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Day 3: Sunday, March 3, 2002

We continued our daily ritual of Brazilian breakfasts with the Summers’.   However, they now were more interesting.  Jon and Melissa would bring all of the random, usually more exotic, fruits to our table and we would all sample.  Favorites for Jon, was the passion fruit, which he needed to restock on daily, Melissa chose the Star fruit, and Dana the papaya.

Today, being Sunday we figured we would hit Copacabana, and partake in its sinful offerers and then offer penance at Corcovado/Christ the Redeemer in the late afternoon.  We asked at the front desk, how we should get to Copacabana.  He said it was merely a 15-20 minute walk.  We bit again, hook line and sinker.  After an hour and half walking towards Copacabana, we came to the conclusion the only English the guy knew was probably 15-20 minutes.  Anyway, we at last arrived at Copacabana.

The beach was packed.  Full of the beautiful people, and vendors.  We rented some chairs, a couple umbrellas and decided to soak in some culture.  And, we certainly did.  The beach made for great people watching and better yet according to local legend, Brazilians are not offended by gawkers, luckily for Jon and Bill.  The Summers’ decided to sample the waters.  The ocean was filled with so much trash, you felt dirty or diseased just looking at it.  They came back expecting to pull debris off their bodies and swim suits.  Apparently, the busy days are the worst days, and Copacabana is always a step worse than the rest.  Needless to say, we passed on the dip in the Ocean.

Lunch today, was also a bit of adventure.  We settled into a cute looking restaurant, only to find lunch had concluded.  It was also here where we finally discovered the concept couvert.

A few hours later, we decided to hail a cab to the base of Corcovado.  We timed it, so we could have daylight pictures and twilight pictures.  We caught the 5 o’clock train to the top of the mountain.  The view from on top was fabulous.  We were convinced more people came for the view than the 100 foot statue of Christ.  We enjoyed the view taking many pictures.  At nightfall, we busted out Gautam’s tripod and shot pictures at day break, with Corcovado slowly being lit.  Upon finishing our viewing, we sucked down a few cerveja's on the top of the mountain and then headed back home.

That evening we had another memorable cab driving experience and some outstanding Portuguese cuisine at the original restaurant of choice from the previous evening.  The cab driver hailed from the hotel again, stopped midway through the trip to ask for directions and then refused to give us change when we arrived at the restaurant.  If all Brazilians were like the Rio Cab Drivers, I do not think anyone would ever venture to this country.  Fortunately, for all of us they are not.

Dinner was great for everyone but Dana.  We all ordered Portuguese specialties comprised of various exotic preparations, all tastefully done with one exception.   Dana ordered what we now refer to as the “Cod Slam”, similar to Cod Roe she sampled in Tokyo with the Burkhardt's.  The dish was pasta that had been mixed with Cod, eggs, and potatoes.  However, there were not chucks of the mixture with pasta.  They made a sauce from cod, eggs, and potatoes dipped the noodles in this sauce and then served it.  Unfortunately, Dana did not have the parmesan cheese and suffered though the meal.  Ultimately, Dana and I ended up sharing my meal – a massive piece of lamb with some mystery Portuguese preparation and sauce.