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the continual chatter of insects, the patterned black and white stone sidewalks, and the multi-hued Carioca inhabitants that mingle with the tourists.

A bimodal division of society exists; the "haves" and the "have nots". The rich people live in nice apartments or hotels secured by guards and fences with barb wire and entrances monitored by TV. The impoverished and lowly workers live in the favelas, or shanty towns that spread up the steep mountains beyond the glitzy tourist lowlands.

Actually, you can "do" Rio in a day by taking a bus tour. Most hotels will fix you up with a tour. This is preferable to going it alone, especially if you are new to Brazil and can't speak Portuguese. A tour is good value since it includes all transportation costs, entrance fees and a mighty nosh-up at a downtown churrascaria, plus a multilingual Brazilian guide to explain the details. You get picked up at 9am and returned by 5pm.

The bus took us past the Macacana Stadium which is the world's largest with seating for 180,000 people. It was built for the 1950 World Cup, since football or soccer is the main religion of Brazil! I was more thrilled to examine the nearby Rio de Janeiro Cathedral with its ulta-modern architecture ... a huge concrete cone with magnificent stained glass panels that reach to the apex.

Next stop was the famous Sugar Loaf Mountain located at the mouth of Guanabara Bay. This granite knob, together with that of the Corcovado, symbolizes Rio on millions of picture postcards .... God's gift to the tourism industry.

The two stage cable cars go to the top every half hour from 8 am to 10 pm. On the lower hill is a restaurant, nightclub, shops and helicopter pad for sightseeing flights. The final big lift to the peak at 394 meter altitude is awesome and provides stunning views of the city and beaches from winding summit pathways. Smog can sometimes be a problem for photography but a good thunderstorm will clear the air.

By a miracle all the tour group reported back to the bus and we were taken to a churrascaria for a leisurely lunch. Such eating places have waiters continually bringing grilled meats on swords to the table where they carve off generous portions for the needy. Exotic salads and breads bedeck the table but you buy your own wine and chopp, the local draught beer.

Afternoon saw us head for the Corcovado (Hunchback), a mountain peak of 709 meters, with a statue of Christ the Redeemer on top which can be seen from all over Rio. At night it is floodlit. Christ's

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