Anyone familiar with music from the 60's knows the song, recorded by everyone from Frank Sinatra to Andy Williams. The girl in the song was a real person, a gorgeous 15 year old brunette, 5 feet 8 inches tall, who would come by, more to go into a club to buy cigarettes for her Mom than to go to the beach. The Veloso bar where she walked is a short distance from our hotel in the Leblon section of Rio- and very near the beach just a few blocks beyond.

A few decades before her, there was the "Brazilian Bombshell", Carmen Miranda, a samba singer, famous for wearing big hats full of large fruits. She was the spokesperson for Chiquita Bananas ("I'm Chiquita Banana and I'm here to say..."). She grew up in Rio, wiggled her hips provocatively, came to the US, starred in 14 movies, and in the 1940's was the highest paid entertainer in Hollywood. I had a puppy love crush on her, and ached to go to Rio de Janeiro to meet her and dance with her.

Really a Fun City! There is a reason why travelers dream of going to Rio de Janeiro, and it lives up to all your expectations. It is a sophisticated place, made up of many different "neighborhoods", with distressing slums rubbing up against fabulously expensive condominiums commanding unbelievably beautiful views of the ocean. Instantly recognizable names of beaches, like Ipanema and Copacabana; icons, like the statue of Christ the Redeemer, whose arms reach nearly 100 feet tip to tip in an aerial embrace of the harbor of Rio.

And, of course, there is Carnival. For almost a week, everything in the country stops. The huge party explodes in color, music, dances, parades in the streets. Beautiful people, gorgeous costumes. Constant energy, movement, emotion. Day and night. And as soon as Carnival is over, they start to plan for next year's.

We visited a "magnet school" which is known throughout the area for training students who consistently perform well in the parade and dance competition at Carnival. Hope you can pick up the infectious excitement and enthusiasm of the kids from this photo:

Rio de Janeiro is a favored port for cruise ships. Unfortunately,when they dock, everybody rushes off for Sugarloaf Mountain, then the Redeemer statue in Tijuca National Park, then back to the ship, ignoring so much of what the city has to offer. Such as:

Wide avenues along the beaches inviting you to stroll...

Photo: Le Blon, one of the plushiest addresses in Rio.

Beautiful architecture in the heart of downtown...

Photo: Sumptuously delicious reconstruction of Theatro Municipal in the heart of Downtown Rio, Brazil.

Spectacular neighborhood markets...

Photo: Shopping with the locals at market in the neighborhood of LeBlon.

Rio is Brazil's second largest city (largest is Sao Paulo). Manaus, at the headwaters of the Amazon River, is its 12th largest city, with a population of a little over 2 million people, the most in all of Northern Brazil.

Back around the turn of the nineteenth century, Manaus was home to the newly developing rubber industry, and some of its inhabitants grew enormously wealthy, and desired to make their city as elegant and sophisticated as possible. Although it was paid for with public funds, the Opera House is one of the most visible of the efforts to make Manaus the enviable jewel of Northern Brazil.

Photo: Opera House from 1896 in Manaus, Brazil. It is decorated for Christmas.

Manaus is the home port of the river boat, Iberostar Grand Amazon, a floating hotel, the only such on the Amazon River that has an elevator. It is not handicap accessible, but the general manager and his staff were tremendously helpful.

Nancy and I sailed on her for eight days as part of our 50th wedding anniversary. You can see the ship and read about our trip in the chapter on the Amazon.

Manaus has no road connection with any other city in Brazil, so if you want to travel there, you arrive either by plane or ship. We did both!

We shopped and had a bite to eat in the main marketplace, perhaps the only non-Brazilians there. The prices were quite reasonable and it was a totally enjoyable day.

Nancy is in the upper center, at the table with the green tablecloth. As you can see, the place was packed!

At the end of the day, back on ship, we were treated to a splendid sunset and a great shot of the Manaus skyline.

Remember, this place is miles from anywhere, in the middle of the Amazon jungle. Unbelievable!

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