A favela behind Copacabana. A tunnel runs right underneath. 

The favela residents have to walk up and down steps or steep streets. Military police from the Rio de Janeiro State Guard are watching at the bottom. 

I took a walk through Laranjeiras neighborhood today. The weather was hot, but the strees were shady. Here is a flower market in a square.

A former palace from the days of the Portuguese empire in Laranjeiras.

Corcovado Mountain.

A lunchcounter or lanchonete. They make the best fresh-squeezed juices and always have little hors d'oeuvres ready. Cups of espresso (cafezinho) complete the snack. You can sit on stools or lean up against the bar to eat. Pay about $4, and you are good to go for another couple of hours.

On the way back to the B&B. A typical street in Arpoador (the peninsula between Copacabana and Ipanema.) 

Copacabana at sunrise.

The famous sidwalk on Copacabana.

Typical apartment on Copacabana.

View of Ipanema from the favelas (shantytowns.) The poor people have the best views.

The favela above Ipanema.

Atop Corcovado Mountain. The best views anywhere.

Ipanema Beach at sunset.

Going to Samba bars by night and eating some really good foods by day. We spent Saturday at Ipanema Beach. The weather was warm and sunny, the surf was strong, and the sights were breathtaking.

A little sightseeing in Rio. The weather is fine; not too hot, not cool either.

Anthropology Museum Guatemala City

The rulers scratched off the faces of their predecesors when they assumed power.

Jade burial mask.

Lake Atitlan

"Lake Como, it seems to me, touches on the limit of permissibly picturesque, but Atitlán is Como with additional embellishments of several immense volcanoes. It really is too much of a good thing." --Aldous Huxley

My Maya guide said the water level rose 5 meters after last year's hurricanes. Shorelines were full of flooded forests.

Used with permission. http://www.flickr.com/photos/28356093@N08/5607790477/

It's tempting but rude to take pictures of the Maya ladies. This photographer probably paid her in exchange for the shoot.