DAY 52-RIO DE JANEIRO

Partly sunny and looking as we could have some thunderstorms later this afternoon.  At 2:00 pm it is a muggy 91F.  Today we are starting the last 21 day segment of our 72 day cruise.

        This is day #2 here in Rio.  As I mentioned most of the passengers are disembarking here this morning as it is the end of our 3rd segment.  New passengers will be coming aboard around noon today.  It's going to be a HUGE mess in the cruise terminal as there is a big MSC cruise ship also disembarking passengers.  There is also another cruise ship (can't make out who it is) behind us but they are not using this terminal.
        We did our normal morning routine with room service breakfast followed by a workout.  I thought the fitness center would be closed this morning but went by and it is open.  I want to make a quick trip in town to a pharmacy to get Rebecca some more Nasonex.  I priced it yesterday and is good deal here.  Back on ship by 11 am with 4 inhalers for her.  Boy was it HOT already.  Rebecca worked out while I was off ship.  Did a load of laundry while I worked out.  So now it's time for lunch.
        This afternoon at 5:15 we will be having another emergency drill for all passengers, new and old.  The ship is sailing at 6:00 pm and will be at sea for the next two days prior to reaching the port in Recife, Brazil on Monday.  Will be having Italian dinner this evening up in Sette Mari with our friends, the Carlsons & Zitos.  Veal Parmesan!
What We Did Last Night:

 Susanne Peters joined us last night for the fried chicken dinner for three that I had requested the day prior.  We had looked forward to the chicken all day.

This is what was served us.  I was the lucky one as I got TWO chicken legs.  Susanne and Rebecca only got ONE leg.  I started laughing when it was served as I thought it was a joke.  I told the waiter we did not want an appetizer portion and that I usually fried a whole chicken for just the two of us at home.  He came up with one small thigh and then brought some sliced baked chicken breast which I promptly sent back.  Seems all my special orders are screwed up the first time.  We later ran into the Food & Beverage manager, Donald, (he is in charge of ALL food & beverages plus service on the ship).  He asked how our dinner was so I told him what had happened.  He was NOT happy but I told him not to worry because we were happy.  He did not believe me and said it WOULD be addressed with the chef.  OOPS!  BTW, the chicken tasted VERY good.

        We enjoyed Susanne's company at dinner.  Glad she will be on the World Cruise with us next year.  The wine sommelier came by to give me the update I requested about how much of the St Francis chardonnay we had left from our 10 case order.  We were pleased to hear we still have 45 bottles so that should last us until March 25th, end of the cruise.
Blast From the Past:
        Since we did not do any excursions this year here in Rio, I am adding some of my 2012 posting and the photos of our tour of Sugar Loaf & beaches, Samba show, and sail out back then.  I think you will really enjoy these.

 Our tour today was "Sugar Loaf & Copacabana" and there were also some of our friends on the bus with us.  We drove through old downtown which is now the commercial and banking area for Rio to our first stop, Sugar Loaf.  We took the cable car which was first built in 1912 and improved a couple of times since then to the top.  There were two stages.  We took a cable car to the 650 feet high Urca Hill, where we took some photos and changed cars for the second stage on up to the 1200 foot high Sugar Loaf.  From the top we had a commanding view over the beaches and city.  It was about a mile ride in the two cable cars to get to the top.  The cars operate every 20 minutes and hold about 70 people.  There were long lines so this took a couple of hours to get to the top and back down.  There were also a few people climbing and/or repelling down Sugar Loaf.  Next our bus drove along the famous Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches.  Both are 2.5 miles long and very deep beach areas.  The length and size is very impressive and by mid day there was lots of sun worshipers on the beach having a good time.  The art made from sand was also impressive.  We continued through some tunnels to the southern area of Rio where you can hang glide from the tops of the mountains down to the beach.  We passed the horse racing track and a private golf course also.  All courses are private and very expensive according to our guide.  We passed several of the slum areas that are clinging to the sides of the mountains overlooking the city so they actually have the best views.  They are trying to clean these areas up some, especially the crime,

Here is the link to our 2012 photos in Rio on our excursion.

https://goo.gl/photos/xqb7cpQKUqgabGbm8

Here is the link to our 2012 photos taken at Samba Show.

https://goo.gl/photos/HxESr2s7FBREXc8k7

Here is the link to our 2012 photos taken of the sail out of Rio.  It was a nice day then and not good today for photos.

https://goo.gl/photos/xSbt29ApxiKqSEg9A