"Brazil 13" finished up most of the "Then and Now's" of Rio de Janeiro. 

On this page are some of pictures of us gathering the pictures, Sandy and I Hang Gliding and then our ride to Cabo Frio, Nova Friburgo and on to Petropolis..

Close to Sandy is a large lake (about 5 miles around) within Rio de Janeiro.  Just past the buildings is Ipanema and Leblon.
Corcovado..... The statue is impressive.... The location of the statue is VERY impressive....
Again, the lake, with Leblon,

The views are unreal.  Sandy is happy!

Everywhere you look, large rocks stick up out of Rio de Janeiro
Sugar Loaf, from Corcovado. The buildings on the left side of the photo are in the neighborhood of Urca.

Sandy and Sugar Loaf....

On the 27th of May, we rode up to where we planned on Hang Gliding.   We ended up riding on back roads and stumbled on the back side of Corcovado.
We also stumbled on a little wild life, while riding on very narrow back roads.
Sandy and I really enjoyed the ride, and we both keep talking about how much our riding buddies in California would enjoy the riding down here!
We ended the day having a seafood dinner with 2 new friends we met in Barra (a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro). Derek and Mitzi are spending a few years in Brazil.  They are from South Africa. It was very enjoyable spending the evening with 2 locals, that also spoke English!

On the 28th of May, Sandy and I Hang Glide for the 1st time!  This is the ramp you run down.

Once off the ramp, it is straight down.  There is no slope to bounce on!

Watching others take off is easy.....

It is completely different when you have the Hang Glider strapped on, and it is "YOU" doing the jumping!

Sandy and her pilot, Marcelo, getting ready to take off.... We trusted Marcelo, as he is the same pilot that took my 82 year old father off the cliff, back in November of 2006.
Sandy and Marcelo, checking out the harness and rigging.... Sandy had an expression on her face that I have never seen before....

After take off, a smile returned to Sandy's face.  It was a long ways down!

You land on the beach behind the tall buildings!

I guess you could use the golf course for an emergency landing, if necessary!

Look at the grin on Sandy's face, after her successful landing on the each!

I spent most of my time looking down....

The pictures almost look phony!

We landed on the beach, just below my knees.

This is the landing strip for the Hang Gliders.

On the 30th of May, it is time to leave Rio de Janeiro and head to Cabo Frio, where we have a "Then and Now" to take.

A quick stop for breakfast in Leblon, before we head east from Rio, The bike is fully loaded and ready to go. With the loads and roads we have exposed the BMW to, it has sure been good to us!
We ran across this beautiful white and blue church, about 1 hour east of Rio de Janeiro..
We stopped for lunch in Saquarema, where we found another white and blue church. We are now about 1 1/2 hours east of Rio de Janeiro.

On the 31st of May, we wake up, and begin our search for a "Then and Now", in Cabo Frio.

And we stumble upon ANOTHER white and blue church.
This is a street in the city of Cabo Frio.... Sure wish the sun would have been out so the colors would come out more vivid....

We found the bridge, which was shown in a 1939 book called "Travel in Brazil".

The bridge was only 13 years old in the picture (the bridge was built in 1926).

I was unable to duplicate the angles, as the vegetation on the hillside was too dense to climb without a machete.

The city of Cabo Frio, looking under the bridge which was built in 1926.
And a night shot of the same bridge.

On the 31st of May, we leave Cabo Frio and head to Nova Friburgo.  On our route, we pass though Buzios, Brazil.

Brigitte Bardot visited Buzios in the 60's and initiated Buzios' growth and future, One of Buzios' many beaches is name "Bardot".
And there is a "Brigitte Bardot" bronze statue commemorating Bardot.
It appears that most tourists sit in her lap....

Built on a rock outcropping, in the bay of Buzios, is this very creative and lifelike statue of 3 fishermen.

While riding past the sculpture, it looked very real, until we noticed that the 3 men were not moving!

Yes, another white and blue church.........

Another one of many of Buzios' beaches....
We continued north from Buzio, and came across this one lane bridge. The angle of the climb made it look more like a jump ramp for a motorcycle stunt rider, then a bridge over a waterway!

The view from the top of the steep bridge....

A little farther north and we stumbled on this bridge, which has seen it's better days....

It seems that every village we ride through, has a "post card" church....

Red tile roofs and brightly colored boats.... They make picture taking fun....
We head inland and up to the city of Nova Friburgo, which is know as Brazil's Switzerland. It was high in altitude, and also cold! It has never snowed here, but the angles of the roofs are ready of snow...!
Since we have left Rio de Janeiro, the motorcycle riding has been FUN. The roads have been twisty and the scenery has been green and beautiful!

It is June the 1st of 2007, and that is the town of Nova Friburgo behind Sandy. 

It was founded by 2,000 people from Switzerland during the 1800's.

Sandy is wearing her jacket, as it was very cold. This picture was taken from a Teleferico up a mountain in Nova Friburgo. The mountains in this area are much like the mountains in Rio de Janeiro.
We came to Nova Friburgo to find a "Then and Now" photograph.
Another small church, as seen on the way down from the mountain top.

I thought it was going to be impossible to figure out where the old picture was taken.  So we walked up and down nearly every street in the city, which is not small, (scroll up 2 pictures to see the core area of Nova Friburgo).  Then we ran across a building which had little spires sticking up from the roof, much like the building in the very center of the old picture.  And down the street from the same building, was another building with a rounded top, again, just like the old photo.

This is a close up of the building with spires and in the far right side of the photo you can see the old building with the rounded roof.

If we stood in the exact same spot that the old photo was taken from, all you would see is high rise buildings.  This picture is taken from the same hill as the old photo, but looking straight down the street where the old buildings are located.  The building with spires is just to the left of the yellow truck.  Is this a stupid hobby or what!

Just to the west of Nova Friburgo we ran across another area where nearly every business was a lingerie store!
Sometimes there would be 15 stores in one building, all selling lingerie!
Hard to believe that a town as small as Nova Friburgo would require this many lingerie stores!
A neat waterfall located in Nova Friburgo. Yes, Sandy is cold!
And the architecture shows the influence from Switzerland.
Did not expect homes like this in Brazil!
It feels like we are riding in Europe....
Sandy, ready to check out of the hotel in Nova Friburgo.

On the 2nd of June we leave Nova Friburgo, and head to the Imperial City of Petropolis. 

Again, the riding has been excellent!

Perfect roads for riding a motorcycles....
And scenery, which is distracting, as you are trying to ride the twisty roads!

Click the "Next" button to continue with us to Petropolis, Brazil!

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