May, 1998, Sau Paulo and Rio De Janiero, Brazil

(Corcovado, and the trip home)
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The next morning, we set off by local bus for Corcovado, site of Cristo Redentor (the statue of Jesus). Using the bus was Pete's idea - we saved about R$14, and got more of a taste of the city. The staff at the hotel gave us the bus number and the fare collector in the bus (distinct from the driver) nodded when we said 'Corcovado?', and let us know when the right stop came up. A cog railroad (a train that engages a gear track between the rails to provide better traction) took us to the top of this mountain. Again, the foliage was facinatingly different along the ride. Peter was accustomed to trains climbing steep grades from his native Switzerland, but for me it was quite a treat. Here's a view from inside the train, looking along the track on the way up the mountain:



Cristo Redentor is an amazing site, even if you happen to be Jewish. The 100-foot high statue of Christ looks out from the top of a 2000+foot mountain, visible from nearly everywhere in the city. The first view is from behind, as you work your way past the parking lot and up the stairs...
...and in front of it are dozens of tourists in exactly the same pose as the statue, getting their photo taken. I declined the opportunity for the pose, but succumbed to the photo op.

Since the site is visible from nearly everywhere in the city, nearly everywhere in the city is visible from the site. Here are some of the vistas. (The second photo shows Sugarloaf Mountain (yesterday's trip) in the distance, left of center.)
 

Like every other trip, it eventually became time to leave and head home. I wish I could report that the trip back was uneventful, but unfortunately my flight back to Sau Paulo was delayed 45 minutes, and once I was there, Varig couldn't find the circuit boards, and delayed me long enough that I just barely escaped missing the flight back to New York. But I did make it home, and the boards followed the next day.

In addition to contributing to the presence of BCDMA® in Latin America, and gaining a better understanding of Siemens' activites and needs there, my trip was an interesting and educational experience, and one I plan to repeat. Brazil is not about dirty cities, crime, and bureaucratic customs officials, though all those were present. Its about the people: some of the nicest folks I've ever met, who did everything within their power to make a foreigner 4600 miles from home feel welcome and among friends. If the opportunity ever presents itself for you to visit there, don't pass it up.
 
 

Epilogue: Sadly, BCDMA® lingered for a year or two after the trade show before Siemens pulled out of the the project, which ultimately dissolved. Some of the concepts explored will become part of the so-called 3G (Third Generation) broadband wireless networks that are expected to be deployed in the middle of this decade, if anyone can figure out how to make money doing it. I'm not sure where BCDMA® will appear, if at all, when pundits in 2050 publish the epic documentary "Wireless Communications - A Look Back". But we all learned a lot, built some stuff that worked, and had a great time doing it. (Though I'm glad it wasn't my moneyl.)

 
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