Day 5 - Rio, Copacabana, Ipanema, & Jardim Botanico

Good morning Rio! What shall we do today? Well, it’s been a very busy few days – so why not have a more relaxing day – wandering through Rio’s botanical gardens. We begin our trek down the lengthy Copacabana beach – crossing over to Ipanema beach, a thinner but oddly busier beach. Gently strolling down the soft sands and warm sidewalks we decided to ‘take our first coconut’. For the small sum of R$5 (about £1 at time of writing), the vendor chops open a fresh, green, coconut with a machete, sticking in a straw for your oral enjoyment. Very refreshing, and oddly satisfying – green coconut water/juice is gently flavoured and about half as sweet as a soft drink. Lolling along the sandy causeway, sipping on coconut, you couldn’t help but feel at peace. Rio is a very clean (very little litter) but very dirty (soot/sand/?) city – I often found myself rubbing mystery particles out of my eyes – so the gentle breeze, hot sun, and clean coconut combination, alongside the crystal clear water, was a nice change.

Passing by Ipanema beach on to Leblon beach (much quieter), we grew closer to the gardens. The botanical gardens (about 8km from where we started) was immediately a place of solace from the bustle of the Rio streets. Lush, green plants from all over the world encapsulate quite a large park – playing host to hundreds of flower and bird species. We enjoyed a walk through an Orchid nursery – as well as an area flaunting dozens of cactus species of every shape and size. The highlight of the gardens was watching tiny little humming birds darting around, presumably looking for their next meal.

We finished our walk in the gardens through a section on worldly medicinal plants (all signs in Portuguese unfortunately) and began our long trek home. Stopping for dinner in a little local pub(?) eating our last Rio meal – refreshing our weary feet – we reflect on our days in Rio. We both thoroughly enjoyed Rio – though – we both expected more colour. It’s a very grey city – which just didn’t gel with our preconceptions of what Rio (and our first taste of Latin America) would be like. We must have gone in expecting 24/7 Carnivale – and although we didn’t get it, still enjoyed the city. Next on the docket – is the small colonial town of Paraty (pronounced Pa-ra-chee). Stay tuned!

Day 4 - Rio, Christ the Redeemer & Sugar Loaf Mountains

Rio day 3. After another night of semi-disquietude, we embarked on our journey to the 2 most famous landmarks in Rio – Christo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) and the Sugar Loaf Mountains. We plan our journey to Corcovado (meaning Humpback Mountain, upon which Christo can be found) first, as we were told it can get very busy and hot in the afternoon – and that Sugar Loaf boasts an epic sunset not to be missed. The internets told us there was a bus company that would drive you up Corcovado for a very reasonable price – sounds great right? We arrive at the designated spot and lo-and-behold, there’s a salesman selling tickets for tours. In broken conversation – he tells us that for Corcovado, it is R$26 (reais, Brazilian dollars – pronounced ‘ray-uh’ or ‘hey-eye’ depending on who says it, and pluralisation). Of course we get on his bus, and immediately after driving down the road, the driver asks for R$80 each. Fortunately, when we declined, he let us out without hassle (phew) – and we hopped into a taxi to Cosme velho ($R70), the tourist train station where you take a small train up Corcovado. Traveller tip – there is also a metro station a few minutes walk from Cosme velho as well as a regular bus (more time), so it’s worth taking public transport!

Taking the tourist train (R$52 each, including admission [R$26]) we had a slow but enjoyable 20 minute journey through the jungle on Corcovado. Emerging from the lush jungle we arrive atop Corcovado, with the omnipresent Jesus looming overhead. Surrounding the foot of the statue was perhaps 100 people – crowded, but not off putting – all taking pictures and of course, Jesus-selfies. The statue itself was recently renovated (within 20 years) making it look immaculate and ominous. Even on a non-believer the presence of such a large, powerful symbol is not lost. A modern wonder definitely not to be missed if journeying to Rio. Statue aside, Corcovado also offers stunning views of Rio and the surrounding bays and is well worth taking in the beautiful vista.

After our striking stint with Jesus, we took the bus back to Copacabana and decided to walk to the Sugar loaf. The walk was enjoyable (maybe 30-60 minutes), strolling through various streets and neighborhoods of Rio. Arriving at Sugar loaf at around 4pm, we were there in perfect time to take in the sunset at around 5:30pm. Riding the cable cars up the 2 small mountains offers more stunning views of Rio – admittedly in very hot, cramped quarters. Arriving on the first of the two mountains, you are surrounded by food and drink shops, as well as benches and lounge chairs to relax and take in the views. Journeying to the second (taller) mountain, gives you the opportunity to wander through some native Rio flora in their ‘nature park’. We were lucky to spot some lizards crawling around rocks before we came across what everyone wants to see – wild marmosets! The cute little creatures were swinging and jumping around trees, having a great time – until the crowds started to gather around us, clearly interested in what I was filming! After the encounter with the little primates – we observed, the best we could, the famous sunset. Unfortunately much of the tall sugar loaf mountain was under construction (surprise) so we could not capture the best shots.

We headed back down the mountains and decided once again to walk back to Copacabana. At this point we have an hour long journey through the darkening streets of Rio – and we felt completely safe. Most anecdotal stories everyone seems to hear about muggings are just that – anecdotes. Rio has for many years been a safe place to travel, and as long as you’re not flaunting cash from your open front pockets, you’ll be alright. We arrived in Copacabana – and suddenly decided, even though exhausted, to go to Lapa. Lapa is a very famous district for food and frivolity. We take the metro north toward Carioca and emerge from the underground into live music and drunken revelry. We choose a restaurant with live music and grab some drinks – chilling out to the sweet, sharp sounds of the band. In front of the band were couples swinging, twirling, and dancing around, having a gay old time. We decided – it’s in our best interest to leave the dancing to these seemingly professional dancers. We eventually call it a night as our eyelids began to droop, after a long fulfilling day, and hike back up those darn 10 flights of stairs.