BOAT TRIP

We approach the Rio boat station

Santos Dumont airport

Flamengo beach with the famous Christ statue behind

Sugar Loaf towering over Urca

.. interesting buildings in Urca

One of the 18th century forts guarding the mouth of the bay on the Rio side...

... and here is one of the forts on the Niteroi side.

Little boats being pulled out into the bay on a cable

Jurujuba beach on the Niteroi side of the bay

Sugar Loaf peeping out in the gap between Jurujuba and Charitas

The impressive bridge

... central arch constructed by the British firm Balfour Beaty apparently! (The rest by Brazilian engineers)


The 'wedding cake'

... and back to Niteroi boat station with another wavey Oscar Niemeyer building (the theatre) in view.
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Every Sunday a large ferry boat sets out from Niteroi on a tour of the entire bay area. This is where we got on with about a hundred people. It goes over to Rio where it picks up hundreds more tourists who are already too late to have grabbed the best seats. Then it slowly picks its way along the coast, past Santos Dumont airport (built on reclaimed land), Flamengo and Botofogo beaches, until it nearly comes to rest before Urca and Sugar Loaf mountain. Then it moves to the bay mouth where excellent views of the ancient forts can be had and crosses over to Niteroi. As it wends its way past Adam and Eve beaches to Jurajuba, you can view the plethora of pleasure craft enjoying a quiet Sunday morning out on the water. Past Charitas, São Francisco and Icarai beaches, the ferry sails past the boat station and out towards the 13 kilometre bridge that connects Rio with Niteroi. Completed in 1974, this is an impressive piece of engineering whose structure can only really be seen from beneath. The ferry ducks through the central span, then comes back to pass by the naval dockyard with its wedding cake building (built for naval officers) and docks at the Rio terminal for those unlucky enough to have embarked there to get off. On the way back to Niteroi, the sound system at last falls silent. Throughout the 3 hour journey, a jolly woman has been entertaining the passengers with an running commentary of where we have been. Our Portuguese was not quite up to following the torrent of words; but we enjoyed the views nonetheless.