I saw Jesus this week. Man- I hope that got you hooked! Actually, I've seen a lot of the city this week, including the two primary touristy spots to visit, as well as other hidden gems. I finished out this week by pulling an all-nighter... in the Rio de Janeiro international airport. This week has been busier than the last, and now I'm bidding this city adios. Check it out below! (And if you only want to read about/ see pictures of Jesus, skip ahead to Day 26!)
Day 22: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; distance: 3181 miles/ 5119 kilometers
Today was a sad day indeed- we moved back from the hotel to group housing in the city of Rio de Janeiro. As a group of 8, we had booked a private apartment through airbnb that was supposed to be 5 minutes from the beach, but this trip never seems to cease with the surprises. The "apartment" was actually a not-so-private room at a hostel in the favelas, about 15 minutes from the beach. In order to get to the hostel, we had to walk through the favelas from Copacabana. (I know that I mentioned what favelas are before, but here is a refresher: slum cities that are precariously built up hills, filled with extremely impoverished locals and dangerous for foreigners- especially females!) After going to the beach for a little, we spent all evening trying to get a refund and relocate ourselves the next day. We couldn't even find a food place that was open nearby- we had to walk 20 minutes away just for dinner! It was ridiculous, but we were all safe, at least.
Although the "apartment" was a hostel in a super sketchy area (sorry Mom!), the view of Copacabana could not be beat.
Day 23: Rio de Janeiro distance: 3181 miles/ 5119 kilometers
We moved hostels today back to Beach Backpackers Hostel (which we had stayed at before) because it was in a much better location and we knew what to expect. (Plus, it was cheaper!) After moving in (again), some girls and I decided to check out the Jardim Botánico de Rio de Janeiro (the Botanical Garden), which I think is supposed to be one of the best in the world. It was huge, and it was easy to lose yourself in the Amazon jungle and forget that you were in the middle of a capital city. There were so many different types of trees and flowers, and there were gorgeous waterfalls and fish-filled ponds. We were also able to see some monkeys, including babies! After the garden, we headed to Pão de Açucar (also, known as Sugarloaf Mountain) which has cable cars that visitors ride to the top to experience an incredible view of the city. The lines were super long (think: Disneyland Splash Mountain!) and it was a cloudy day, so we didn't see the sunset like we wanted. However, we still got some cool nighttime photos of the city all lit up! We walked back to hostel (because the bus never came!) and ate dinner. I finally feel like a tourist here, not just a beach bum!
Here is one of the views in the Botanical Garden. I felt like I was in the Amazon jungle, and it was nice to breath in some fresh and (relatively) non-polluted air.
One of the views from the Pão de Açucar. It was a bummer that we couldn't see the picturesque sunset, but the view was still pretty stellar.
A nighttime view of the city. The beach on the far left is Copacabana, and the brightly lit area on the bottom left is a resort and its private beach.
It started getting foggy the later that we stayed on the mountain. At least it added a cool effect to our photos!
Day 24: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; distance: 3181 miles/ 5119 kilometers
We went to the beach again today (it was our last beach day). Today, however, we went with some Argentine boys that one of the girls in our group had met at the hostel. We went with them to Sugarloaf yesterday, and we decided to chill at the beach together today! Instead of going to the stereotypical Ipanema or Copacabana, we went to Barra, a beach about 45 minutes from our hostel via bus. The waves were pretty rough so we couldn't really relax in the ocean, like we could at Ipanema or Copa. This meant, however, that we were all chilling in the sun for several hours... and even with sunscreen (and reapplication) we all got burnt! We've decided that it wasn't our fault that every single one of us got burnt despite putting on sunscreen- it is the sun! It is hotter and stronger here. One girl said her mom told here there was a hole in the ozone in this area- I'm not sure, but I sure know that this sun is tougher than the summer Arizona sun, which is pretty scary!
Day 25: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; distance: 3181 miles/ 5119 kilometers
Today was a pretty cool, touristy day. We decided to get up early and go on a free city tour of downtown Rio (about 30 minutes away via metro). The tour was definitely longer than the two that I had taken in Chile (one in Valpo and one in Santiago, during Week 2) and much more expansive- we walked around the city for nearly three hours! We got learn some interesting Portuguese and Brazilian history and facts about its culture, and got to see several government and cultural buildings with amazing architecture. Additionally, we saw the Arcos de Lapa (Lapa Arches) and Las Escaleras de Selaron (Selaron Steps, or the Lapa Stairs). Lapa is the name of the neighborhood that holds both of these touristy sights. The Arcos are the remnants of an aqueduct system in the city, and the Lapa Stairs are several flights of concrete stairs that are decorated with tiles from all around the world. Much of the design was done by an artist named Selaron (thus the name). Pictures of both are below! After the tour, we checked out a nearby cathedral on our way back to our hostel and we spent the afternoon hanging out with the Argentines we had befriended a few days ago- today is their last day in Rio!
The architecture was stunning at this famous Rio cafe. Apparently, the Queen of England had a tea here.
This was one of the government buildings that we saw. It was kind of hard to keep them all straight, but I am pretty sure this is where modern-day legislation occurs for the state of Rio. Or maybe this was a left-over government building from when Rio de Janeiro was the capital of Brazil. Whoops!
Here are the decorated Lapa Stairs! I found several tiles donated from the US, including California and Georgia!
The Lapa Arches. They used to bring water from the Santa Teresa hill to the richer area of downtown Rio. Now, there is a trolley that takes visitors to and from the neighborhood of Santa Teresa, which is a favela.
This is the inside of the Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião, or the Metropolitan Cathedral of San Sebastian. It is in the center of Rio, and has a very strange cone-shaped exterior. This inside features four gorgeous stained-glass windows that go from floor to ceiling- each one is unique.
Day 26: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; distance: 3181 miles/ 5119 kilometers
I saw Jesus today. Kind of. My group went to the Cristo Redentor statue on the Corcovado mountain today, known in English as the Christ the Redeemer. Although you can hike two hours to the top, we had been warned away from that by practically everyone we had talked to, so we decided to take the train. The weather wasn't playing nice today though- clouds covered what was supposed to be a spectacular view of the city and shielded Jesus's face from view for part of the time too. Regardless, it was really cool to see the massive statue and stand in awe at its power. My group spent about 40 minutes at the statue (after waiting one hour for the train and spending 20 minutes on the train!) to get the perfect picture. With so many people wandering around, it was really hard to get a good shot of you that didn't feature a stranger's arms or legs. After seeing the statue (and buying the obligatory souvenirs!) we headed back to the hostel for some lunch and to figure out our plans for tomorrow- 7 of the 9 girls in our group are heading off to São Paolo, and myself and one other girl are each changing hostels in Rio. A few girls and myself made some pizzas at the hostel (and by "made" I mean we stuck some frozen pizzas into the oven) and had a little dinner together- along with an entire gallon of Antarctica Guaraná (a popular soft drink here in Brazil, made with the guaraná plant).
The clouds cleared just enough for us to see parts of the city from Corcovado mountain.
This was probably the best shot that I got of the statue. Because of the clouds and the sun's position, the lighting on this photo turned out super cool. (There are no effects on this photo! #nofilter)
I thought that I might include this photo for laughs- one of the many failed photo attempts of the day.
Day 27: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; distance: 3181 miles/ 5119 kilometers
Today is the day- we are all departing from the hostel. Once we were all breakfasted and packed, we said our goodbyes (it will be over two weeks until I see them again!) and went our separate ways. I headed to my new hostel, which is only five blocks from this previous one, but cheaper and closer to the bus station. Plus, I figured a change of scenery would help me feel less 'stuck' in Rio- after nearly two weeks, I am getting anxious to leave and move on! I got lost trying to get there (thankyouverymuch Google Maps...), and when I found the building number that I was looking for, it was a restaurant- not a hostel! I guess a vehicle had been blocking the sign that said that the hostel was upstairs, but fortunately the hostel manager was inside the restaurant and noticed me looking dreadfully out of place. Hostel Made In Brazil, this new hostel, is probably the most basic hostel I have been in so far: the rooms were just large enough for two bunk beds (lacking almost any floorspace) and the room walls were flimsy metal-and-plastic panels. I settled into my new home for the night and then set off to go see the city. The other girls in the group I was in hadn't wanted to go inside the museums and government buildings that we had seen on our tour a few days ago, but I wanted to check them out! I first tried to go to the Teatro Municipal, which supposedly has stunning interior architecture. Unfortunately, for reasons of which I am still unaware, the Teatro was closed, even though it was around 2 pm on a Wednesday! Fortunately enough, the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes (the National Fine Arts Museum) was right next door. I was delighted to find that the entrance fee of around 8 reals (just about 3 dollars) had been waved- all day, the museum was free! I still have no idea why, but I was so excited to get 'free' anything- especially since I am running low on Brazilian dinhero! After walking around the museum, I crossed the street and headed up the steps to the Biblioteca Nacional (National Library), which holds every document, newspaper, journal, book, etc. ever published in Brazil. Although the upper two floors were closed, I was able to check out the building's stunning architecture and look at the main exhibit, which was on the persecution of Germans and the German language in Brazil. (Regrettably, I would have enjoyed the exhibit much more if I could have understood the documents and informational posters. Although Portuguese is similar to Spanish, it takes me waaay more brain power to read.) A security guard showed me a room full of the rarest pieces in the Library's collection. Upon opening the door to the room, I was assaulted by my favorite scent ever [NERD ALERT!]: the smell of old books. They're probably lucky that they got me out of that building before closing time. I headed back to my hostel and the WiFi crashed, so I headed to the shopping mall that was one block away and ate dinner at the food court while I used its free internet and sorted out the plan for tomorrow.
The exterior of the Teatro Municipal. Apparently, despite the gold decorations, this building was not the most expensive to construct in the city.
A hallway in the National Fine Arts Museum. Along with sculptures (that were mostly replicas of scupltures in European museums), this museum held a large collection of Latin American and Brazilian art throughout the country's history.
The entrance staircase in the National Library. Absolutely beautiful! Unfortunately, the better photos that I have of the Library are on my camera- and I can't download those until I get back to BA. (But when I am able to post better-quality images, I will!)
Day 28: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; distance: 3181 miles/ 5119 kilometers
There was a plan for today, and it was a pretty solid one, if I do say so myself. With only one major issue: entertaining oneself for 16 hours is hard. Let me summarize: I have an international flight to Peru (!) at 6 am tomorrow, meaning airport check-in is at 4 am. Since buses run unreliably at that time in the morning, not to mention that the city is dark and I would have to check-out of my hostel at nearly 2 am, I just decided that I would pull an all-nighter at the airport tonight. I could sleep on my flight to Peru, which would re-set my body clock, and all would be well. This meant that I had to sleep in as late as possible this morning, and then mosey my way through the day, eventually making my way to the airport where I would keep myself entertained all evening. And the plan worked well, for the most part. I woke up at 11 am for a 12 pm check out, bought lunch and killed time at the mall, and eventually headed to the airport. Unfortunately, I didn't have to wait long for the bus to arrive at the stop, and it was regrettably efficient- meaning that I arrived to the airport at around 2 pm and now had over 14 hours to kill until check-in, not to mention more time until I actually boarded. Another unfortunate aspect of being at the airport was the lack of WiFi. It wasn't that I didn't have WiFi (remember the Cabo Blanco trip? Nearly 5 days without WiFi and I didn't care at all!). No, the problem was that I had to stay awake on too-little sleep (and be alert enough to avoid getting my stuff stolen) without WiFi. Which, although obviously doable, would have been much easier to do if I could have read random Wikipedia or news articles or something.
Another week done- finished faster than I imagined possible. I kept myself busy, but I am ready to leave and move on to the next chapter of this adventure- Peru. It's probably suiting that I stayed up all night in the city known for nightlife (although I'm not sure an airport all-nighter is what people have in mind...). I am, however, very excited to be heading to a country where I can speak the language and not have to pretend like I understood what a stranger said.
Tune in next week to hear about Cusco, Peru and my Machu Picchu hiking trek! (That is, if I haven't died on the trek by either falling or a sheer lack of athleticism...)
11:59 pm: I wonder what kind of weirdos show up to the airport after midnight. Although, I suppose that includes myself...
Besos,
Tina the Exploradora
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