Another buffet for breakfast, and then a bus tour of Rio with multiple stops. First, we drove around the southern part of the city, passing the headquarters and soccer field for Flamengo, one of the biggest teams in Rio.

Then we headed for Sugar Loaf, where we took the tram to the top of Morro de Urca and from there a second tram goes to the top of Sugar Loaf, a granite monolith which rises about 1200 feet straight up from the ocean. It marks the border between the Bay of Guanabara and the Atlantic. The views are spectacular, but Cristo Redentor on Corcovado was lost in the clouds and would remain so for the rest of the day. I did get a quick picture of it from a distance as we were driving around the city.

After our descent back to the city, we again boarded the bus and drove to one of the Southern beach areas for a short walk and then lunch at a churrascaria, where we had buffet style salads and then meat, meat, and more meat as the waiters bring skewers laden with beef, chorizo, pork, chicken etc. to the table and serve you as much as your stomach will hold. We then waddled back to the bus and drove to the cogwheel railroad which climbs through the rain forest of the Parque Nacional de Tijuca which lies entirely within Rio. At the top of the railway is Corcovado with Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor). An elevator up and then an escalator for the last 200 meters and you are at the foot of a massive white statue of Christ with his arms outstretched to encompass the city of Rio. Unfortunately, it was completely fogged in and we could see only an occasional hint of his outstretched arms. Likewise, the view down onto the city was strikingly like the view of the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.

After returning to the bus, we proceeded into the old part of Rio, with a stop at the metropolitan cathedral, an architecturally strange truncated conical exterior, but a dazzling interior lit by 4 huge stained-glass windows and without any interior support.

After some additional driving in the older part of the city, completely empty on a Sunday afternoon, we returned to the hotel for dinner on our own.