Rio de Janeiro is more than a wonderful city...

...it's also a beautiful and interesting state in the south of Brazil.

We arrived in the city of Rio de Janeiro on June 15th and checked into our bed and breakfast, O Veleiro B&B. It is a nice B&B on the hill between two neighborhoods of Rio, Botafogo and Laranjeiras, owned by Rob and Richard. Rob was very helpful getting us orientated to all the sites of Rio. One of our first stops was to Corcovado mountain and iconic Christ the Redeemer statue. The views from Corcovado were wonderful. Other iconic sites we visited were the monolithic granite peak, Sugarloaf, and the world-renowned beaches of Copacobana and Ipanema. Next to Copacobana beach is a fort and military museum. Rio has a long history, being first visited by the Portuguese in 1502, founded in 1565, and being the capital of Brazil (the colony, the empire and the independent country) from 1763 until they moved the capital to Brasilia in 1960. I also had a wonderful visit to the botanical garden, established by the king of Portugal in 1808. Included among the 6,000 species of tropical and subtropical plants in the garden is the brasilwood tree from which Brazil derived its name. Brasil in Portuguese means reddish, ember-like. The tree was very important to the establishment and economy of Brazil since the dark red heartwood produces a deep red dye that was highly-prized for textiles during the Renaissance. The wood is also valued for producing stringed-instrument bows. As a result, brasilwood was overexploited and is now endangered and largely extirpated from its native range.

After Rio, Sheri and I headed to Saquarema to watch the best surfers in the world compete at the Rio Vivo WSL Championship Tour. Unfortunately nothing was happening at that time due to the low surf conditions. We spent one sleepless night camped in a parking lot next to a group that was partying until 4 in the morning. The surf forecast was not great, so instead of sticking around we headed into the mountains to the north.

Our first stop was the wonderfull small city of Petropolis. Petropolis was founded in the mid-19th century by the beloved last emperor of Brazil, Pedro II. He established his summer residence there in 1843. It is now the Imperial Museum with many artifacts from the Imperial Period. A beautiful cathedral was also built in the city. Many immigrants came to the city, including many Germans. Petropolois is a center for the brewing industry for Brazil, and there was a fun beer festival when we were there. Also in Petropolis was one of the nicest campgrounds that we found in Brazil.

After Petropolis we headed to the former gold mining city of Ouro Preto, known for its colonial Baroque architecture and steep cobblestone streets. It was once one of the largest cities of the Americas with a population of 80,000 in 1750, twice that of New York City at the time. The mines of Ouro Preto were responsible for an incredible amount of gold sent to Portugal, much of it mined with slave labor. We visited one of the former gold mines in the city, and learned about the back-breaking labor involved leading to incredibly short lifespans for slaves. Now Ouro Preto is a tourist destination with beautiful architecture, good restaurants, and friendly people.

We then returned to the coast to watch the finals of the WSL surf competiton. The surf was still low, but was projected to be good in a couple days, so we headed to the very nice town of Buzios and found a beautiful camping spot on the coast just outside of town. Buzios is known as a beach getaway for Rio's well-to-do. It became more famous after a visit by Brigitte Bardot in 1964, and there's a statue fo her on the waterfront walkway.

Heading back to Saquarema, we found a quieter place to camp next to the ocean at the end of a street but still close to the surf competition. The crowd there to see the surfing was impressive. Brazilians are quite fond of surfing and were quite excited to see their surf idols. It was fun hanging out with the enthusiastic crowd, and the surfing was impressive. I couldn't have imagined that they could do some of the tricks that they did.

It was now time to head back to Rio. We returned to the O Veleiro B&B and got ready for Sheri to fly home. We did laundry and repacked, and with some spare time, went to a nice museum in downtown Rio, the Museo Central Cultural Banco do Brasil. The museum is in a beautiful 1906 neoclassical building that was once the headquarters of the Bank of Brazil. There is a very nice money museum there along with an art museum. The art museum had a fascinating exhibit of art of the African diaspora from the Atlantic slave trade showing the shared experiences and cultural traditions of Afro-Brazilian and African Americans in the United States. Some of that shared culture is found in music. A highlight of our last night together in Rio was going to a neighborhood pub in Laurenjeiras and enjoying samba.

Sadly it was time for Sheri to fly home. I took her to the airport on July 4th and started the next leg of the adventure on my own, heading east towards Salvador.