Rio - Day One - Pão de Açucar

---

What we´ve all been waiting for. On friday my host family took me to Rio. We left in the morning around 9 o´clock to make the 5 hour journey from Belo Horizonte. I brought my CD´s along, so we listened to the Barenaked Ladies, Jorane and Leonard Cohen on the way up (they wanted to hear some good Canadian music).

Belo is about 1 km above sea level and the car ride was downhill the whole way to Rio. When we were nearly there, the elevation drops dramatically as you drive past what is left of the Atlantic Rain Forest. Silvestre said that less than 5% remains of the forest due to heavy logging by the portuguese when they colonized Brasil. In fact, Brasil gets its name from a tree that used to be common here, but is now hard to find since it was exported back to Europe to be used in making red die.

Anyways, we finally arrived in the city and you could tell right away that it was much warmer than in Belo. Regina´s mother lives in Rio in a great location, close to the beach, and we met up with them just in time for a late lunch. The plan for the day was to visit Pão de Açucar (sugar loaf), the most famous mountain peak in Rio.

You pay only 35 reais and take two gondolas up to sugar loaf for a beautiful view of the city.

After dinner, we made our way down to the beach to drink some chopp and eat some calimari. A perfect end my first day in Rio.

---

Photos

Pão de Açucar
Taken from the second gondola

Christ the Redeemer
I didn´t get to see Christ close up, but even from far away it is still a powerful symbol

Silvestre and Gustavo
On the rooftop of Regina´s mothers appartment in Rio. Sugar loaf in the background

Carolina and Me
Atop Sugar Loaf with Christ in the background

Hang Loose
Me and Copacabana Beach in the background. Shot from the top of Sugar Loaf.

Copacabana Beach
The most touristy beach in Brasil

Yaht Club
The bay in Rio at sunset

Going, Going...
Sunset in Rio

Gone
Sunset in Rio

Comments

[STEVE]

Awesome pictures, looks like an amazing trip. I am not sure if you are actually doing any work or if it is one big holiday. Enjoy - you will have enough work in a few months in Vernon. Xavier thinks you head down to the topless beach and find yourself a good south american girl, bring her back, marry her and give Xavier a little cousin. Keep Rocking in the free world! Steve and X-MAN

[andrea]

way to look like mica sadler
that hang loose picture is a total mica sadler knockoff, dude.

[Sara]

Nice pics!
Wow! It looks so gorgeous down there. Good job with the pictures, keep taking more!