Last Days in Rio – Days Eight and Nine

After our late night at the beach concert on Friday, jamming out with the locals (or perhaps the better way to put it would be quizzically watching them jam out like it was the 90's and 'N Sync was performing; the best were the 40-something moms that seemed more excited than their teenage daughters), we decided to take our time Saturday morning as we got ready to go to see Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer). Although I'm sure Uncle Chuck and my Grandma would appreciate it, I'm not referring to heading to church. Cristo is the most famous site in Rio, a statue that seems to protectively watch over the city from 2,300+ feet above. Sitting atop Corcovado Mountain, it can be seen from just about every part of the city (and you may have even noticed getting a glimpse of it, far off in the distance, in photos we've posted from our sight seeing thus far).

I had read that the lines for Trem de Corcovado (the train that goes from downtown, up the mountain, to Cristo) would be quite long in the afternoon, but that the train itself was part of the experience and couldn't be missed. We decided we would bring our Kindles along and not fret too much over whatever the wait period ended up being. We ended up leaving even later than we had planned, as The Lighthouse Hostel owner, Sylvia, was working that morning and we got drawn into conversation with her. She's a great person and we both truly enjoy her company. She's one of the most blunt people I've ever met and has quite the mouth on her (many an f-bomb have been dropped during our talks), but she's very kind-hearted and I can tell she cares deeply about the experience of her guests. She took the time to ask me if there was anything that could be changed about the hostel and I could tell that she really wanted a candid answer. She said that at times, people will come through the hostel and not say a single negative thing to her, only to post a scathing, awful review when they leave (she also shared some stories of some of the more obscene behaviors of our guests, but you can ask me about that offline). I assured her that I was truly enjoying my stay thus far and that the hostel had met, and even exceeded, my expectations.

She helped us figure out what buses were an option to take to the Trem de Corcovado and we were off. Unfortunately, we did spend some extra time walking down the main street in Ipanema, trying to figure out what bus stop we needed to be at to actually catch said buses. We only found the correct one when we happened to veer off the main street to double check a stop we saw not far away on one of the side streets. It was a very hot day and the bus was sticky and crowded. We were on it for about a half hour when I started to get nervous that it didn't seem that a lot of tourists were on board (and bus lines going to Trem de Corcovado should indeed be overflowing with gringos like ourselves). I made my way up the front of the bus, getting jostled around like a piece of popcorn, only to find out that we were indeed on the wrong bus. Sigh. Luckily, a kind old lady took me by the arm and indicated that I should follow her when she got off the bus. We grabbed our stuff and, after exiting, she showed us to a bus stop and told us what bus to wait for (as an aside, charades has indeed been a very big part of our trip). When the next bus arrived, I immediately heard English-speakers when I stepped on board, so I knew we were finally on our way.

We made it to the Trem de Corcovado train station (probably a bit over an hour and a half after we left our hostel) and found out that the next available train would depart in another two hours. Luckily, we were prepared, kindles in hand, and found a park directly across from the station where we could relax while we waited. After an overwhleming week of sightseeing in sweltering heat, it felt amazing to just lay down on a park bench in the shade and read for a few hours. I was really happy that we weren't like the other tourists that were freaking out as soon as they found out the wait time (do your research, silly gringos!).

When our trip time arrived, we got good seats on the left-hand side of the train (which I had read had better views during the ascent) and started to make our way up Corcovado. Every few minutes, the tree line would open up and you could got an amazing view of the surrounding forest (Tijuca National Park) and even Guanabara Bay below. It was gorgeous. There was also a stop or two along the way where local kids were jumping up to the windows to sell water and fruit. Good to see some ingenuity in the young Brazillians. The train ride probably took about 20 to 30 minutes in total and was worth the wait to experience the slow climb up the mountain and great views.

When we got off the train, we still had some steps before we finally made our way up to the statue. To be honest, after seeing it so many times from afar, I was surprised at how small it seemed up close. At 100 feet in height, it is by no means a small statue, but you almost expect it to be unrealistically tall. Although it was cool to finally see the statue up close, it was obvious that the experience is more about the surrounding views of the city. From the viewing ledge, you can make out just about every neighborhood in Rio and most of the major tourist sights. Although doing Cristo earlier in our stay would have helped orient us to the layout of the city, I think I enjoyed it more to try and find all the places we had seen and experienced over the past week.

Once we got back to the hostel and freshened up a bit, we finally went out for our first experience of Brazilian churrasco (bbq). I am so glad that we decided to splurge a little for one of our last nights in Rio. In fact, although the meal cost a bit more than our usual spaghetti or sandwiches made at the hostel, it was extremely reasonable for an all-you-can-eat barbecue dinner at about R$60 per person ($30 USD). After being seated, they quickly brought us bread, cheese, olives, and a topping equaivalent to bruschetta. We were also told that we could help ourselves to the salad buffet. When I saw all the buffet had to offer, I thought this would for sure be my favorite part of the meal (that is, until I tried the meat!). They had every type of salad imaginable: vegetables, pasta, fruit, dips, and even things like paella, a whole section of mediteranean options (couscous, hummus, tzatziki), and a huge variety of sushi. When we got back to our seats and started to dig into the salads, they immediately started bringing us different meats to try. They used a red-light, green-light card system; if the cards at your table were green, the waiters would stop to offer whatever meat option they had (and they often stopped even if you had the red card showing, trying to convince you that you had to try whatever they had to offer). We had roast beef, sausage, ham, pork, and a few other cuts of beef that were mouth-wateringly delicious. We did, however, pass on the chicken hearts! Even thinking about the dinner now still makes my mouth water a little bit. So good. On top of that (as if the amount of food wasn't already beyond enough), they brought out several side dishes without us even asking; french fries, onion rings, rice, and fried plantains. Easily the best meal we've had thus far and I'm sure it won't be beaten until we make it to an Argentinian steakhouse.

Full to the brim (although we may have left just enough room to stop as McD's for some ice cream cones :), we headed back to the hostel and began to pack up our belongings. We had decided to head to Petropolis on Sunday, a quiet town about an hour outside of Rio, known for its rich imperial history and surrounding mountains. I was a bit nervous about the hostel we found there, as it is a bit outside of the city and sounded almost too good to be true, but Bobby will be writing soon on how that turned out. The bus ride there was really interesting, as we got a different view of the outskirts of Rio (almost all favellas) and then got to experience the winding roads of the mountain-side. Each time the view opened up to show the never-ending mountains around us, I got more and more excited for our get-away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Can't wait to tell you all about Petropolis in our next post!

Ciao until next time,

Lauren