Rio

Rio de Janeiro is often referred to as just Rio, which means River (of January).  It recently hosted the World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016.  There were a lot of negative publicity about Rio leading to the summer Olympics but once it's over, it reverts back to its fame as a party city.  It is a big sprawling city of about 12 million people, with a big gap between the rich and the poor.

Its Christ the Redeemer statue on top of Corcovado (Camel's hump) and Sugar Loaf Mountain need no introduction, the former being named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.  Ipanema Beach, made famous from the song "The Girl from Ipanema", and Copacabana Beach are two of the best known beaches in the world.

I spent six nights in Rio, 5 of which with Tucan Travel.  I came a day early so that I can get adjusted to the time and city.  I am glad I did, because after a 20-hour trip, I was dead tired.  After a good night's rest, I was rest to join in the carnival spirit of the city.

Hotel Regina where I stayed, is located in an old neighborhood called Flamengo.  It's about a 20 minute walk from downtown and a 15-20 minute bus ride to Ipanema and Copacabana beaches.  As I exit the hotel, 2 blocks to the right is Flamengo Beach, not very popular but still crowded towards the late afternoon or early morning.  If I turn left and walk one block, I will come to Catete Road, or Rua do Catete.  It's a very busy street with plenty of shops and restaurants.  I ate at several of these restaurants, some of food as simple as something that is similar to an empanada or as elaborate as a buffet.  Buffets are common in Rio but instead of all-you-can-eat, you pay by weight.  I went to one and paid only about $7 for a nice plate of food.  Another more upscale one that I went to, I pay about $23 for food, drinks and dessert.  The main thing is you control how much you eat and how much you want to spend.  One drink I enjoyed is called an Açai bowl.  It comes from the Açai palm.  I usually get it without the toppings.  It taste better than it looks.  A 150ml cup costs about 15 Reals, around $4.60.  It has a very sweet and fruity flavor to it, with the consistency of yogurt.

Flamengo Beach, with Sugar Loaf Mountain in the background

Escaladria Selaron in the Lapa area

An Açaí bowl

If I walk about 15 minutes on Catete Road, I come across another neighborbood called Gloria, followed by Lapa and another 10 minutes, I am in downtown Rio.  I walked this route several times and enjoyed seeing the Rio residents all dressed in costumes at all times of the day.  Whether you are young or old, fat or skinny, white or black, almost everyone dresses up for the Carnival.  It's like Halloween on steroids, for an entire week.

We went on a city tour on Sunday.  First to see Christ the Redeemer statue on top of Corcovado (camel's hump in Portuguese) mountain.  It was a long drive up the mountain.  When we get to the station, we took another van to near the summit.  You can walk up or take an elevator for the last stage and eventually, you come to the base of the statue.  The statue is almost 100 ft tall and was built between 1922 and 1931.  It is a cultural icon for both Rio de Janeiro and Brazil, instantly recognizable by anyone seeing a picture of it.  It's listed as one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.  It was restored in 2010.

I've been looking forward to visiting this statue for a long time.  From pictures in magazines or TV, it's hard to tell what it's like around the statue.  The most famous images are those taken behind the statue, with a view of the City of Rio in the background.  Here are some of my images.

Back of the statue, as seen as I climbed up the stairs

A frontal view of the statue, with beautiful clouds in the background

Station on top of the hill.  Vans take tourist up near the statue

Plaque explaining the history of the statue

A small chapel under the base of the statue

From the summit, looking down near the top of the statue

Our next stop is another Rio icon:  Sugarloaf Mountain.  It is named because the shape resembles what concentrated refined loaf sugar looks like.  The name was given by Portuguese during the days when sugar cable trade was big in Brazil.  To get to the top, you take two cable cars.  First, to the shorter Morro da  Urca mountain, then a second to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain.  On top of the mountain you have a 360 degree view of Rio.

Base of the cable car up Sugarloaf Mountain

A panoramic view from the top.  

Another view from the top.  You can see Copacabana beach on the left.

We also stopped at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian, an incredible triangular Cathedral with beautiful stained glass windows.  It's in the downtown area.

Outside view of the Metropolitan Cathedral

Inside view

Panoramic inside view

It was a wonderful week in Rio, especially with the Carnival going on.  You can see and feel the vibe of the Brazilian people.  They are easygoing and friendly.  Even though I was warned many times about pickpockets or robbers, even by locals, I never personally encountered any issues.  I was always on the alert and put my money and necessary credit cards in a money belt, tucked under my shorts and shirt.  Things are relatively cheap here.  The popular Brazilian restaurant is the Churrascaria, which is basically an all-you-can-eat buffet with plenty of different types of meat.

The hotel provides an excellent breakfast buffet.  My favorite part is the tropical fruits.  Every morning that's what most of my breakfast was.

Mangos, melons and papayas

Pastries for breakfast

More fruits:  grapes, guava, oranges and fruit cocktails

I will write about our visit to a favela in the next post.