Visiting the statue of Jesus in Rio

Travelblog

No trip to Rio de Janeiro would be complete without a visit to the huge granite statue of Jesus on the top of Corcavado (the hunchback). This 98 foot tall, 100 ton statue overlooks Rio, and is of course a major tourist attraction. You can take the 2100 foot climb on foot, or take a bus or taxi or cog railway up most of the way, and then shuttle vans take you within 200 steps, and there is an elevator if you don’t want any climb at all.

Guide books don’t recommend hiking up to the statue, as “you WILL be robbed!! However, one of our group did the hike alone, took him 5 ½ hours, and he wasn’t accosted by anybody.

In fact we were repeatedly warned about Rio being a dangerous place, but in fact we did not have any problems at all. Perhaps that was because we were very careful, or perhaps the dangerous reputation is not deserved. One has to wonder if these admonitions are there to support the tourist guide and taxi businesses.

The statue is huge and very impressive, and you have a great view of the bay and beaches…but on the day we were there, it was cloudy and not as scenic as we would have liked. I’m not including any pictures simply because we really couldn’t take good ones that day, and I am sure there are good pictures of the statue on the internet.

Many of our group took the tour of a “favela,” the very poor and crime-ridden portions of the city. It is said that even the police do not go into these areas; they are kind of a no-man’s land of drugs, guns, and shanty housing. These tours are run by favela residents; and for a hefty fee to tourists, they guarantee that you won’t be robbed or murdered…..however you are still admonished not to take anything of particular value with you. I did not take a favela tour.

The next day, we visited the Cathedral of San Sebastian in Rio. This unique 220 foot high concrete teepee shaped cathedral is accented by vertical stained glass windows, but is otherwise quite simple and plain inside, particularly when compared with the cathedrals of Europe.

We had lunch at McDonalds, and it still tastes the same everywhere. Other than that fine meal, we ate at a small restaurant near our hotel which was very popular with locals. The staff spoke no English, and we discovered the Brazillian custom of dinners served more or less family style, and priced for two people. You can buy a single meal, but it is more expensive. For instance, a chicken dinner(for one person) might be $R 22.00, but for 2 people, it is $R30.00, and comes with rice, potatoes, salsa….quite good and almost more food than we could eat. We found we could get a very good meal, with chicken or beef, with beer or soft drinks, for about $8.00 US per person.'

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