Walking Rio Centro -

Last week while in Rio Camillo and I decided to attempt a visit to the Navy History Museum.  This is like the 3rd time that we set off to walk through this museum and once again we had a great time but never found the museum. 

[I tried inserting an interactive map from Google Earth but the map itself wouldn’t insert in Windows Live Writer, only the address – so opted for a map that you can click and see larger that has 6 markers pointing to what I’ve written about before, what we saw this walk and one showing the subway station were we began our walk and the farthest point out. ]

We caught the subway in Ipanema at the General Osorio station and exited at the Carioca Station (little pink marker lower left corner) in the downtown area.   This trip took about 15 minutes, no parking issues and the streets downtown were quiet.  We were able to cut across the main streets and walk across the parks without moving around beggars or illegal kiosks selling all sorts of junk that clog this area during the work week. 

This map helps you see how close the small airport (beginning of runway lower right corner), the ferry port, Navy cultural center and Ilha Fiscal are to each other and their relationship to this weekend’s walk.  From the ferry port you can get to both Niteroi and to Paqueta. and from the Navy Cultural Center to the Ilha Fiscal.  When we visited Fiscal Island last month one of the Navy guards pointed to a building across / the other side of the freeway and said, ‘that is the Navy Museum.’  only he said it in Portuguese and Camillo translated to me because as usual I didn’t understand what he said and, the bottom line, the building we thought he was pointing out was not the Museum.  After playing with Google Earth to get a map for you, I realized that the museum is across from the ferry port not the cultural center – But – the whole area is an outdoor museum of Rio’s history and well worth exploring. 

I will try to insert photos in this order – streets of old houses now restaurants and businesses but nicely restored.  Random old churches in which this time around we did not go into but are now on my list.  Universidade Cândido Mendes which I am dying to go inside.  The Paço Imperial, and the Centro Cultural Correios Rio de Janeiro which we went into and are FANTASTIC.  [Please note the hyperlinks which give you addresses and other information.]   

Photos in order.

       

       

   

      

    

Great show of art inside both The Paço Imperial, and The Centro Cultural Correios Rio de Janeiro

    

Ginger’s walk on the Moon (3rd floor Centro cultural

We walked around for over 3 hours plus had a decent lunch in one of the antique buildings, then walked back to the same subway station and home again.  Even with cloudy skies - all in all a great day. 

Palácio da Ilha Fiscal, Rio de Janeiro

Fiscal Island, Rio de Janeiro

Is it really Friday?  This week flew by.  With a churrasco in Teresopolis on Saturday; then a quick trip into Rio for two nights, both nights having a dinner with friends and during the day continuing to put my blog posts from 2009 back together, then returning to Friburgo yesterday; it just seems that there weren’t any quiet hours to think, or to dream and all this activity causing the week to whiz by. 

I have had this post planned for well over a month.  Back at the end of February, Camillo and I decided to go back to the Navy Yard Museum over by the small airport (Santos Dumont in Central Rio).  We had gone over with Carolina during her visit but we were all too hungry to wait for the boat trip to the island, which for me was the main attraction.  This time we were only marginally more successful.  [We really where under the impression that the actual Navy Museum is at this location but it is on the other side of the freeway, walking distance but another day’s adventure.]  We were at the gates when they opened the Espaco Cultural da Marinha’s doors but the boat ride on this particular Sunday was happening only late in the afternoon; we either had to go by bus or wait for another day.  We took the bus. 

The bus drives around through the navy complex, across a short bridge, and takes a very narrow road on the water’s edge, up their driveway – which was built during the horse and buggy days – and parks right in front.  This first photo was taken from the ferry to Paquetá Island.  It is a good thing I had it because once the bus parked up next to the building all you can photo bits and pieces of this historic building - nothing wrong with that, I got plenty of photos that pleased me. 

A bit of history:  Needed as a customs house for the control of foreign ships entering the Guanabara Bay, with the enthusiasm of Emperor D. Pedro II for a “dazzling jewel”, engineer Adolpho del Vecchio designed and built the Palácio da Ilha Fiscal; started in 1881 and completing it in April of 1889 the building was inaugurated with a party which included Emperor D Pedro II  making the 1 km trip to the island on his ‘Galeota Imperial’ (see above).  It is now most famous for the Empire’s Last Ball on the eve of the take over by the Republic.  [“on 15 November 1889, after a 58-year reign, the Emperor was overthrown in a sudden coup d'état that had almost no support outside a clique of military leaders whose goal was the formation of a republic headed by a dictator.”] In 1913, by trading a ship the customs house was taken over by the Navy.  In 2003 an extensive renovation was completed and the building has become one of the premier tourist attractions in Rio.

   

     

  

   

         

              

         

Another nice morning spent touring the sites of Rio.