March 28, 2025

RIO DE JANEIRO - Day 5 - CARNIVAL CHAMPION'S PARADE

Apologies loyal readers - I am way behind again! Had some computer glitches and then an excursion to the Amazon (post coming) and then things just got busy. I never have enough hours in the days to do everything I want! Hopefully will be current shortly.

 

Above is partial gang of residents that took part in celebrating the end of Carnival in Rio, going to the Parade of Champions at the Sambadrome (holds 90,000 people in stands). From L to R - Scott, Gary, Delia, ?,Christy, Me and Lori. Almost everyone in the crowd dresses up in some fashion - it's the hugest party I have ever been too, and it doesn't even get started till 10 Pm at night!! Twelve Samba schools compete all week and this parade celebrates the top 6 schools. Each school (which has to have a minimum of 3,500 members)gets to perform for about an hour with full fireworks at the start of each performance and a break of about 20 to 40 minutes in between, to clean up and clear the street, for the next performance. The 6th best school starts their performance at 10 p.m. and the winners are supposed to be on by 3 a.m. However they started late, the breaks in between schools were much longer, and therefore the best teams #1 BEIJA FLOR & #2 GRANDE RIO performed in the daylight hours, finishing at roughly 8 a.m!! Only Callie (Scott's friend who is visiting) and Gary and myself made it all the way through! Shown below some more or our crowd Sheri, Bob & Sarah - our crazy section and the 3 of us, who stayed to the very end! We then had to get through the crowds and make it back to the ship - had breakfast and then the ship sailed away from port, and we slept all afternoon!

Below are some highlights of performers - I have tons of photo's & video's will add more once I get caught up.

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WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND

By Patricia Patrick • March 4, 2026
We had a beautiful sunny day to explore Wellington ! Was a very nice change from the stormy, big swells weather we have had the last two days! Wellington is the Capital city of New Zealand and the CBD is nice and big with lots of shops and museums. We didn't make it to the LOTR studios due to the time crunch but we took the cable car up to the top, for a scenic overlook of the port and then leisurley walk down through the Botantical Gardens, parks and historical cemetary.

ROTORUA CITY HIGHLIGHTS - NEW ZEALAND

By Patricia Patrick • March 3, 2026
Rotorua became a bonus city for us. Our Port stay in Tauranga got cut down to one day, due to NZ biosecurity regulations and since we really wanted to do Hobbiton, we decided to get off the ship and stay in hotels and get back on the ship, in a few days. Due to a variety of factors, the Ship ended up doing a quick pick up of us in Tauranga, three days later. The Kiwi's we encountered along the way, who helped with all our last minute details, were amazingly kind, hospitable and generous. Below is our tired, chilly group huddled at the security shed, outside the Port in the wee hours (1:30 am) Monday morning, awaiting our final hurdle of getting back on our Home. Home sweet home! What an adventure!

ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND

By Patricia Patrick • March 3, 2026
Rotorua, New Zealand is known for it's geothermal activity ( geysers, mud pools, hot springs) and rich Maori culture . I saw lots of that last time I was here in 2016, so this time I wanted to see their Redwoods in Whakarewarewa Forest. John and Colleen joined me in exploring. Their redwoods are smaller than the ones in Muir Woods California, but still impressive. Both are planted forest dating back to around 1908.