It is the 14th of May and time to leave Paraty, Brazil. 

The coast line is beautiful, but the cloudy skies made the photography's less than optimum.

Typical view as you ride northeast along the coast of Brazil. The coast has many offshore islands.
This is Brazil's only nuclear power plant, located near Angra Dos Reis.
Angra Dos Reis seems to be the playground of the wealthy of Rio de Janeiro.
Although this looks like lake front property, this is the ocean.

I have a book printed in 1942 by John Rich, called "The Face of South America".  The book contains over 300 pictures taken from the passenger windows of Pan American Airlines flights.  The following 2 pictures show how undeveloped the area of Angra Dos Reis was back in 1942.

In the book, Travel in Brazil, printed in 1939, we found this picture of the Convent Sao Bernardino de Sena, which was built in 1763.  The second picture was taken from near the same location as the original picture, but construction during the last 68 years blocks the view of the Convent.  (I was trying to index the cross in the lower right side of the photo, with the second window of the convent).

If I stepped around the building blocking the view in the picture above, you can see more of the convent. 

The second photo down clearly shows the Favelas which now surround the Convent.

Angra Dos Reis is now a very industrial city and much of the activity is to support the off shore oil exploration which Brazil is now involved.
Sandy, with "Then and Now" photo's in hand....

The next "Then and Now" was only a few miles farther up the coast, in Mangaratiba, Brazil.  Notice the rock formations in the water, and the small white church in the far distance.  In the "Now" picture the large rock is now used as a footing for the home.  Note train rails.

This is a picture which confirms that the pattern of rocks in the water is identical to that in the original picture. (scroll up)
This is a picture taken "around" the house. The small white church is hidden behind the trees.
Close up of the small white church.... It does match the church in the original picture.....

A lunch stop in the town of Mangaratiba, Brazil. We sit here wondering if the "Rails" pictured in the old photo were for street cars or an old train line?
Sandy is full.... Time to ride on....
And on to Rio de Janeiro.... The entire coast from Santos to Rio is fantastic....

On Monday, the 14th of May, we had dinner in the same restaurant where Antonio Carlos Jobim wrote the song "Girl from Ipanema". On Tuesday the 15th we went to a concert across the street from where the "Girl from Ipanema" was written, and enjoyed Eri Galvao performing many Jobim selections.  He also added interesting facts regarding Jobim and the history of the Bossa Nova.
Yes, Rio has a KTM dealer, including a 990 KTM. After riding the heavy BMW for so long down here, I am really missing my KTM's!

On the 14th and 15th we stayed in Ipanema, but the hotel had no motorcycle parking and the room was very expensive, so we moved to Copacabana for the 16th and 17th.  Big mistake.  It was not safe to leave the room at night and the sun is setting at about 5:20 pm, so on the 18th we moved to a hotel in Barra, which our new friend, Christian Dobler suggested (he rides a 4 stoke 250 Yamaha).

On the 17th of May, we rode the gondolas to the top of Sugar Loaf. This is a telephoto shot of Corcovado, which was about 4 miles away!
Favelas fill the canyons of Rio de Janeiro. They are "No Man's Land". To prevent entry to the areas, the bad guys pour oil on the steep roadways, preventing the police from driving into their neighborhoods. Or the bad guys dig a post hole in the roadway, and put a section of railroad track sticking up in the air, then they drop a car on the railroad track. The car stops the police from entering, because when they ram the car, the railroad track prevents it from moving!
Corcovado in the background (picture taken from Sugar Loaf). Sugar loaf has 2 gondolas. You take one to the top of the first LARGE rock, then walk about 2 blocks to catch the other lift to the top of the tallest peak.
Picture taken from the top of the first hill.
This is one of the original "1912" gondolas, which could haul 23 people.

This picture is taken from the "Top" of Sugar Loaf, looking across the bay towards Niteroi (Rio de Janeiro is behind us).

This is a telephoto picture of Copacabana.

Near Sandy's feet is Vermelha Beach. The long beach is Copacabana. And behind the rock just to the left of Sandy's head is where Ipanema is located.
This picture is taken from the top of the first lift.... So up we go again....
You may remember these Gondolas from a "James Bond" movie (Moonraker)!
Time to say bye to Sugar Loaf. It really was impressive!

This is the bay at the bottom of Sugar Loaf. 

The picture is taken from Urca, of Botafogo, with Corcovado in the background.

We then rode to the "Old" downtown of Rio de Janeiro. This picture was taken from the table where we had lunch.

Then and Now's from Sugar Loaf....

This next picture is from the 1921 book written by W. Sayle, titled "Trip to the Land of Romance".  The picture states that the picture is of "Avenida Beira Mar", but we could not find a street with that name.  The major street in front of the large buildings is now called "Avenida Pasteur".  The building, in the lower left corner of this photograph,  has been torn down.  The next building has a white round water tank on the roof, which still exists today.  Yes, there has been a little growth since 1921!

Same picture, in color....

The next picture is from the same book, "Trip to the Land of Romance".  The old picture is of the original lift, which was very small.  The system was completely rebuilt in 1972, when the size of the gondolas went from a 23 person capacity to 115 people.  That is why the tower at the top of the hill is so much larger.

Same picture, in color.

The following picture is from the 1940 book called "South American Excursion", written by Ernest Young. 

Again, you can see how much larger the Gondola stations are today. 

Scroll back and forth and notice all the additional buildings!

The last "Then and Now" for today, is the Copacabana Palace" Hotel.  If you scroll back and forth between the old picture and the new, you will see that a new floor was added sometime since 1939, when the old picture was taken (from the book called "Travel in Brazil").  Also, the lower floor was extended towards the street, where there are now high end jewelry stores.

Same picture, in color.

That is it, through the 17th of May, 2007.

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