"But each day when she walks to the sea
She looks straight ahead not at me
Tall and tanned and young and lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes I smile, but she doesn't see
She just doesn't see
No, she doesn't see"
- Antônio Carlos Jobim
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| Drinking suco de abacaxi on the beach |
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| Petrobras Research Facilities Our main business visit in Rio de Janeiro was the Petrobras headquarters. Petrobras is the largest oil company in Brazil with 38,000 employees. It is majority owned by the Brazilian government which creates endless political conflict. (The CEO we had researched in our report last week was no longer the CEO by the time we made it to Rio de Janeiro; he lasted 3 weeks). Interestingly enough, the facial expressions in this photo are a fairly accurate representation of each person's personality. |
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| A "Racoon" in Parque Nacional da Tijuca Our trusty guide, Gus, offering a leaf to a wild racoon. They look a little different and are much friendlier than racoons in the states. Gus was an excellent tour guide and helped us out a lot. He spent his senior year of high school in Oregon with a married couple who were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day saints. He was so happy to lead a group of students from BYU and remember his time in the states. (And of course, the whole time I just wanted to call him Burton "Oil Can" Guster). |
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| Antônio Carlos Jobim Statue Antonio Carlos was a Brazilian singer songwriter who popularized Bossa Nova and performed one of the worlds most famous songs, "The Girl from Ipanema." I'll have to learn it sometime. The Girl From Ipanema - Frank Sinatra & Antônio Carlos Jobim | Concert Collection - YouTube |
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| Epic Parrot Statue I would like to buy one of these someday. Maybe a smaller one though. |
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| Pão de Açucar While not as high up as Cristo Redentor, Sugarloaf Mountain has an incredible view of all sides of Rio de Janeiro. |
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| Gondola Entrance to Sugarloaf Two cable car rides are required to get to to Sugarloaf Mountain. The first car takes people to Urca Point, which has a decent view. The second car takes people to the top of Sugarloaf. |
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| Marina da Glória |
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| Praia do Flamengo |
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| Hotel Breakfast The hotel breakfasts in Brazil generally consist of fresh fruit, meats, cheeses, and several types of pastries. |
----- Flight to Manaus -----
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| Teatro Amazonas This opera house is located in Manaus, Brazil and was built at the height of the rubber boom. Manaus is also the name of the national brand of soda in Argentina. So whenever I hear Manaus, I think of a deliciously chilled soda on a muggy Argentine summer day. |
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| The Stage |
The wealthy rubber barons wanted to live among the European high society, but were unfortunetly tied to the rubber production industry in the Amazon wilderness. Instead of moving to Europe, they decided to build this European style opera house made of materials almost entirely shipped from France.
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| Am I in France? (Not quite) The rubber barons really liked France. The above painting is located on the ceiling under the dome. Can you guess what it is? (@Carlos foreshadowing?) |
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| Teatro Amazonas LEGO The LEGO replica of the opera house was part of a collection of famous building that The LEGO company had produced in the 70s. It was left abandoned in a warehouse for several years before it was later rediscovered and donated to the opera house. You'll notice that the dome in the center of the roof does not really match the rest of the building's style. The dome was added after the original plans were approved and it displays the Brazilian flag. |
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| Praça Dom Pedro II |
Dom Pedro II was the last monarch of the Empire in Brazil. During the Napoleon wars, the Portuguese royal family was forced to flee Portugal and establish Rio de Janeiro as the capital of the Portuguese empire. This was the first time that a European royal family relocated their capital to one of their colonies.
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