Sections - Rio Samba & Sugarloaf Mountain | Hotel, Beach & Christ Reedemer Statue | Rio Churches & S�o Paulo IMG_4371 Not a bad rate for B&W copies at USD 0.0251 and USD 0.41 for color IMG_4374 Somehow the smiling eye and colorful banner don't shine through the security spikes on top of this fence (although these are common throughout Brazil's urban centers from what I've seen) IMG_4375 The drawing outside the fence is nice IMG_4377 The Candelaria is a nice large cathedral, but just outside it in 1993, 8 children were killed by police officers after throwing rocks at police arresting another child who stole a box of glue. Annually between 500 and 1,000 children are murdered each year many allgedly by police death squads some hired by shopkeepers against those that steal from stores. The children usually sleep during the day to avoid such dangers. An interesting video on event the only surviving witness who was shot 3 times (twice in the head) is here IMG_4382 Again I visited Sao Bento Monastery, founded in 1590 IMG_4385 This time the rennovation of last January was complete and well worth a visit IMG_4389 IMG_4400_pano IMG_4426 IMG_4432 IMG_4433 Our guide was the same as last time, a good bargain for two days tour for 4 people IMG_4435 The car was rented and was natural gas but had a neat feature where it could be switched to gasoline for particularly tough terrain (the steep road to Sao Bento was one place I saw this feature engaged) and of course the power of Jesus never hurts either - this is one of the more expressive depictions of Jesus I've seen IMG_4442 We decided we had enough time to also visit Candelaria Cathedral as well - not a huge crowd for Mass, but the priest didn't seem too enthusiastic either so perhaps that's why. There was a kind of neat wave-like pattern in the seats. IMG_4443 A door on the cathedral IMG_4445 Then it was off to the San Dumont airport again, while waiting for our flight (which changed gates just before boarding) this big cargo ship passed by IMG_4446 Building an airport on the water... Pros - Fewer complaints about the noise, if there's a crash nobody else is hurt Cons - Really frightening to passengers and no extra runway if things go wrong IMG_4448 Madonna was visiting S�o Paulo and Rio just after our trip and TAM airlines had a promotion in conjunction with that (the candy is due to the theme of the tour being Sticky and Sweet) IMG_4456 Goodbye Rio! IMG_4461 IMG_4465 Hello Obama - he had a feature in the TAM magazine, which said "The new president structured his election in the United States on top of a funny name and an uncommon life story..." IMG_4477 Talk about a skyscraper jungle - welcome back to S�o Paulo (isn't that funny, St. Paul Minneapolis is really small in comparison, hopefully it has a sister city relationship or such with it's namesake in Brazil) IMG_4478 This is the intersection near the hotel we stayed at last time, the Melia Jardim Europa IMG_4485 And finally the plane approaches the airport in S�o Paulo which is even more frightening than the one in Rio since: 1. There was a flaming deadly crash there not too long ago 2. There's a BIG drop-off at the end of the runway and big buildings all around - one was built to like 17 stories along the flight path for the airport when only 16 was allowed since they "didn't know" it was too high - oops IMG_4490 Taking off and landing IMG_4495 Back at the Raddison (pronounced had-eh-sohn by people in Brazil due to the difference in the R) IMG_4497 Free water! Free chocolate! What more can a person ask for? IMG_4500 Maybe a little plant with a Christmas decoration touch! IMG_4504 Here's the test Epson dot-matrix printer newly purchased 1980s technology for use in the project since official invoices ( Nota Fiscais) in Brazil are required to be printed on 3 or 4-copy carbon forms on dot matrix printers. You can print on a laser printer but it requires a special permission, but now all businesses are being transitioned into electronic invoicing IMG_4514 A view from the roof of the hotel IMG_4525 IMG_4526 The hotel bathroom (and many other bathrooms) have free mouthwash for people to use - quite the culture of oral hygene in Brazil IMG_4528 Most bathrooms contain the brand Melhoramentos soap/toilet paper, which means Improvements IMG_4529 It took me a while to realize this wasn't just St. Mary inside the rosary as a decal, but in the SHAPE of Brazil! IMG_4531 I have no idea what this says since it was too dark and moving too fast but something about all God's children. However, I'm not sure why it's on the back of a truck. IMG_4538 Time for a great meal (gnocchi) and drink (caiphirinia) to prepare for the flight back to Chicago and then on to Milwaukee Sections - Rio Samba & Sugarloaf Mountain | Hotel, Beach & Christ Reedemer Statue | Rio Churches & S�o Paulo Return to Features