Kalamazoo to Rio de Janeiro - Day 1 (April 24)

The Study Tour group left Kalamazoo on Sunday afternoon, April 24, 2005. After a five hour lay-over in Chicago, we were off on a 10 hour flight to Sao Paulo. We arrived in Sao Paulo and quickly transferred to a short flight to Rio de Janeiro.

Rio de Janeiro - Days 2 to 4 (April 25 - 27)

Day 2 - April 25

We stayed at the Ibiza Copacabana Hotel, just two blocks from the beach where most of us headed straight-away for a walk or swim. Later on Monday afternoon we went to Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar), which involved taking a two cable cars up to the top for a fantastic view of the bay of Guanabara and Flamengo and Copacabana beaches. In the evening we had a tasty dinner at the hotel. We quickly learned that once in our hotel rooms to place the key in a "holder" by the door in order to access lights, air conditioning, and the television. This arrangment helps to conserve energy because electrical items will not be left on when folks leave the room (and we were only given one key per room).

Day 3 - April 26

We woke to a rainy and cloudy Tuesday morning, so we re-arranged the itinerary and visited the showrooms of H. Stern, a designer of jewelry, featuring semi-precious Brazilian gems and a audiotape-guided tour of the process of cutting stones, polishing them, and placing them in settings. We enjoyed lunch at a churrascaria (a barbeque) and then visited the Viva Cazuza Society. Cazuza was a popular Brazilian singer in the 1980s who died of AIDS. In 1990, his family, friends, and doctors founded Viva Cazuza, a non-profit organization, to support HIV/AIDs prevention and intervention projects. Current projects include a support house for children who are HIV positive (which the group visited), an educational website about HIV/AIDs, and social help for adults who are HIV positive. To learn more about Sociedade Viva Cazuza, visit the website at www.vivacazuza.org.br or at www.hiv.org.br

With the end of the rain we walked through the old town of Rio de Janeiro, including Goncalves Dias Street where some enjoyed coffee and people-watching at the Colombo, an European-style coffee house, while others enjoyed shopping for shoes!

After a brief rest (when some of us checked out internet cafes) we ended the day with another meal at a churrascaria and then attended a show of Brazilian music and dances at Plataforma 1.

Day 4 - April 27

Up early, we went to what many considered the highlight of Rio: Christ the Redeemer Statue (Cristo Redentor) on the Corcovado (hunchback) mountain in the Tijuca forest, the world's largest urban forest! We took the small train up the mountainside, through the Cosme Velhos neighborhood. With a short elevator ride and a few flights of stairs, we arrived at this remarkable 30 metre tall statue that was completed in 1931.

The view from the Redeemer was spectacular and sweeping. The mist that had permeated the city and the Tijuca Forest that morning began lifting while we were there.

After a train ride down the mountain we visited the Museu do Indio and toured an exhibit of artifacts, guided by a member of an Amazonian tribe. The museu had been closed the day before due to a labor strike, but was now open only to school groups and our group. Later, while we waiting in front of the museum for our bus (which had to park blocks away), we observed teens enjoying their walk home from school.

Back at the hotel, we ran to gather lunch and snacks for our seven plus hour bus ride to Ouro Preto. Well-stocked with guarana (Brazilian soft drink), cheese bread, sandwiches, and sweets, off we went on a new bus, with a new bus driver and guide.