Day 19

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Our last destination on our trip was Brazil, the largest country in South America. We flew from Egypt and landed in Rio de Janeiro Galeao Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport at around 5 am (Brazilian time). We were all very excited because it was our destination and we wanted to make it the best trip ever. We knew we had limited time and that we needed to leave early so we could get back home and complete our pilgrimage going around the world, visiting places that we once have dreamed of visiting.
Since we landed in Rio de Janeiro, we spent our last day within the city. The city was beautiful and adoring. It resembled a
modern day Eldorado. Though no gold, it does mix the modern with the ancient. It was more like a city within a jungle. We felt privileged of visiting such a wonderful place.
First, we visited the Tijuca National Park, the largest urban park in Brazil. We hiked through lush overgrown forest and trekked
through miles of trials that lead to amazing waterfalls and ancient buildings. It reminded me much of Hawaii and its forest. Ahh, do I miss Hawaii. We’ve been traveling so much that we forgot where we
came from and how precious Hawaii is.
The day was coming to an end and we had only enough time to visit one more place. We knew what it was and it was the giant statue of Jesus. We called it the giant statue of Jesus, but it is formerly called Christ the Redeemer. It sits on the peal of Corcavado, within the Tijuca National Park, with its arms spread apart. It supposed to symbolize the embrace of Jesus. We were wowed by the size and allure of the statue, all dominant and significant to the bitter end. For once, I felt like I sinned because I’ve been indulging myself with happiness for the pass eighteen days, while many around the world suffer. I detached myself from my friends and found a pardoner. I gave him money and he pardoned my sins. Afterwards, he stood in front of the statue and started to sing. I was, in my mind, reanimated into a new human being.
We took a taxi back to the airport. We had no appetite and were anxious to leave as soon as possible to home. We paid the taxi driver and waved him good bye. We all boarded the plane and departed from the airport. It was only a twelve hour flight back to Hawaii. I spent $300.00 that day.

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Photos

The BIG Statue of Christ
I got chicken skin just looking up at the statue.