The summer Olympics are over having taken place in South America,specifically Brasil, for the first time ever. One of the treats the athletes would ave appreciated was the beauty that is Brasil and in particular Rio de Janeiro and it's surrounding mountains.
I was fortunate to visit Brasil in December of 1973 and to spend New Year's Eve on the Copacabana Beach.
While watching the Olympics, the scenery was shown often, specifically Guanabara Bay which protects the city of Rio from the ocean.
The bay itself is almost 20 square miles in size and has 130 islands within the waterways.
The 2 most prominent feature of the Bay would be the mountain that sticks up at the entrance to the inner harbor, called Sugar Loaf (Pao de Acucar) as it looks like a loaf of sweet bread. People can find their way to the top of the rock by means of a cable car from the adjacent hill.
The other feature that dominates the skyline is called Corcovado, which translates to Hunch Back and atop which is the statue of Christ the Redeemer.
In 1973, this was also accessible by means of a trolley car that came up from the base of the mountain. There was a large observation area at the base from which the mountains to the west were visible as well as the bay just south of Rio. This bay which is in the town of Ipanema is also home to the world's most famous beach, Copacabana.
Back in 1973, the bridge that spans the bay was being completed. The areas along the bay had to be driven to by means of mountain roads, or water taxis.
The drives along the moutnains were not without their charms, however.
The group on the platform are my father and mother and an aunt and uncle whom we went to visit.
It was a most pleasant trip and the recent Olympics brought back some fond memories.
Rio in 1973 A Magical Place Then as Well Throwback Thursday
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