Buenos Aires to Plymouth Massachusetts Part 3

Angra dos Reis and Rio de Janeiro

Selfie on the Copa Cabana Beach

Memo returned home after getting us tucked in to Pirates Mall, and we had four days to explore before our new captain Dr. Martin Tate arrived from Wilmington, North Carolina. He would most likely be shagrinned to see that I refer to him as Dr. however, both my wife and I are physicians, and he was quick to point out that in England PhD doctors and non surgeon medical doctors are referred to as "Doctor" while surgeons are referred to as "Mister". So I was a "Mister" I am not sure what they call a lady surgeon. Anyway, Martin has a PhD in Civil Engineering and had an extremely interesting career in North Africa before coming to the United States. I was grateful for the advise he gave my daughter completing her Bachelor of Arts Degree in Civil Engineering this summer to "Go back and get your Masters, otherwise they won't give you the time of day, then take a deep breath and get your PhD". She has now enrolled in graduate studies at the University of Alabama and we are all very proud of her!

We decided that four days gave us time for two trips. Of course we had to visit Rio and that was our first stop after cleaning and organizing the boat. We rented a taxi for the day and took the three hour drive to Rio. It was great to have a guide that showed us the sights and was right there to pick us up and whisk us away to the next location. 

Rio de Janeiro Yacht Club with Sugarloaf behind  (taken from Christ the Redeemer)

Ed and Maite selfie from the base of the Redeemer. One can see the islands
off shore that we eventually threaded between on our way through.

Rio is a breath taking city. Built where the coastal mountains come down to the ocean, the city has sprung up in each little valley between the peaks. Our first stops were Copa Cabana Beach and Ipanema Beach. They were relatively quiet. The last time I had visited they were having a nude fashion show in one of the beach front hotels. Sounds like an oxymoron, nude fashion show...just a lot of feathers and head dresses as I remember. We next went up to see the Christ the Redeemer statue.  Our eating was limited to a snack near the redeemer statue, but the view was unbeatable. Then it was on to Sugarloaf. Sugarloaf Mountain is at the eastern end of the city and is accessed via gondola. The first gondola was installed in 1911. One of the original cars was on display, made largely of wood planks. The modern cars increased the number of visitors that could see Sugarloaf by several times. Again the views were stunning. It was a whirlwind tour with our taxi drive guide so we were only able to hit the high points.

Gondola to Sugarloaf. The initial cable was taken by hand up the steep terain

View from Sugarloaf Mt. back toward Rio Yacht Club

  

Calypso anchored north of Praia Lopes Mendes in about 21 feet of water.      

For our second trip we decided to sail over to the most eastward part of the island of Isla Grande called Praia Lopes Mendes. The crusing guide promised a good three mile hike which we really needed and a beautiful unspoiled beach. We also visited the next inlet west Saco de Ceu that was supposed to have several very nice restaurants (but was closed for the season. We spent a few days cleaning, checking oil levels, water levels, filling the fuel tanks and replenishing stores. Then it was time to play.  Here the anchorage on the north side was calm and protected, while after a three mile hike through the jungle one emerged on the open ocean southern side to enjoy the surf and beach. The waves were respectable and the water clear and inviting. We took a walk from where the path came out on the beach to the eastern end of the beach. The waves went from 4 foot and surfable near the rocks where the path came out of the jungle to a mere ripple about half a mile east on the same beach. 

Playa Lopes Mendes

It has been very cool to see Ian and Phillipa Ball on the same beach in their last few posts. We hope they are having as much fun as we did. They have been very wise to linger in the Angra area a month or so to experience all it has to offer. Unfortunately, we were facing a deadline to get to the BVIs in time to fly home for our daughter Meredith's graduation from the University of Alabama School of Engineering.  ROLL TIDE! She is now enrolled in the Engineering Graduate School Program there. YEA!

Maite on Lopes Mendes Beach

Ed walking on Lopes Mendes Beach

 It seems like years ago now in retrospect, how naive, unsure and worried we were about doing something wrong with our new baby (Calypso). I think we were also a bit stressed by being so far from home and having such a long journey ahead of us. We wish now we had taken a chill pill and taken the time to enjoy to a greater extent what was before us! One can always fly home for special events then return. "Plans or deadlines" can become "comfort zones" can become "prisons". And so for a while, for better or for worse, we were driven to get home.

We are a work in progress. Learning to live full time on a boat and full time with one another is an adjustment that takes time. There is so much to know and so much to experience in getting to the point where one is really comfortable. Home is becoming Calypso more all the time. A well used "Martinism"  he used on us all the time was, "There is no dilemma that befalls you on a sailboat so quickly that you can't take the time to stop and have a cup of tea and discuss it before deciding what to do". I can think now of a time or two when it didn't really go down that way now, but the concept of thinking first before acting is a good one. Being flexible to reassess and change plans when it makes sense to do so I think is critical for the cruiser. All in all, despite our inexperience we still managed to have a blast in Angra and Rio.