Today, we arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and left the Costa Favolosa to make our way to Copacabana Beach for our stay there.
The cruise part of my holiday had ended when we docked at Rio de Janeiro. Gail and 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, and we were all going to get a taxi together to the famous beach.
After waking up and taking a shower, I walked down to the Palatino Grand bar to wait for Gail and Darrel, whom I had arranged to meet before we departed the ship. The waitress came across to serve me, and I had coffee before then ordered 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. Gail and Darrel soon joined me, and as we sat waiting for our departure time to be announced, Ann and Rosa joined us. We all said our goodbyes and gave each other a big hug before Ann and Rosa left to get a taxi to the airport, and Gail, Darrel and I left to get a taxi to Copacabana Beach.
As the three of us left the ship, we were directed through the terminal and were soon at the exit. The trouble was that we hadn't yet collected our cases. We queried this and were told we had been shown the wrong exit. Security arrived and 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 while he spoke to his phone company first, then his bank, and then he managed to order us a taxi. Whilst we sat on a wall outside the terminal, Ann and Rosa arrived. They were trying to get a taxi to the airport and were also having trouble. Eventually, Ann and Rosa got a taxi, and we all hugged and said goodbye 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 and 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, and then he dropped off Gail and 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, and we then went to Maxim's restaurant next to the hotel. I was starving as I hadn't had breakfast, so I ordered steak and chips. Gail had already eaten and just had a beer. My steak was terrible, but I was hungry and ate it all before going back to the hotel so I could check-in.
We went back, and my room was ready. I was pretty pleased with my room at the front of the hotel. I had a room overlooking the beach. It was older and needed updating, but it would be fine for the time we were here. I went to the rooftop to look at the view and to check out the pool and jacuzzi. The pool was tiny and more of a splash pool to cool off in than a swimming pool. The jacuzzi wasn't working and wouldn't be fixed all the time we were there. The views along the beach were fantastic, and when I looked in the gym, I saw Christ the Redeemer from the window. After resting for a while, I got a message from Darrel, and we arranged to meet up and have a drink at the beach.
Gail and 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 boisterous and terrible-sounding group started, and 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 and a charge for each of us to listen to the group. Gail took control and 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, and I were staying in. We got a beer there, but Gail didn't stay long before going back to the hotel. Darrel and I stopped for quite a while. We drank lots of beer, watched football and 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.