Every month, residents in participating affiliated communities will have the opportunity to learn about a different city, country, or location through engaging activities, interesting facts, and tasty cuisine through the Port of Call program. During March, the Port of Call theme is Rio de Janeiro, Brazil!

About Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro is a city in Brazil located in the southeast part of the country along the Guanabara Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. To the north and west of the city center is the Serra do Mar mountain ranges.¹

Rio de Janeiro was first discovered on January 1^st, 1502, by Amerigo Vespucci, Andre Gonçalves, and Gonzalo Coelho, when their ships landed in what is now the Bay of Guanabara. At the time, they thought the Bay was a river and named the newly discovered land along the Bay, Rio de Janeiro, “River of January.” In the 1550s, French colonists settled on the land and remained in control until the 1580s, when the Portuguese took control.²

Today, over 14 million people call Rio de Janeiro home.³ The official language of Rio de Janeiro is Portuguese, as it is throughout Brazil, which is the only country in South America where Portuguese is the predominant language.⁴ Rio de Janeiro has a warm climate with temperatures ranging from 65 to 79 in the winter, to 75 to 88 in the summer.⁵

Attractions in Rio de Janeiro

One of the must-see attractions in Rio is the Christ the Redeemer statue. If you would like to get up close to the statue, you can take a short train ride from the Corcovado Train Station in Rio to the summit of Corcovado, where the statue is located. Additionally, you will be able to see great views of the city and the Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches.⁶

Another activity you can do is the Rio Boat Tour. The Rio Boat Tour offers a sunrise and sunset cruise departing from the Marina de Glória. While on the tour, you will get to take in views of Villegagnon Island, Fiscal Island, Sugarloaf Mountain, and more. As you take in the sights, you will learn more about each location through an audio guide.⁷

Another attraction in Rio is the Sugarloaf Mountain Cable Car Park. To get to Sugarloaf Mountain, you can take a cable car from Vermelha Beach in Rio and enjoy the views of the Atlantic Forest, Guanabara Bay, and more as you ride to the top. Once you are done admiring the views from the mountain, you can shop and dine at a variety of stores and restaurants located throughout the park.⁸

If you would like to relax by the water, you could visit Copacabana Beach. Copacabana Beach is located directly south of the center of the city. The beach stretches for a little over 3 miles and offers plenty of space to relax with your family.⁹ If you start to get hungry, there are plenty of food kiosks you can choose to eat from.¹⁰

Rio de Janeiro Cuisine

Rio’s Portuguese heritage has strongly influenced its cuisine, making seafood and meat dishes very popular.¹¹ There are a variety of restaurants throughout Rio that serve delicious, traditional cuisine. Here are some of Rio’s most popular dishes:

• Feijoada: Feijoada consists of black beans and pork, seasoned with garlic, bay leaves, and black pepper. Typically, people in Rio eat this for lunch on Saturdays because it takes a long time to prepare.¹²
• Picadinho: Picadinho is a beef stew that consists of the cubed filet mignon that is cooked with tomatoes, onion, garlic, and broth. Usually rice and farofa (toasted flour) are served alongside this dish.¹³
• Arroz de Pato: Arroz de pato is a rice and duck dish that is made with chouriço (smoked sausage), cabbage, onion, white wine, and seasoned with black peppercorn, garlic, and salt. This is usually served with a glass of red wine at lunch or dinner.¹⁴
• Brigadeiro: Brigadeiro is a chocolate truffle dessert invented in Rio. It consists of chocolate, condensed milk, and butter. Oftentimes, brigadeiro is eaten at birthday parties and can be found in malls, bakeries, and street vendors.¹⁵

Activities for the Port of Call

Each month, the participating Life Enrichment Departments at the affiliated communities will offer fun activities that celebrate the Port of Call city. All activities are subject to change, and these lists are not final. Here are some examples of the activities the affiliated communities plan to offer.

Falls Run

Falls run plans on making a Brazilian feather craft, playing bingo, watching a documentary, and enjoying Brazilian snacks!

Gastonia

Gastonia plans on taking in the sights of Brazil through a virtual train ride while eating different treats from Brazil!

London

London Health & Rehab plans on doing a Copacabana chair Zumba, using maracas, scarves and beach balls. They also plan on doing a meditation with ocean sounds and tropical scents!

Sage Bluff

Sage Bluff plans on having their residents decorate their wheelchairs and walkers with colorful decorations and parade through the halls. Afterwards, they will serve tropical fruits and juices!