Jan 19th, 2020 Day 16 of 128

Day one of two in Rio de Janeiro.  After a night of rocking and rolling we were up early to have our first excursion of this location.  Today we had a two-hour bus tour around Rio.  We got to see it’s architecture and history.  We saw Ipanema Beach and Copacabana Beach.  We also saw the Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugar Loaf Mountain from the distance.  Tomorrow we will see the statue and Sugar Loaf up close.  Lastly, we went to where they are actually constructing the floats for the Carnival.  There are 12 teams that compete each year for bragging rights.  I had no idea there were so many requirements and guidelines for this competition.  Each Samba school (team) has to construct a minimum of 5 but no more then 7 floats. There are 250-300 drummers that keep the beat going for the 82-minute performance.  There are required to be no less then 3000 performers but no more then 4500 performers for each Samba school.  The number of costumes is mind blowing.  We had an opportunity to try on costumes from past years and take photos. Then an award winner dancer came and performed for us and taught us how to Samba a little.  It was a full and exciting day.  We were back on the ship by 2:00pm for lunch.  Mom and I went and scheduled some nail and massage appointments. Now we are ready for some football. We are wrapping up showers and are getting ready to cuddle in for some playoff games.  Tomorrow we have to be ready to get off the ship at 7:00am and we have an 8-hour excursion. It will be a long day for sure.  Here’s wishing the best teams win tonight.  That there are no injuries.  That my cold goes away.  And that we keep on having an adventure of a lifetime.  Love and Hugs…Debra