Rio de Janeiro: One for the Bucket List

Part 2 of The Discerning Travelers Marvellous Adventure in Brazil and the Amazon series

Have you ever seen a movie or watched an online video and thought, “I have to visit that place before I die?” Art had kept an image of the statue of Christ the Redeemer in his mind for decades, always hoping that circumstances might one day propel him to visit it for himself. That image was one of the driving factors behind our bucket-list trip that started in São Paulo.

After two days in that megalopolis and a road trip along the south coast of Brazil (you can read about that leg of our journey here), we arrived after dark in Rio de Janeiro to see the twinkling lights along Copacabana Beach, where we checked into our hotel, the J.W. Marriott Copacabana, to begin a couple of days of memory making before embarking on a cruise that would take us into the Amazon and beyond.

When the sun rose the following morning, we were finally able to take in the breathtaking beauty of the city. You can almost feel the beats of the samba and bossa nova as you meander through this city, which is one of the most visited cities in the southern hemisphere.

We were up bright and early to meet Michael, our private guide, for a full-day tour of the highlights. When you don’t have a lot of time, you must pack a lot into a day or two. We would spend a day seeing tourist sites with our guide and then a day exploring on foot on our own.

We began our tour with the crème de la crème. According to Michael, early in the morning is the best time to see Christ the Redeemer (before the crowds), so we made our way to the ticket booth and boarded the tramway train car to get to the top of Corcovado Mountain, home to this impressive and iconic statue.

Michael was a bit concerned as we made our way to the top that it might, as it had been in recent days, shrouded in fog. We were lucky that day. The massive face of Christ moved in and out of the mist as our morning visit progressed. It was very atmospheric.

Opened in 1931, the Art Deco statue is 30 metres (98 feet) high, and Christ’s outstretched arms span 28 metres (92 feet).

Despite the early hour, the crowds on the top of the mountain were already beginning to gather. Once we had seen the monument from every possible angle, it was time to get back on the tramway train and go back down so we could reach the top of the other icon that makes Rio so recognizable in photos: Sugarloaf Mountain.

Getting to the top of Rio’s Sugarloaf is a two-stage trip on two gondolas. What we would have missed if we hadn’t been with a private guide was the stop halfway up. Instead of immediately boarding the next gondola, we took a walk through the lovely garden. We were able to appreciate the views from there before ascending to even more spectacular views of the beautiful city.

Once back at sea level, Michael took us to another site he suggested was a must-see: the Escadaria Selarón—a set of steps covered with tiles. He insisted we weather the crowds and see the Canada tile. Well, we did, and we found it odd. If anyone were to ask us if we thought they should visit, we would have to say it was seriously underwhelming. It was hot, crowded and not particularly interesting as Brazilian sights go. But we can say we were there.

Our last stop was the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Sebastian. Michael thought we might enjoy seeing a church that wasn’t at all what we might expect to see. It wasn’t, and it wasn’t at all like the European-style churches we would see as our Brazilian adventure continued. (Churches are not really our thing, but when in Rome… or Rio …)

Once back at our hotel on Copacabana Beach, we wandered out into the evening buzz and found ourselves an outdoor restaurant right on the Avenida for dinner.

Dinner anyone?

The following morning found us up and out to walk the beach to get a feel for the Copacabana vibe, after which we took a walk into Ipanema to search for that girl—and a Brazilian bathing suit for Patty!

Art, ever the musician, had a chance to walk with guitarist and composer Antônio Carlos Jobim, who wrote “The Girl from Ipanema,” that iconic song, and we both concluded that we liked the vibe on Copacabana Beach better. Ipanema is much smaller, although if you’re a surfer, that’s the beach for you.

It was a hot day, so we went to a restaurant at Fort Copacabana, an old military establishment with a to-die-for view of the beach and two restaurants. We were ready for a local beer—Hocus Pocus.

We had only three nights (and two full days) in Rio before we boarded the Oceania Marina to head north along the Atlantic Coast and into the Amazon. That’s a story for part three!

If you want more of a taste of our days in Rio, here’s a little video.

Saying goodbye to Rio as we sail away to the Amazon River. Stay tuned.

A Private Tour of Newfoundland: The Only Way to Go!

Anyone who reads our travel stories knows we are fans of private touring. We’ve hired private tour guides in France, Turkey, Chile, Costa Rica, Ireland, and the list goes on. Why, then, would we do a Newfoundland tour any differently? Exactly!

This summer’s travel took us to the island of Newfoundland on Canada’s east coast. As it happens, Art was born in the province’s capital city, St. John’s, and lived there until he was seventeen, but he had never seen the western part of the island. Patty had been only to the Avalon Peninsula, where St. John’s is located. But we knew there was so much more to see. So, we embarked on some research to figure out who might be doing private touring in the area.

Of course, several companies in Newfoundland do group tours—the dreaded bus tour. That’s okay for someone who likes to travel in groups, but it is not our thing. We finally discovered that McCarthy’s Party, one of the largest tour companies in Newfoundland, would consider developing a customized itinerary, arranging accommodation along the way, transportation and a private guide.

So, after a bit of back and forth on the itinerary, we booked our tour and were off.

We flew from Toronto to Deer Lake in western Newfoundland, where our guide, Carl, met us at the baggage area. See the terrain as our plane descends into Deer Lake.

Then, we boarded our private “truck” (a black 2023 Chevrolet Suburban Premier) and were off to Cornerbrook, where we began our immersion into the Newfoundland culture and terrain.

We knew that five-star accommodation wasn’t in the cards in that part of the world, but the hotels, motels and inns where McCarthy’s put us were the best in the area, and we knew what to expect. That first night, we stayed at the one-hundred-year-old Glynmill Inn.

We were off along the Viking Trail to Gros Morne National Park the next day.

It was a spectacular day for a three-kilometre hike into Western Brook Pond, a landlocked fjord where we spent a few hours on the water admiring the breathtaking scenery. (We wrote about that day in a previous post.)

We spent overnight in the tiny village of Plum Point at the Plum Point Motel (two nights there)…and the next day, we travelled farther north to the Viking settlement at L’Anse aux Meadows with a stop in St. Anthony to visit the world-renowned Grenfell mission. (See our private transportation below.)

We spent the next day back in Gros Morne, exploring Bonne Bay and hiked the Tablelands.

After overnight in Rocky Harbour, we were off to the centre of the island to Gander. You might recall Gander as the centrepiece of the Broadway musical “Come From Away” because this is where so many of the 9-11 airliners had to take shelter for a week after the World Trade Center disaster in 2001.

Our next day took us to the stunning Bonavista peninsula, where we visited the spot where John Cabot allegedly landed in 1497 and the charming village of Trinity.

Then there were the puffins. What can we say? Against the spectacular backdrop of dramatic cliffs and pounding ocean waves, we hiked to several spots to observe the magical puffins. These Atlantic seabirds are indigenous to this part of the world, breed in large colonies on these coastal cliffs and are so distinctive with their brightly coloured beaks.

One of the most interesting places where we parked and hiked to see these birds was a village called Elliston, which bills itself as the “root cellar capital of the world.’ And they have good reason to do so! The root cellars, along with the magnificent scenery, make the place so worth the visit.

All along the way, Carl, our guide, led us to fabulous little spots, including tiny restaurants where we sampled staples of Newfoundland cuisine every day at lunch—fish cakes, homemade breads, partridgeberry cake, cod au gratin. We could never have found these by ourselves, which is one of the reasons we love private touring with a guide.

It rained during the final day of our trip. So, Carl arranged appropriate activities. First, we had a private tour of Vernon’s Antique Car Museum (read more about that here), then a tasting and lunch at the Newfoundland Brewing Company.

We finally ended in St. John’s, where we did our own tour of special places in the city. (More about this city visit in the next post.)

One of the extra bonuses of travelling with a private guide is the opportunity to have someone take photos of the two of us together! Such a treat! (Okay, the third one’s a selfie.)

There is no doubt in our minds that private touring is well worth the extra expense. And you can’t put any price on the memories we created on our Newfoundland trip.

Doing it Again: A Private Boat Charter

There’s something a bit romantic about the notion of spending the winter sailing around the Caribbean, dropping into sailors’ havens that dot the islands. The reality of it can be far less romantic if you aren’t a seasoned boater who loves the confined spaces of a boat for long stretches of time. There are other ways to do it, though.

We recently spent a few weeks in the Caribbean—a few days in Barbados, a fourteen-day Seabourn yacht-harbour cruise, then a few more days back in Barbados. The Seabourn “yacht” allowed us to see yacht harbours that larger ships can’t go to, all while enjoying the lifestyle of a luxury cruise ship.

With only 296 passengers, the Seabourn Ovation anchored off places like Soper’s Hole in the west end of Tortola BVI, Trois Ilets in Martinique and Terre-de-Haut, Iles des Saintes in Guadeloupe, all places larger ships can’t even go near. But we still wanted that private yacht experience.

We’ve done it before, and we’ll do it again. We’ve done private charters in the past: private boats in Florida, St. Lucia, St. Martin, and the French Riviera. And even a private plane charter from Barbados to St. Lucia last year—an experience to remember. And we did a charter again this year.

While in Barbados, we enlisted the help of the young concierge at Waves Hotel and Spa (a Marriott property) to find the perfect charter. He came through for us with a half-day charter from Unseen Barbados.

The boat was called Princess Hope, a 58-ft Sea Ray yacht for just the two of us. (It can take up to 14 passengers.) The boat did a beach pick-up for us at our hotel—two crew members came ashore with the tender and motored us out. Onboard, the third crew member, a lovely woman with local culinary talents, had laid out a charcuterie board and told us lunch would be ready whenever we wished to eat. The captain took to the bridge, his first mate poured us rum and coke, and we were off to explore the island’s southwest coast.

The boat was truly lovely, and the captain and first-mate, Barbados-born and bred brothers, had the island in their veins. They were personable and polite to the core, knew every nook and cranny of the coast we motored by, and were more than willing to go wherever we wanted. Evidently, most passengers prefer the northern route because it’s calmer. We’d done that before, and since we’re pretty seasoned boaters, we preferred the road less travelled—so to speak!

The route took us south along the Platinum Coast of the island, past Bridgetown, to the Oistins area, the village best known for its Friday night fish fry.

We turned and made our way back toward Payne’s Bay Beach after a terrific authentic Barbadian lunch on board and a few more rum drinks!

The best thing about a private charter is that it is truly personalized. We have control over the itinerary without catering to the whims of other passengers or even the guide. This experience was one for the memory books as we look forward to our next private adventure. Newfoundland, here we come!

Now join us on the water!

Chartering a Private Catamaran in St. Lucia: One perfect day in the Caribbean

It’s not quite post-COVID yet, but life is short, and we just had to get away. After spending a week in Barbados and chartering a plane to get us from there to St. Lucia, we found ourselves at The BodyHoliday, chilling at a spa and wellness centre for a week. But what about all that water beckoning us? As far as we’re concerned, there is nothing better than a day spent on the water, exploring the coast of a Caribbean Island (or even the shore of the Mediterranean, for that matter!). So, we investigated our options.

The BodyHoliday offers a department they call “Special Experiences.” Their objective is to help you build special events and experiences that make for unforgettable vacation moments. And, of course, that means different things to different people. We visited the special experiences staff, and they booked us our private sail. (Of course, there is a price to be paid for such experiences, and at this point in our lives, we’re willing to pay it!)

Once we had the charter booked―a 42-foot catamaran and two crew members―the resort staff also booked taxis for us to get to Rodney Bay Marina and back and then asked if we’d like to have them pack a lunch. Who could refuse that?

Our route and lunch! Note *The BodyHoliday* mask…it was still a thing in St. Lucia.

We arrived at the Rodney Bay Marina, home to an impressive array of watercraft. When we approached the Southern Breeze, our transportation for the day, a crew member welcomed us and said, “Just the two of you?” When we said yes, he smiled broadly. An easy day, perhaps?

We set off from the marina and headed south along the west coast of St. Lucia past what is now Sandals LaToc where we spent our honeymoon thirty-five years ago (it was Cunard LaToc back then!) toward the pride of their natural environment. Les Deux Pitons are impressive volcanic peaks in the Soufriere area of the island―Petit Piton (small piton) and Gros Piton (large piton). They are at almost the southwest tip of the island, and it took us two hours under sail and with the engine running to get there.

Along the way back, we sailed into the lovely little Marigot Bay, famous for being the filming location for the tropical bits of the 1967 film Dr. Doolittle starring Rex Harrison. Now, there’s even a restaurant right on the water’s edge called Doolittle’s. It’s on our list to visit the next time we’re in St. Lucia―and there will be a next time!

A few minutes on the water…

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Category: Private tours