Rio de Janeiro

Today, we woke up to beautiful weather. You could already tell it was going to be about 90 degrees and the sun was shining in the fall weather of Rio!

Our hotel is a suite with 1 bedroom with a queen bed and a living room with a pullout sofa and kitchen. We also have a balcony and you can see the Copacabana beach.

After breakfast at our hotel, we decided to visit Corcovado which is where the Christ Redeemer statue is located. We were planning to take the subway and then bus, but our hotel told us the closest subway stop was being renovated. They also insisted on a guide and a tour package, but once we confirmed it was safe to go by ourselves, we insisted we preferred the adventure. As Allison put it, they were probably concerned for the 3 white girls, myself being so pale.

Largo do Boticário

We got into a cab and headed to Corcovado where we bought tickets for the train. As the next train was not for at least another 30 minutes, we ventured to Largo do Boticário which my guidebook said was a hidden gem of a square. There were several brightly colored colonial houses in this tiny square just about 100 meters from the station.

We headed back and took the train and elevator to the top. On the train, we enjoyed some samba music from a band - definitely reminded me of being on a NYC subway. We took our obligatory photos and enjoyed the view of Rio. Rio is absolutely beautiful with the beaches, various mountains, and off-shore islands.

The Christ the Redeemer statue was erected to commemorate the 100 year anniversary of Brazilian independence in 1922, but in typical Brazilian style, was about 10 years late. It is considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world and 5th largest statue of Jesus and is a symbol of peace.

Cyn: What do you want to do today?
Lizzie: I want to see Jesus.

We headed down the mountain and caught the 584 bus back to our hotel in Arpoador which is also the junction of Copacabana and Ipanema. We did a quick change and headed out to Copacabana beach. We had sorbets on the way - I had mango in honor of Mama Kim!

We took a stroll up and down the beach and took a dip. It was fun to people watch and the guys who were playing beach soccer / volleyball. After the beach, we found an ATM to make sure we had cash for Ilha Grande which has no ATMs and got a snack at the Lopes luncheonette / diner. We had a heart of palm and tomato salad and a sausage pizza.

Feijoada Spread

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel, showered, and rested. We decided to get some Feijoada at the Casa de Feijoada in Ipanema. This is a typical Brazilian dish that consists of pork and beef in a beans stew. It is considered the national dish of Brazil and is normally prepared and served on Saturdays. However, Casa de Feijoada serves it everyday!

Also, I originally pronounced it with a Spanish accent (j as an h sound), but Lizzie corrected me to have that "sh"  Portuguese pronunciation. Indeed, I have been breaking out in Spanish as the Brazilians can understand me, even if I can't understand their response. It makes me feel awkward as I hate it when Americans think that everyone should understand English, but Eduardo told me there isn't the same stigma and I should use Spanish comfortably.

We head out tomorrow with Rio Hiking, an adventure tour group that will take us to Ilha Grande, an island 3.5 hours away for an overnight. Not sure what the internet service will be like, but they will pick us up bright and early!