Can You Believe it – this is my 301 post. Some would say get a life -
In my heart I know I need to do a ‘thoughts from the veranda’ blog post but I fear I would voice feelings that are best kept quiet until sorted and orderly, so I will go a more positive direction and give you a blow by blow – no just the high points of our weekend in Rio.
We took the 1001 into Rio on Thursday evening and had dinner at our favorite family restaurant in Ipanema – well it is the second favorite but the other is a bit on the expensive side and utilized only for special occasions. On Friday morning, Camillo had meetings (and lunch) downtown and I had a free morning. I walked to the Botanical gardens one of my favorite alone things to do in Rio. I carry my good camera in a small backpack and once inside the gardens take pictures to my hearts content. The walk from the apartment to the gardens is better than 45 minutes each direction, on my way back I stopped at Mamute gym to say hello to all my weight lifting buddies and ended up doing a work out. All in all I was out and about for nearly 4 hours – a great morning for me.Saturday we took care of business – when in Rio I always have a list of chores, including getting my hair cut – I am totally disgusted with this last cut… This man has been cutting my hair for what 5 years and the last two cuts have been horrible…. My hair is now growing so slow that it will be 3 months before I can get a re-do…. just cause your aging does not mean you don’t care what your hair looks like…. EEeeekkkk! Now I will have to go through the trauma of finding a new hairdresser – I HATE that.
Saturday evening we had Vivi, Hermis and the twins for dinner. (Camillo’s daughter and her family) This is quite special / unusual – the apartment is so small it is hard to cook and serve dinner – but we all had a great time, lots of laughs with the twins. On Sunday Camillo finally took me to Paquetá Island. this is something we have talked about for nearly 20 years. Camillo was not very enthusiastic – he remembers this island from when it was the chic – in place to go and feared he would be disappointed. He was. Another example of potential wasted in this land of paradise. This island is out in the middle of the Guanabara Bay. You pick up a ferry at the port over near the small airport and the ride is a little over an hour each way. The ferries run about every 2.5 hours (the round trip). Going over the ferry was about a quarter full (holds 2000 people) and coming back at the end of the day was full. The tickets were only R$4.00 each, each direction. 
Camillo could have gone free (being nearly ancient) but paid. The prices make it possible for lower income families to make the day trip and they seemed to really enjoy the outing.
I was able to take photos of the bay, the ship yards, the Niteroi bridge, the island, houses, churches, take hundreds of photos and was content. See the submarine? The oil rig under repair? Will he fit under the Bridge?
On the island, you can rent a bike or a peddle cart, take a horse and buggy, enjoy a paddle boat, walk, run in the wind, take an eco-taxi, sit quiet by the bay – but you can’t drive a car.
I was not real enthralled by the smell of horses and fried foods, but I love that we could walk without fear of being run over by a car…. on a scale of 1 – 10, 10 being the best place to spend a Sunday afternoon in Rio – this little island is a 7.5.
