I'm a little bit behind on my blogging so my apologies about not updating this one when I got back. :) We headed to Rio to celebrate Amy's birthday!! I'm a lady so, I won't reveal her age but she wanted to kick the last year of a decade off with a bang!! And, boy did we have a great time. Mark and I had never been to Rio (or as the Brazilians call it He-oh) so we were super excited. It most certainly did not disappoint!
We flew out on Thursday night and made our way to the apartment we rented for the weekend. (If you ever go there, renting an apartment is definitely the way to go.) We got there pretty late so we found a late night bar for dinner, then headed home and decided to call it a night. The next morning we decided to go search out the neighborhood supermercado and get the basics, R$200 and a cab ride later we were back. We stayed in Leblon, which is a pretty chicy chicy area of town but our apartment was right on the beach. It was amazing.
That afternoon, Mark and I headed out to Christ the Redeemer. He is almost as famous as the real Jesus. He has been in a bunch of movies and TV shows. We took a taxi to that area of town and at first Mark and I thought that the cab driver was playing a trick on us, ya know that he just wanted to get the gringoes out of the car. :) Cause just like the real Jesus, Christ the Redeemer did not live in um the chicy chicy area... Since the statue is so high up you actually have to take a van or trolley to the top. We took the trolley which drives straight through the woods and up the side of the mountain. It was very cool. We were so lucky because it was a beautiful and clear day. The statue is higher than the clouds sometimes so if it is overcast you can't see Rio from an aerial perspective. It was a beautiful view and a gorgeous statue. I felt so lucky to be there. :)
The next day, we spent the morning and part of the afternoon laying on the beach. It was nice and warm...okay hot, and helped me get my Vitamin D, for the trip. Then in the afternoon, Mark, Leah, and I went on a favela tour. If you ever go to Rio, this is must. We called the Mango Tree Hostel who has the connection to where to call. I had a lot of apprehension going in to the Favela's. Favela's are basically a more middle income version of the projects. For years the community was run by drug lords but now is supervised by the cops. My fear with entering the favelas was not for my safety but that the people would not appreciate us being there. I mean you dont want to be like a walking voyeur, ya know. But surprisingly they do not mind the tourist coming at all. They are proud of their community and want others to see it. I look forward to doing it again with anyone who comes to visit me here. :)
On Sunday, we had flights that were leaving in the late afternoon, so we made the most of our day by hitting up the hippie fair down near Copacabana and Impanema beaches. There was a lot of artwork and jewelry for sale. Shocker...I didn't spend a centavo! And after lunch and the hippie fair I hit up the beach again with the girls. We had a wonderful weekend and I always come back realizing not just how lucky I am to have a job that lets me see so many amazing things but to have friends as awesome as mine are!!!!
you are so cute sister! Love this! Glad you had fun and that wire thing is NUTS
ReplyDeleteI'm glad your trip was fine and you found nice weather there in Rio! I was checking for more information about Rocinha and I discovered that according to the last census (2010) there are about 70 thousand people just in that area.
ReplyDelete