Cristo in the Clouds

Light emerges from Cristo Redentor

Cristo comes into View

Enroute to Corcovado

Here, we are in a cab on Sunday morning about 8am driving up to Corcovado to see Cristo Redentor which you can see on top of Corcovado. That is a national park.

Meeting in Botafogo

This is the view from my meeting at StrataGeo in Botafogo. That is Sugarloaf, or Pao de Acucar. You might recognize it as the place where James Bond fought Jaws on the cable car in Moonraker. We did not get to take the cable car ride this trip due to heavy cloud cover.

Sunrise on Ipanema Beach

Here was my view before heading out to meet with HRT and StrataGeo in Botafogo district of Rio.

Crazy Cab Ride in Rio

This was not Assis, but an associate of his driving me back from Salt Geology class downtown. Notice the pedestrians and scooter. Everyone drives too fast here, but I seldom witnessed a collisions. Lines on the street mean very little, but in spite of all the crazieness it all seems to work.

FInally in Hotel Room at Caesar Park

Here is view from room 1307 at Caesar Park Hotel in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Great beach. We started our trip with a stroll on the beach and bossa nova music on the beach. Then off to work next morning in Leblon at Sheraton Rio.

Traffic in Rio

Still enroute to Caesar Park hotel. Bad traffic. Glad we had BHPB driver, Assis. More favela

on the right.

First arrival in Rio de Janeiro

Enroute to Ipanema from Airport in Rio. Freeway traffic was messy. Alot of small vehicles.

Favela's on the hills. These are illegal settlements or 'slums' which apparently have their own economic systems, usually a haven of poverty and drug trade. The Brazil government lets them build where they want but is trying to implement policy. Amazing how these buildings stay standing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Favela

Freeway Sunset

Driving west on Katy Freeway headed home from BHP Billiton after work on a rainy day. Sun was brilliant and blinding with all the moisture refraction. So bright, in fact, everything around me was dark.