January 01, 2020 Rio de Janeiro

First of all, once again a happy, healthy and successful year 2020 to all followers🍀🍀🍀. After a truly impressive fireworks display over Copacabana (pictures will be provided later), the alarm clock rudely woke us up at 5:30 am on New Year's Day. After a quick breakfast in the well-cooled bus, we headed to the first stop, Corcovado. Contrary to all expectations, Rio was not flooded with tourists, as the other cruise ships had already released their passengers on the city on New Year's Eve. So we went up to the Christ the Redeemer Statue relatively relaxed and without much waiting time. A breathtaking view of Rio awaited us, and we were also lucky with the weather, as it wasn't hazy at all early in the morning!

We continued by bus through the city center and around the lagoon to Leblon Beach. The most expensive, if not exclusive, neighborhood of Rio and probably a stop out of necessity because due to the typical traffic jams, we arrived much too early for the next program point, "lunch" 😂. The next stop at Copacabana fell into the same category. However, life was really bustling here, and everyone and their dog were already at the beach or on their way there. So we stood around, waited, sweated, and marveled. The temperature had now climbed to almost 37 degrees, and then it was time for lunch. Pleasant surprise, the destination for our meal was not a typical tourist trap, but a 5-star steakhouse that is also frequented by locals and has been around for over 60 years. Accordingly, the meat sliced off the skewer was excellent, simply delicious.

Thus fortified, we then headed to the last stop, Sugarloaf Mountain. By now, the city was naturally bustling, but the organization worked well, and after only a short wait, we were on top of Sugarloaf. Once again, impressive panoramas, although it had become noticeably hazier. Disrespectfully formulated: two hills connected by a cable car, view, done 😉😎.

At the end of a truly beautiful day, the departure was delayed by 30 minutes because the wind was pushing the ship towards the dock and a tugboat had to be organized. The next stop will be Montevideo.