously opted for the wrong tour, but I still might have some good panoramas.

Pub Lunch, Met Carol Marlow

We arrived back onboard at 12:30 and had lunch in the Golden Lion (best fish & chips ever, although the mushy peas were a little suspect). 

During the lunch Carol Marlow (MD Cunard) stopped by our table and apologized for the disruption and hassle of the last 14 days. I started to tell her about the jackatsea.com blog, but she already knew! 

Seems the top people at Cunard were reading my blog every day. She gave no indication of approval or disapproval, so I guess she may have found the information useful. I gave her my very best advice regarding re-training the Cunard PR team and wished her and Cunard well for the future. 

It is my hope that no long term damage has been done to the company due to the adverse publicity.

Guess what... it's raining, almost feels like home, except the humidity is almost 90%. The 5 PM sail-away party will be a very wet affair today! We did manage to see the Christ the Redeemer statue from a distance but side on, so he looked very skinny (luck chap)!

New passengers boarded today, wonder who we'll get as dinner partners...

More later...

Visiting Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Options for 2 days!
If the average weather records are anything to go by, it's likely to be hot. January average temperatures, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 84 73 (°F).

Best Bars?? - Some of these recommendations sound decidedly "dodgy".

The restaurants on the 8th floor of Botafogo Shopping (Babelfish translation) have a panoramic view of the Sugarloaf and the bay -- a perfect photo op.

AskVicki a FREE World Travel & Information website where you can get a Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Hotel Alternative Price Check.