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Published: June 29th 2017
Geo: -22.9035, -43.2096
I'm pretty uncomfortable right now after some unexpected surgery.. but I'll get to that later. First, let me tell you about our day. For the most part, it was a great day. We had a full day, guided open bus tour today to take us to the highest spots in Rio, as well as some other notable sights.
We started off with a city tour, heading out to Botofogo, through Central Rio and eventually to the Maracena stadium. I havent really completely covered just how crazy the traffic is here in Rio.. I saw street signs that suggested "please try avoid accidents".. and that pretty much seems to be that as far as road rules or laws go. Speed limits seem nothing more than guidelines and are pretty much always exceeded.. merging rules dont appear to exist.. lanes also seem like guidelines as buses and cars drive between them and millimetre collision misses are no biggie.. Driving through tunnels and lightspeed in an open air vehicle, Nat and I both felt we should be strapped in for a Space Mountain ride equivalent at Disneyland.
After some snaps holding a replica World Cup at the Maracena, we headed to Cosme Velho to
catch the Corcovado Cogwheel Railway up 700 metres to see Cristo Redentor or Christ the Redeemer. The trip itself was impressive enough, cutting through dense jungle of Tijuca and at times offering spectacular views of Rio. We arrived up at the summit around 11.30. Just 220 steps up to the feet of Cristo. Now I always seem to hear grumbles about how this monument is overrated. It was pretty impressive in my opinion.. the huge sculpture rising dominantly above the platform, reaching out towards Sugarloaf Mountain and looking over all of Rio. As expected the crowds up here were horrific.. hundreds jammed in.. all trying selfies or to photograph their companion doing the same cheesy Cristo replica pose. Such were the crowds that we had to wait around an hour just to get the cogwheel back down..
Once down, we set off for lunch at an all you could eat meat-related.. Brazilian restaraunt. Choose your own salads from the buffet and waiters came around to offer you various meats off the spit; beef, lamb, chicken etc. It wasnt amazing, but better than most meals so far. A banana fritter on offer was a major favourite. The next stop off of note
was the Saint Sebastian Cathedral. A collosal square stone pyramid, stained and rustic from the outside but within, quite breathtaking. Hollowed out, four gigantic stain glass windows adorn each wall from ground to ceiling, joined by glass windows at the top in the shape of a cross. Pews were arranged around the altar at the centre and above it, a large suspended, apparently floating crucifix. The use of lighting and design was unique and spectacular.
Next up, we headed onwards to catch the cablecar up Sugarloaf mountain. I was relieved to hear this cable car was designed and constructed by the trusty Swiss, for the route ahead looked ominous indeed. Sugarloaf is such a bizarre and steep cliff and mountain peak. So representative and reminiscent of Rio. The journey up was two-part. A 2 minute ride up to a seperate mountain, and then a second cable car of similar duration, but increased altitude on from there to Sugarloaf peak itself. At the summit, some more maintenance for the Olympics saw half the views inaccessable. The other half was still absolutely spectacular, with views of Rio, Cristo accross the city and Copacabana beach. There was also a jungle walk area here we
didnt have time to explore thoroughly, but I did manage to catch a photo of a cheeky Marmoset. With storm clouds looming, we set off on the return journey. A couple cable car trips later we were back on ground.
Our tour concluded, there was one last activity to take care of in Rio.. a dental check up. I decided to go ahead with my 6pm appointment. Whilst my toothache over the last couple days had subsided today, I still figured I might as well go along to get it checked. The dentist was well reviewed by tourists and Westerners, and I wouldnt get any further opportunity over the next month on the road.The English spoken there was much less than Id have hoped given their website advice. Regardless, they seemed genuine, willing to help and facilities looked good. My consult quickly confirmed my worst fears. One of my remained wisdom teeth had further deteriorated, decayed, and a small hole had become exposed. I knew itd have to come out some day, but with the hole and ache they strongly recommended today. A tough call to make, with an early flight to Iguasu tomorrow for a 3 day tour. It
would be my only opportunity.. I didnt know if the tooth would get worse.. the quality of Brazillian dentistry.. the cost.. the recovery implications.. do they have adequate anesthetics??In the end, I just decided to do it. I felt and hoped that despite the setback, itd give a better quality of comfort for the duration of the trip. I wont lie, it was brutal. It took a lot longer than anticipated. What started as one dentist, soon became 4 with furrowed brows. They ended up pumping my gums with countless needles. The tooth was broken into three shards before it was eventually extracted. We loaded up on gauze and supplies from a pharmacy before heading back to the hotel. Sucking soup and icecream room service wasnt the way I wanted to spend our last night in Rio, but those are the breaks..Hopefully Ill be able to recover alright for what we hope will be a 7.45am Mozio transfer to the airport. Iguassu Falls awaits.
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K. Mallegrom
non-member comment
Hope the tooth extraction settles down - let us know how you go!