Rio de Janeiro

The Marvelous City, as they call it, was all of that and more. We stayed in a nice hotel on the end of Copacabana, every day we explored new beaches and every night we discovered new restaurants. This was my third trip to Rio so I'm starting to get to know the lay of the land now, which is very challenging because of the position of the mountains that rise directly out of the Atlantic like giant pointed knobs, often rock faced on the steep sides or otherwise covered in jungle-like vegetation. The beaches are broad and curved with a cool Atlantic swell pounding in to relieve the masses of sun worshipers who flock here to enjoy the summer heat from all parts of the globe.

To be continued...