Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Day2 (1 of 2)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - Day 2
See photo-Climbing Sugarloaf (can you find us on the mountain?)

We drove through many neighborhoods including the poorer Shanty town (favella) and saw very interesting graffiti. Some of it is commissioned artwork and others are just street graffiti. We saw the Little Africa area near the port as well as the areas developed over for the Olympics (see murals).

The highlight of the day was our trip to Sugarloaf Mountain. This mountain is said to be a historical landmark because of the installation of its tram back in 1912. The name? According to history during the 16th & 17th centuries, there was a peak in the sugarcane cycle in Brazil. Sugar was transported to various parts in Europe. In order to transport, there was a process where lumps of boiled and reduced sugar cane juice were filled in cone-shaped molds known as ‘sugarloaves’ which resembles this famous mountain.

The cable car first created in 1912 by a German company, was replaced in 1972 by an Italian car and thankfully was replace again in the last 10 years by a Swiss built 360 degree view car. Why? We traveled up two mountains. First, up to the top of the first, Morro de Urca (722 feet high). The second ascended to Pao de Acucar which was 1200 feet to the summit of Sugarloaf. The mountain and its peak are made of granite and look over the Rios Guanabara Bay. Are you trying to figure out where you saw this incredible cable car, how about in Moonraker (1979). Of course, we could have rock climbed one of the 270 different routed up the mountain and hours. Instead we took the cable car and spent the “spare time” taking photos!

Copacabana beach was our next stop for some time at the beach. Many know the song made famous by Barry Manilow (but of course that was Cuba) as well as the Copacabana beach on Lake Titicaca (but that was in Bolivia). But the REAL Copacabana is here in Rio! Beautiful sand beaches and intriguing looking people on the beach (call for more info). An interesting beach sport is FOOT Beach Volley Ball (somewhat like soccer but also volleyball).

“Tomorrow is today because we need to plan for it and build it!” I spent a very interesting afternoon at the The Museum of Tomorrow, a different kind of science museum. The modern museum (see photo) is all about the global impact of Sustainability and Coexistence for the next 50 years and the big questions that need to be asked and resolved for the continuation of our planet and humanity. We are capable of intervening BOTH at the molecular (creating artificial organisms and micro size products) and the continent levels (how we affect rivers and forests and the atmosphere) in this moving target of a changing world. This museum defines what the problems are, how we got here so quickly in the last 100 years and what we need to do to adjust our culture, businesses, and mindsets to provide a future.

Note: 20 photos and 2 videos too (for each of Day 2 posts).Les mer