Jan 20th, 2020 Day 17 of 128

Day two in Rio de Janeiro. It was a little strange this morning waking up and being in the same place we fell asleep.  That was a first since we left Florida on Jan 2^nd. We are a little tired after staying up and watching the 49’rs win their win into the super bowl last night.  That 6:00am alarm was not our friend today. But we were up and the door in 30 minutes for our adventure of the day.  I am still fighting the annoying cough and chest congestion, but I will not be held down. Today we went to the top of Corcovado Mountain via a train that was constructed over 100 years ago. As we stood at the top of that mountain and looked out. We could see much of Rio de Janeiro. As we turned around we stood at the base of the 125 foot Christ the Redeemer Statue.  It was quite breathtaking to be standing beneath something I have seen in books, on television, and read about my whole life and it was right there in front of me.  We got to spend about 30 minutes on the mountaintop and by the time we left it had become the crazy tourist place we had been warned it would be, but we did have a good 15 minutes of it being relatively calm.  The fog was just blowing through and by the time we left the sun was just beginning to break free of the clouds.  From there we ventured to the Sugar Loaf Mountain to ride two 115 year old cogwheel trams to view two other vista points of Rio.  Now those of you who know me well know I HATE trams.  But for some reason today, they did not bother me at all.  It was strange, but so peaceful.  It’s almost hard to believe how quickly our eight hour excursion went by today.  The afternoon concluded with a fabulous lunch overlooking the lagoon.  So this part cracks me up.  We are 6500 miles from home and what do you think of when I say Brazilian food…anyone?  We traveled to Brazil to eat lunch at Fogo De Chao.  Now I know that they cook in the spirit of Brazil, but this is the first time I ever ate at Fogo De Chao and now I will NEVER forget the first time I ever ate at one.  We went to the source!!  I also finished my Project Linus blanket last night while I was watching the game. Tomorrow I will get to turn it in.

I had many opportunities today to just stop and reflect on where I am and who I with.  I took some very deep breaths and felt like I am truly at a place of relaxation that I have not been in, in far longer than I care to remember.  My heart is full, my soul is at peace, and I am so blessed to be right here right now. We are getting ready to pull out of port shortly.  We are off to Punta del Este, Uruguay.  Hug someone you love and think of us tonight.  Hugs and Kisses, Debra