On his last day in Rio, Prince William, of Wales, took advantage of the steady weather and visited Christ the Redeemer, this Wednesday morning. Unlike the contact with the public presented in previous days, he arrived and left discreetly. The tour closely followed by Mayor Eduardo Paes, however, changed the routine of workers and tourists.
Visitation to Christ takes place every day, with the first tour time at 7:20 am. But with the arrival of the prince it was necessary to make a change. The space was closed to visitors until 10 am, when William and his entourage left. The change was announced by the company Paineiras Corcovado on social media, last Friday. Even so, some professionals and tourists were caught by surprise and had to adapt the itinerary.
— We usually arrive early to catch the first slot. But today we had to change the itinerary, because everything was closed. We passed through the Santa Teresa neighborhood and the Morro dos Prazeres viewpoint — said Thiago Travassos, a tourist guide who works there daily.
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Michelle Lopez, Juan Caicedo and Hellen Cuellar, are three friends who came from Cali, Colombia, to spend a week on vacation in Rio de Janeiro. As they didn’t have much luck with the weather in the first few days in the city, they left the Christ’s walk to say goodbye today.
Staying in the South Zone, they say they got up early so as not to miss the first visiting time. However, when they arrived at Christ, they had to work to contain their anxiety.
— Friends who had already come told us to be patient with the queue, but everything was empty. We were surprised and waited, that was when the prince arrived and everything was explained — shared dancer Michelle.
To pass the time, they sat at one of the tables at Mirante Paineiras and chatted, took photos and contained their expectations.
Around 9am, just like the trio, hundreds of tourists were already present in the space, waiting for their moment to visit Christ.
The public seemed understanding, but complained about the closure of the Visitor Center — a commercial space where it is possible to buy drinks, food and various items.
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Meanwhile, wearing a blue blazer and no tie, Prince William chatted with the 15 Earthshot Prize finalists who took part in the outing. He was then introduced to Cardinal Dom Orani Tempesta and entered the chapel of Christ the Redeemer.
Blue sky
The prince enjoyed the tour in favorable weather conditions. After days of unstable weather and varying cloud cover, Wednesday morning was marked by intense sunshine and cloudless blue skies.
Although it is already spring, the temperature has not yet exceeded 30ºC and a cool breeze helped to keep the feeling milder.
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Special scheme
To enjoy the Christ, a special security scheme was implemented around the tourist spot. Those who went up through the Santa Teresa neighborhood could see several Military Police vehicles stopped at specific points on the route that leads to the postcard. At the entrance to Estrada das Paineiras, two cars from the Municipal Guard blocked access to cars and motorcycles, while other officers from the corporation were present in the visitors’ parking area and in the Mirante das Paineiras square.
There were also police officers from the Environmental Police Command (Cpam) at the entrance to the Paineiras Visitor Center.
Next to the Range Rover used for the royal transfer was the security team.
