Icaraí sunset, Rio silhouette

A colourful end to Sunday on Icaraí beach:

Last drinks order, hands on hips, as the sun sets behind Corcovado and Pedra da Gavea.

Altinho between friends, keeping the football up in the air.

Mother looks for something, young daughter looks on.

Multi-tasking: fishing and kissing.

Three friends. What they're talking about is anyone's guess.

Kite in the air.

And more kites in the air, moving this time.

Last game of volleyball, before it gets too dark.

And last game of beach football.

Coconut-water kiosk in profile.

 

Volleyball post and the last players.



The Sugar Loaf and Corcovado in a popcorn cart.



Must be serious now. Fishing, but no kissing.

Christmas eve sunset

I go on a late afternoon walk along the rock-hewn coastal road to Santa Cruz fort at the entrance to Guanabara bay:

Spectacular storm clouds brew up inland, behind Niterói:

And form a cotton-candy back-drop to palms on the Morro do Morcego (Bat Hill):

From the fort, I'm looking out to the Cagarras Islands and watching ships exiting the narrow bay under the imposing Sugar-loaf. Meanwhile, fishing boats struggle in against strong out-flowing currents:

 

 
 
  






The sun begins to set behind the massive bulk of the Sugar-loaf:

Beyond, the distant anvil-shaped Pedra da Gavea mountain forms a primeval scene, silhoutted against the ember sky and shedding its steam-clouds:

As the air cools slightly, mountain-top clouds begin to disperse and the Christ on Corcovado appears:

A short clip of the sunset, to the sound of lapping waves!  

Rio's botanic garden

  

The Jardim Botânico is a definite must-see. Its one of my favourite places in Rio. Here's some of the 200 year-old history and a few pics of palms, mango trees, orchids.

Shortly after the Portuguese Royal Family arrived in Rio de Janeiro in 1808, the Prince Regent Dom Joao created a horticultural garden on lands around the Rodrigo de Freitas lake (Lagoa), that were part of an extensive sugar-cane plantation and sugar mill. The original purpose was the cultivation of plants brought from India and the East Indies, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, cloves, mangos and jackfruit.

Under the Imperial Palms

In 1809, the first of the Imperial Palms, which have become symbolic of the gardens, was planted. The French had originally taken seeds of this palm from the Antilles to Mauritius and, at the time, these were being cultivated in the Pamplemousse Gardens. Then the Portuguese, who were also trading in the Indian Ocean, managed to smuggle out a few seeds of their own and present them to the Royal Family in Rio. This first palm became known as Palma Mater as all Imperial Palms subsequently planted in Brazil descended from this tree, which first flowered in 1829. Today the palms are 40 metres tall and border avenues within the botanic gardens. You can also spot Imperial Palms in other gardens and lining roads (despite the Royal Family ordering excess seeds to be destroyed, so as not to vulgarise the Imperial Palm, slaves also managed to play the seed-smuggling game and sell them on!).

In 1822, with the independence of Brazil from Portugal, the gardens were first opened to the public and today’s layout, as a botanic garden, began to take shape. It included the planting of avenues of mango trees, which still to this day remain, almost 200 years on. Nowadays there are 6500 species of plants, including 700 species of orchids, a huge variety of palms from all over the world and a hillside covered in rain-forest.

In 1991, the Jardim Botânico was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve.


  

  



 

Under huge mango trees, planted in the 1820s



Bronze sculpture from the 1790s

       

Peace and tranquility in a busy city

Corcovado in the clouds

November is the start of the monsoon season in south-east Brazil, so any visit to Corcovado at this time of year is touch-and-go. It may be perfectly clear when you start heading up the mountain, but clouds can materialise within a matter of minutes. All very atmospheric.

Café in the clouds

Christ appears



Feint silhoutte of the Sugar Loaf and Botafogo bay



Cagarras islands off the Ipanema coast

Lagoa and Ipanema

Guanabara bay and Niterói

Rio graffiti

Japanese- modern and eccentric

The best art in Rio is out there in the streets.

A make-believe world

Violent society...and a pineapple

Rude, but very clever

World Cup 2010-2014 in Santa Teresa

Prize for originality

Beach business



Thumbs up and a friendly attitude, that's Brazil.



  

Its Saturday afternoon and its business as usual for Rio's entrepreneurs on the beach:

Chilled Matte tea mixed with lemonade to cool those bronzing bodies.



Airy and crunchy savoury Globo biscuits- a popular beach snack.

            

Dressed as an Arab. Selling foods brought to Brazil by the Lebanese.

 



Hats on legs.



Accessorize on the beach.

Brazilian bikini head-dress.




 



Heavy shoulders at the end of the day.

 

Collecting empty cans for payment by the kilo at the recycling depot.



Beers on wheels, great view included.