Pão de Açúcar, Cristo Redentor, Jardim Botanico
As usual, in Rio I took in more of the night life sights than doing all the touristy things, of which there are so many that it would be tough to do in all in seven days, let alone the three days I really had due to my cash problems–buses and taxis don’t take credit cards. (Oh, by the way, someone recommended on my fourth day, Sunday, that I put scotch tape over my ATM card magnetic strip and it would work. And you know what? If fucking did work! Good thing the beach–on my only two sunny days, Friday and Saturday–is free.) But in my night and day wanderings, of course without my camera, I saw a lot of the city and its neighborhoods. The few times I had my camera was at Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf), Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer), and Jardim Botanico (the Botanical Gardens).
Pão de Açúcar gives you a beautiful view of the city looking west. It is two mounatins jutting up between the sea and neighborhoods, and you ride to the top of the first peak and then to the second higher peak in a hanging aerial cable car–slightly scary but exhilerating when you look down, floating above cliffsides and trees. The day was a bit cloudy, but we rose higher than one of the passing clouds and were able to see fairly well. I learned the Costa Rican way of saying “cool” while up there: “tuanes.” And you can say it at least two ways in Portugues: “legal” and “manera.” Along with Peru’s “chevre,” I had many ways of saying how cool the view was from every side of Pão de Açúcar.
The view from Cristo Redentor was less cool, due to a cloudy day. It was very neat, though, and definitely holy. Cristo Redentor is a giant statue of Christ spreading his arms open, facing east, and looking over the city. It stands higher than Pão de Açúcar, and it was the biggest statue in the world at the time of its creation and, therefore, is considered a wonder of the world. These tourists spots all have gift shops and little cafes, so I had a fresh mango smoothie and toasted Christ and Rio while chatting with other tourists from around the world. After that, I went to Jardim Botanico where I walked around for a couple hours and could see over 5,000 different types of plants, flowers, and trees. You get a good view of Cristo Redentor from afar between the trees. My favorite part was the orchid greenhouse. I had a peaceful walk and nice break from the bustling city outside the garden walls, which was surprisingly hard to hear after entering the grounds.
None of the days I was in Rio had that crystal-clear-sky weather you hope to have when visiting such beautiful sights. I fell in love with the city, nonetheless. It would be perfect for a honeymoon. Although, now more than ever, I have strong doubts that I’ll ever get married. Life is just too fun like this. Viva mi vida loca.
