After our visit to Corcovada Mountain, it was dinner time. The bus drivers took our tour group (all 180 of us) to a churrascaria restaurant. A churrascaria is a Brazilian barbeque. There are several of these types of restaurants around town. The one we ate at was Carretão in the Ipanema section of the city.

We saw a big buffet table full of salads when we entered the restaurant. I was a little dismayed at first because I don't like salads. I thought I was going to have to find something to eat later, when we got back to the hotel. However, after everyone got their salads and took their seats, the real feast began. The waiters came out carrying cooked meats on long metal rods. There were rods with chicken, some with beef, and some with pork. The waiters would come to you and cut a piece of meat onto your plate or simply slide the meat off the rod in cases where they had chicken or sausages. Each time, the food seemed to have been prepared differently (i.e., different seasonings, different cut of the beef or pork, etc.). It didn't take long for me to become full after tasting all those meats. The waiters would just keep coming until you put up your hand and waved them off. They were very efficient. Overall, the food tasted okay; however, the presentation was fabulous.

Many of the meals we had on this trip were included in the cost of the trip package; however, drinks were not. My wife and I ordered soft drinks with our meal at Carretão. The sodas I saw the most while in Brazil was Coke, 7-Up, Fanta Orange, and a Brazilian soda called Guaraná. Guaraná sort of tastes like a mixture of apple juice and ginger ale. It was pretty good. The funny thing about the sodas in Brazil is that they all seemed to have a hint of Guaraná in them - especially the Coke.