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Published: August 8th 2007
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Open arms
Cristo Redentor, Corcovado So the fun in Rio continues... the Peixotos organised for a couple from their church, Isaias and Legia (who run a tour agency, and are studying for their final law exams!) to take us around their city. The first day we went west to Barra da Tijuca, a long stretch of lovely beach, and sipped the juice from a coconut. The drive down there is spectacularly varied, with lush hills surrounding you on every side, the valleys filled to overflowing with residential and commercial development, the favelas (more on these later) overtaking more and more of the hills, and the double decker highway which comes out of one of the hills to hug the coast, giving amazing views back towards the east to Ipanema. We passed big shopping centres, one in particular which is called New York and has a massive replica of the Statue of Liberty just outside it´s front doors. Not the real thing, but a better view than we got from the Staten Island ferry.
Off to the city centre, bustling with activity, and with some interesting architecture about. In particular, a Catholic church - the Nova Catedral Metropolitana, an 83m high cement gargantuan shaped like
Cloudy up here...
Views to the south from Corcovado a pyramid, built in the 60s, and definitely worth a stop by. A short stroll later we were digging into Brazilian pastries at a grand old place called Confeitaria Colombo. From here we took a drive around the main buildings around town, built in colonial times, but mostly poorly maintained. They seem to look after the beaches better!
The next day we got an early start to Corcovado, the mighty hill on which the famous Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue stands magnificently. Thankfully, we managed to get there a good 20 minutes or so before the first train arrived (the usual way of getting up there). The first thing that takes your breath are the views across the city, and you´re immediately drawn to the balcony admiring this amazing city from so high up. But then you turn around and the first glimpse up at Cristo Redentor is stunning. It really is much bigger than you expect (even though you can see it from so many parts of Rio, even at night, when it is floodlit), and as usual the photos can´t do it justice. We were told that the original plans by the designer was of Christ
Cable car
Pao de Acucar carrying the cross, but when the designer actually saw the site for himself, he felt it was impractical. Glancing over to the nearby mountain tops he saw radio antennas in a cross like form, and got the idea of the current design - Christ standing (risen from the dead, with scars in his hands and feet) with open outstretched arms, in the shape of a cross. Cool eh! After seeing the insides of so many churches already, with the artwork overwhelmingly depicting the suffering Christ (with no mention of the resurrection), here was the risen Christ, calling all to himself, perched above all of Rio! Very exciting!
The other big "must-see" in Rio is the Pao de Acucar - Sugar Loaf - so called because it apparently bears resemblance to the mould used when refining sugar cane (that was straight out of my guide...) The cable car takes you up to the top of Sugar Loaf via a smaller hill (Morro da Urca) and again, the views are amazing. It´s a fair distance from the Corcovado, so while you get a similar birds eye view of the city, it is from a very different perspective, and what´s more, here
Pao de Acucar
From cable car station you´re right by the ocean. If any of you have seen Moonraker (James Bond movie - Sean Connery) you might remember the scene where he fights the big ugly guy with the scary metal teeth on a cable car. Well, this is the place! They´ve updated the cable car system since then, but looking at pictures of the original system, it leaves you very impressed at the feat!
We couldn´t thank Isaias and Legia enough, who took so much time out of their very busy lives taking us around. But over and over we were completely overwhelmed by the generosity of our friends here. We were taken out for our first taste of a Brazilian feed in Barra (right next to the Statue of Liberty) at a restaurant called Galleria Gourmet. Think of the Sizzler salad bar many of us know and love, multiply it lots and lots, make it taste amazing and varied, add meat (of all sorts) cooked to order, and you´re getting close! (Nothing like Sizzler, actually...) Lots of food, more Guaranas (mmm... even now I crave one...) but more importantly, amazing people! We met a whole bunch of the leaders from their youth ministry, and
we could hardly eat as were introduced to another smiling Brazilian face, some of whom had presents to give us, though they had never met us! We were totally, utterly spoilt by love, hugs, and lots of grilled meat. I can´t think of anything better. After that night we felt like we had known all of them for ages, even though we were still learning their names.
At this point Elle would like to mention how after a social outing at night, the guys drive behind the girls all the way back to their places to make sure they get there safely, even if they live in a different direction. We were told this was only a culture in the church, and not right across Brazil. Hmm... what do you think, guys?
The following night we were taken out again to the lovely house of some friends of the Peixotos, Aline and Gilmar. We were treated to another fantastic meal, Gilmar working wonders on his own outdoor grill (looked something like a woodfire pizza oven), cooking meat to perfection, cheese kebabs (amazing) and roasted bananas with cinnamon, sugar and ice cream to top it off. Again, more people
Food and friends
At Aline and Gilmar´s place made us their friends, and we felt thoroughly spoilt. We were very inspired as our hosts shared openly with us their heart for Brazil, and their plans over the next few months to take church on the road throughout Brazil. We also happened to perform the song we wrote for our wedding for the first time since that special day! I was pushed to play something on piano, and being a good husband dragged my wife into it.
Later that week we were invited to go along to the Peixotos youth camp. Graciously Isaias and Legia drove us to the outskirts of the city, where the camp site was. We were glad they had directions, because the numbering system for properties out there seemed to be completely random! We passed 18301 (I couldn´t believe they would have 18000 lots on that road) then 13503, then another random number somewhere in the 10000s. Anyhow, we made it there, and had a great time. We found out how energetic these Brazilians are... I played soccer with them after months of not exercising, and even managed to hit the post (ie nearly score) on one occasion. Not up to match fitness, I
Fishing boats
Western end of Copacabana was in
great pain a few days later. Elle played bat ball (a game where two people use paddles a bit bigger than table tennis bats to hit a hard ball to each other), and was terrible (by her own admission), spending more time running for the ball than hitting it. To make up for it, she strutted her stuff on the dance floor while I did the cool thing and hung out next to the DJ. The meeting that night was powerful and very impacting, especially seeing how passionate these Brazilians are in worshipping and seeking Jesus. We came away very inspired and challenged.
You can probably tell Brazil was very quickly finding its way to a special place in our hearts! But there is more to say... part 3 to come!
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jpeixoto
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G'DAY MATES!
WE LOVED HAVING YOU GUYS HERE.. AND KEVIN YOU FORGOT TO TELL WHAT A GREAT DANCER ELLE IS.. SHE ROCKED THE DANCE FLOOR.. HOPE YOU ARE HAVING A GREAT TIME.. LOVE YOU GUYS. XX