Feb. 1 Rio



Today we joined a city highlights tour of Rio. The skies were quite overcast so we packed our rain gear. The van picked us up at 7:15 and it was 8 am before all the passengers had been collected. 
Our first stop was one of the 7 modern wonders of the world, Christ the Redeemer, at the top of Corcovado Mountain. The mountain is one of many in Rio and has a height of 700 metres. To get to the statue we drove through the Tijuca National Forest to the visitor centre. There we boarded a park van to get almost to the top of the mountain. From the parking area you can take an elevator or climb around 200 steps to the monument. 
Christ the Redeemer was completed in 1931 and stands 30 metres tall. The span from finger tip to finger tip is 28 metres. It is made of reinforced concrete and covered in soapstone. It is beautiful and the largest art deco sculpture in the world. 
Even though we were there early, there were hundreds of people there, most of whom wanted to take a selfie or ten. Or they wanted to pose this way and that way while their friend took picture after picture. Of course, they don’t want anyone else in their picture so it takes so long for them to finish. It was the same way at Iguazu Falls. I am so done with the self absorbed fashionistas taking their instagram shots!
Our next stop was Sugar Loaf Mountain. It is another granite peak in Rio that rises almost 400 metres and offers 360 degree views of the city. To get to the summit, you take 2 cable cars. The first goes from the base station up 220 metres to the top of Urca Mountain. The second car takes you across a wide expanse and up the additional 180 metres. There were long lineups at the cable cars, but they moved quickly as each car holds 65 people.

The views from the top were worth it. The city is very broken up by the mountains but with the tunnels it is relatively easy to get around. Standing at the top of Sugar Loaf, you see how far the city stretches in all directions, how many beaches there are and how green the city is. 

We headed to the city centre where we had lunch at Mi Gusta, a buffet restaurant. After eating, we drove to see some city highlights including the Macarena Football Stadium and the Metropolitan Cathedral which is the most unusual church design I have seen. It is shaped like a Mayan pyramid and is 75 metres tall and has an internal diameter of 96 metres. It can hold 20,000 people standing or 5,000 seated. It has 4 stained glass panels 64 metres long but it is very dark inside. 

Our final stop of the day is the third most visited site in Rio, the Selarón Steps. The steps divide the Lapa and Saint Teresa neighbourhoods. The steps are the work of one artist, Jorge Selaron, as a tribute to Brazil that started in 1990 and ended in 2013 when he died. The project started with ceramic tiles that had been waste from construction projects, but as the project gained notoriety, tiles came in from around the world to help Selaron complete his work. 

The Lapa area is very bohemian with very narrow streets and lots of tourists doing the selfie thing. We didn’t stay for long. 
Dinner tonight was on the hotel rooftop terrace overlooking the beach and the city lights. 

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