Rio De Janeiro

Rio De Janeiro

A three day weekend, and some cheap flights took us to Rio for some exploration.  We got up at 3am to catch our flight!

Less than an hour flight brought us to the Rio airport.

Taking a quick Uber to our hotel. There was a drastic different between the area near the airport and the area near our hotel. We did not take pictures as we spent most of the time trying to explain things to the boys. 

There is a huge tunnel that connects these two parts of Rio. The first part was filled with homeless people, houses under bridges, lots of damage and destruction. In this area, the Uber driver did not stop at any stoplights or signs. He always kept the car in motion. After the tunnel, a completely different area. Clean and new. The Uber driver became a different driver, slowing down, stopping at red lights, etc. We arrived at the Windsor Leme Hotel on the Leme / Copacabana beach. 

We arrived a few hours before check-in, so we went up to the 19th floor and enjoyed the view!

Once we checked into the hotel, we changed and headed to the beach! The boys favorite thing now!

As you notice, I am not enjoying this water. My toe touched it and I was out! Brrrrrr!!!!

 We had a quick laugh at the cop on the beach. He was very effective in keeping it safe while playing on his phone!

After playing in the water, we decided to take a walk and explore. The trees were all twisted, turned and intermingled. The boys found them fascinating. 

Our walk took us to the end of Leme beach to see the people fishing. While we did not witness anything being caught, it was interesting to see the different ways that people were fishing. 

 Leme is home to a Fort, which we visited later on in our trip, but we took a few photos near the park on our first night.

For our first dinner, the boys requested seafood. We walked down to a recommended restaurant called Restaurant Marius Degustare. The theme reminded us of the Pirate's of the Caribbean movies! 

This was similar to a traditional Brazilian restaurant where there is a buffet and the the waiters will walk around with different options for main courses and you take what you want. The boys were happy!

 Zane really enjoyed the oysters and full shrimp!

Someone stole mommy's glasses!

 A few pictures outside the restaurant

We woke up bright and early Saturday morning, not as early as Friday, and headed to our meeting spot for the tour to see Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) and Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf).

 We stopped for some coffee and water at a spot that allows you to see the statue from the street.

The drive up the mountain and through the forest (one that was planted by the citizens to replenish the area) was short. The tour guide recommended that we go here first due to the crowds. We arrived right as it opened at 8:00. I am grateful for this as you will see. 

 The views from this area are amazing. Seeing the statue was very surreal.

The idea for the statue was presented in the 1850s. It was designed by a French sculptor and build by a Brazilian engineer. Construction began in 1922 and it was completed in 1931. The statue is 30 meters tall, with an 8 meter pedestal. The arms stretch 28 meters wide. It has had a couple restorations, the most recent ones due to lightning strikes damaging the hands.

Front and back of the statue. The back houses a chapel. It was breathtaking. 

 Enjoying some snacks. 

By the time we left, the number of people was intimidating!

Heading to our next location. Two early mornings finally caught up to the boys!

 Our tour guide was amazing! His name was Paulo and he was so great with the boys. They still talk about him, his jokes, and what he taught them.

Our next stop took us to Sugar Loaf. We learned a lot of information about the significance of this mountain. The cable car that takes you to the top of the summit begins at the base of Morro da Babilônia and then first to Morro da Urca. Our tour guide again recommended going all the way to the summit of Sugarloaf and then exploring Morro da Urca on the way back. 

The cable car was large and held many people, but no matter where you were you had an amazing view. 

There are many stories as to how the mountain received the name. The most common is that in the past this area was full of sugar cane fields. As it was cultivated, the citizens would place the sugar into a cone shaped holder to deliver and sale. Due to the location and time period, the sugar was delivered by horses rode along the beaches. This humidity caused the sugar to fuse together and harden. When it came out, it was called 'Pão de Açúcar'. Travelers to the area used this mountain as a landmark and felt it resembled the cone of sugar and therefore named the mountain Pão de Açúcar. 

This mountain is famous for climbing. We were amazed at the number of climbers and the difficulty of the climb. Very admirable!

 We took the cable car back down to Morro de Urca.

This mountain houses a small museum demonstrating how the cable car was build, how it works, and some cable cars from the bast.

The have a fun area where they put on shows for children. Music and art combined create an amazing storytelling adventure for the children.

The boys asked that I shared this photo. They were amazed at this baby cactus crowing in between the window and pane. Zane said, 'Look mom, life finds a way.' Thank you Jurrasic Park!

The boys and I watching the helicopter land and take off. This short ride gives a different view of the area. 

 Cable car back to the base. The boys really enjoyed all of the views and were exited to tell family about their adventure.

When we returned to the hotel, Greg went to get some extra towels and the boys and I prepared for the beach. We heard a very loud honking and looked out our window. We were mesmerized to see this barge heading straight toward the beach. Closer than any other ship we had seen. We were in shock and it took me a while before I realized I should grab my phone. At what seemed like the last moment it turned, but everyone on the beach was reacting and ready to move!

 Heading to the pool

Enjoying the rooftop pool! See that building at the top of the mountain behind the boys. That is our adventure for tomorrow!

 Beautiful nighttime view!

Sunday, we slept in! We got ready and took a hike up the mountain to Fort Leme. The fort is on Leme Beach, at the end of beach is the Copacabana Fort. The fort was built in 1776 to protect the coast of Rio. It takes about 30 minutes to hike to the top to see the fort. The walk is paved and the path is full of Marmoset Monkeys - Alden's favorite!

 

Another breathtaking view!

 The boys enjoyed checking out the beach and looking at Sugarloaf from afar.

Sugarloaf in the background!

In the lower part of the fort there are beautiful pathways and rooms to explore. On room had a artistic display of eyes from the animals in the area. 

 Another showed history and machines for moving the bullets for the big cannon like guns.

We checked out of the hotel and headed to Ipanema before heading home. The song "Garota de Ipanema' made famous in the 1960s by Antônio Carlos Jobim. It became famous in the US when Frank Sinatra became involved with the song. 

 The traditional pathways exist all over the area, white and black stones laid out in unique patterns. We were instantly grateful that we stayed where we did as opposed to this beach as it was much more crowded.

 We enjoyed lunch at the Garota de Ipanema restaurant. Decent food, but overpriced of course.

Then, we headed to the airport and headed home!

We were pleasantly surprised on how much we enjoyed this city. So many native Brazilians had given us their opinions that we were a little hesitant about going. Very glad now that we did!