Today we arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil & left the Costa Favolosa to make our way to Copacabana Beach for our stay there.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The cruise part of my holiday had ended when we docked at Rio de Janeiro. Gail & I had booked the same hotel on Copacabana Beach, we would be staying at the Astoria Palace Hotel. Also staying at Copacabana Beach was Darrel & we were all going to get a taxi together to the famous beach.
After waking up & taking a shower I walked down to the Palatino Grand bar to wait for Gail & Darrel, whom I had arranged to meet before we departed the ship. The waitress came across to serve me & I had a coffee before then ordering a hot chocolate with a Baileys on the side. When my Baileys arrived it was enormous, the barman must have emptied the bottle into my glass. I was soon joined by Gail & Darrel & as we sat waiting for our departure time to be announced we were joined by Ann & Rosa. We all said our goodbyes & gave each other a big hug before Ann & Rosa left to get a taxi to the airport & Gail, Darrel & I left to get a taxi to Copacabana Beach.
As the three of us left the ship we were directed through the terminal & were soon at the exit. The trouble was that we hadn't yet collected our cases. We queried this & were told we had been shown to the wrong exit. Security arrived & took us back through the terminal to the luggage collection point. We then walked through the terminal to an exit point where the immigration staff just waved us through.
Darrel was trying to order us an Uber but was having trouble with his phone. We waited whilst he spoke to first his phone company then his bank & then managed to order us a taxi. Whilst we sat on a wall outside the terminal, Ann & Rosa arrived. They were trying to get a taxi to the airport & were also having trouble. Eventually, Ann & Rosa got a taxi & we all hugged & said goodbye again as they left for the airport. A short time later a taxi arrived for the rest of us.
Darrel told the driver which hotel we wanted to go to as he was dropping Gail & me off first before going on to his hotel. The driver took us to the wrong hotel but I was able to show him the correct hotel on Google Maps on my phone. He dropped Darrel off first as it was on the way & then dropped off Gail & me at our beachfront hotel. I am glad Uber agreed on a fare beforehand.
When we got to the hotel, Gail's room was ready but mine wasn't so Gail checked in & we then went to Maxim's restaurant next to the hotel. I was starving as I hadn't had breakfast & I ordered steak & chips but Gail had already eaten & just had a beer. My steak was terrible but I was hungry & ate it all before going back to the hotel so I could check in.
We went back & my room was now ready. I was quite pleased with my room at the front of the hotel, I had a room overlooking the beach. It was older & needed updating but it would be fine for the time we were here. I went to the rooftop to look at the view & to check out the pool & jacuzzi. The pool was tiny & more of a splash pool to cool off in than a swimming pool, the jacuzzi wasn't working & wouldn't be fixed all the time we were there. The views along the beach were fantastic & when I looked in the gym there was a great view of Christ the Redeemer from the window. After resting for a while I got a message from Darrel & we arranged to meet up & go for a drink on the beach.
Gail & I met Darrel outside our hotel, his hotel was only a short walk away but further back from the beach. We went to a beach bar that Darrel said had great reviews. We sat down for a drink but a short time after we sat down a very noisy & bad group started & we decided to leave to go somewhere quieter. When we asked for the bill we were disgusted to discover that the bill included a tip for the waiter who had been terrible & a charge for each of us to listen to the group. Gail took control & complained vociferously but I don't know if it did any good, we won't be going back again though.
We walked back across the road to the Nordestino bar just up the road from the hotel Gail & I were staying in. We got a beer there but Gail didn't stay long before going back to the hotel, Darrel & I stopped for quite a while. We drank lots of beer, watched football & chatted away as if we'd been friends for years. At the end of the night, Darrel made sure I got back to my hotel safely as my leg was beginning to hurt before he walked back to his hotel.