Rio de Janeiro

Rio is a wonderful city, so full of life and vibrancy. Being on the coast gives it a big advantage and as well as Copacabana there are many other glorious sandy beaches.
After a leisurely breakfast Rayol collected us and our first stop today is Christo Redentor, Christ the Redeemer, sitting proudly up high overlooking the city. There are three ways of seeing him up close. You can hike, you can drive halfway and then a minibus or take the train - we took the train. When we were here ten years ago it was busy but it was even busier than we remember. The views though are marvellous looking across the city on a day like today, clear and sunny. The statue is really impressive and stands about thirty metres high.
We left here to see another famous Rio landmark, Sugarloaf Mountain. To reach the summit involves taking two cable car rides but it is certainly worthwhile. At the top there are not only excellent viewpoints but also a number of shops and cafes. We were lucky today for recently there have been days when it has been too windy for the cable car to operate.
From here we moved on to see another well known Rio landmark. Some years ago a Chilean named Selaron moved to Rio and saw some steep steps close to his home. He felt they needed livening up so started to cover them with bright tiles. Soon other people started to give him other tiles and before long people from around the world were sending him tiles. It was a remarkable sight, but so very busy with tourists.
Returned to our hotel for lunch then afterwards for a swim on Copacabana. The beach was packed despite its enormous size and the waves were crashing in. You cannot swim due to the ferocity of the waves, you can barely stand up. Quite exhilarating but a little dangerous if you are not careful.
Late afternoon we took a walk out towards the next beach along and did people watching. Guess it’s a lot busier tonight being Sunday. Fun to watch the people though, most men seem to wear football shirts whilst the girls as little as possible!!Read more