Steel Beach Picnic

There is a tradition on large big deck Naval ships to have a morale-building steel beach picnic to break up the monotony of life at sea. Flight operations are held off, and the entire crew is invited up top for a BBQ and some entertainment. Unfortunately, entertainment consisted of a band of Navy guys who like to sing from the back of their throat like the devil.
Here is the line to wait in to get to the food. When I first saw this line I went back down below and figured I could wait a little while.

I went and put on my bathing suit and some sunscreen and returned to a relatively shorter line (not really). No, I did not recently have cataract surgery. Here I am with my running pal, Tim.

For cooling off there were inflatable kiddie pools on the flight deck. We were originally scheduled for a swim call that day, but the swells in the ocean were not accommodating. I had to make do with what they provided. Don't worry; I emptied the water and refilled it before getting in. Check out the view off of the stern.

The sites of Rio

This is team Medical in front of a modern cathedral that looks like a cross between Aztecan temple and the Tower of Babel.

This is Sugar Loaf. Just saying its name makes me hungry. It has been a tourist attraction with cable cars since 1912. It was also in a James Bond movie.

Here is the view of from atop Sugar Loaf. You can see Copacabana beach behind me and the lady with the black hat.

This is Brazilian barbeque. They have a big salad/pasta bar and then they bring endless amounts of beef, chicken and pork around on skewers.

Here we are on the Trem do Corcovado; it takes us to the top of the mountain to the famous statue of Christ which overlooks Rio. I am sitting beside my best friend, Jeff.

Looking up to view the Christ the Redeemer statue. I should have posted the other picture above this one to get a better effect, but so it is.

This statue celebrated Brazil's 100th anniversary of freedom from Portugal. Like the Statue of Liberty it was made in France and brought over in pieces.