Day 2 … a full day jeep tour of Rio

Today we were awake early … for Ian a much earlier start to the day as he was napping too much on the second flight yesterday and couldn’t sleep. We were up and dressed and down to indulge in the buffet breakfast … yummy eggs, bacon, Brazilian cheese bread, herbed sweet potato plus a wide assortment of breads, pastries, fruit, yoghurt along with cold meats and cheeses. The coffee was wonderful … a nice strong brew that had many of the other ladies in the restaurant complaining about but was spot on for me.

We waited in the lobby for our 8.20 pick up with our guide Elio and driver Max from Jeep Tours. We were part of a group of 6 … a mother and daughter from Canada (Quebec), a husband and wife from Italy and us. Our full day trip (half day for our Canadian friends) would take us to the two main highlights in the centre of Rio and then to some other highlights a little further out of the city.

First stop was to drive to Sugarloaf Mountain where Elio collected our wristbands that would allow us to access the cable cars to the top. The first cable car takes you to the top of Urca Hill … some 528m to an altitude of 220m above sea level and then the second cable car takes you a further 750m all the way to the top of Sugarloaf at 396m above sea level. Once at the top we had time to wander around the peak and look at all the sites below.

From the top we could see Red Beach, Copacabana Beach, Ipanema Beach, the bay, the expanse of Rio. Overhead were soaring vultures and frigate birds, and in the distance was Christ the Redeemer. There were orchids growing in the trees, jackfruit hanging almost ripe to be picked, the sky was blue and the air crisp.

 

 

Once we had explored both Sugarloaf and Urca Hill we headed back down the mountain to our waiting jeep. Climbing on board the open jeep you have a unique perspective as we drove through the city. We passed through many neighbourhoods, from built up areas, to military compounds, passed churches and palaces. We also passed through some of the poorer parts of Rio (we will be visiting a favela tomorrow) as we headed towards Christ the Redeemer.

 

The statue itself is high on top of Corcovado Mountain. It towers over the city and can be seen from most areas, unless it is hidden by another mountain. We had known about Sugarloaf and Corcovado but neither of us had realised just how many mountains are in the area of Rio and how intertwined the city is with these massive, dramatic and forested peaks.

Corcovado Peak is within the Tijuca National Park and rises 700m above sea level. The statue itself was built in the 1920s and stands a further 38 metres in height. In order to get to the statue you need to buy tickets (thanks Elio) and then join the long … I mean LONG … queue to board a bus to the top. Our time in the queue lasted about 1hr and 10 minutes. It sounds terrible, but you quickly realise that this is just how it is. When you fly all that way you can hardly whinge about having to queue for a while.

 

Eventually we made it to a bus which took us in the very windy and steep road to the mountain peak . Modern escalators and elevators take you to the base of the statue where you join a couple of thousand of your new best friends to jostle for position to snap a photo. When we arrived at the statue it was shrouded in cloud and as you stand shoulder to shoulder with your new friends the anticipation rises as the cloud slowly drifts to reveal blue skies and as Christ the Redeemer appears in all of its glory a cheer erupts.

There are many words that can be used to explain what it feels like to see the statue up close … it is breathtaking, it is massive, it is incredibly detailed, it is awe-inspiring. The jostling crowd settles into silence, cameras and phones snap photos … and the instagrammers get ready to pose. I will forever be grateful to have had the chance to stand at the feet of this incredible statue. One of the new 7 Wonders of the World, and a unique cultural icon of Brazil and Rio.

We headed back down the mountain, thankfully a shorter wait for a bus to return us to our faithful Max and jeep. Ironically, of all the buses running up and down that mountain road today on both occasions we were on Bus 125! We then headed back to Copacabana for lunch.

Lunch was a churrascaria … a traditional Brazilian barbecue. We sat with our new friends (at no point did we ever find out their names … we were all pretty introverted!), and were served a beautiful carpaccio to begin with and a cheesy garlic bread. We then helped ourselves to the extensive (and beautiful quality) salad buffet before the men arrived with the barbecued skewered meat that they carved directly at the table. There were three cuts of beef, pork, two types of chicken, two types of sausage and some others that we didn’t have as well. It was magnificent. I also had a wonderful spiced, fruit laden sangria. Absolute heaven.

 

Our Canadian friends left us at this point and the remaining four jumped back in the jeep to head out to explore the Tijuca National Park. We had three stops on our journey … first however was the Jardim Botanico … or as we think of it the Botanic Gardens. Max dropped us at one gate, and Elio provided us with a guided tour that took us to some of the most significant sites within the 540 hectares. We saw massive native trees, boulevards of palms, statues honouring the first landscaper and botanist. There were vine covered trellises, arbours and gazebos. A stream ran through the gardens ending at an ornamental lake. We visited the greenhouse that held the carnivorous plants before heading to the Orchideario … the orchid house. Oh how I swooned! We saw Sagui monkeys (part of the marmoset family), several beautiful birds and we could hear the toucans.

 

Leaving the gardens we then headed to the National Park. We wound our way up into the mountains, the growth became thicker and taller and the temperature dropped as the tree canopy shaded us from the sun. The road gradient was about 10% and very windy … and yet there were cyclists and runners heading up the mountain as well. 

Our first stop was the Vista Chinsesa … a 1903 Chinese pavilion that overlooks the neighbourhood of Alto da Boa Vista. The views were amazing, the traditional Chinese style architecture slightly at odds with the landscape but the Chinese played a vital role in bringing tea to Brazil and so this is a monument marking that moment in history. On a side note … whilst there is no photographic evidence … we saw toucans today!

 

Our final offical stop of the afternoon excursion was to visit sector A of the National Park to see the cascading Waterfall … the largest waterfall in the park and in Rio (but not in Brazil). Max did an amazing job getting us there before the park gates close at 5pm. Elio had been worried that we wouldn’t make it but  Max kept saying we could do it and he delivered.

The waterfall was lovely. Multiple layers of gently falling water. The surrounding area was also spectacular with an old bluestone bridge covered in moss on the sides and a spectacular green building which I don’t know what it actually was but it fitted the location perfectly. We stopped to fill our water bottles from the running natural water stream with Elio assuring us that it was safe to drink and that if we did we would live until we were 100! The water was so clean and fresh. Heading back to the car we spotted a Coati digging through some rubbish bins before being shooed off by the park officials.

 

And so ended our day … or so we thought. We were scheduled to finish our tour at 5pm but we were already over time and Max and Elio decided we may as well take the scenic route home and so we drove along the coast road passing the beautiful beaches (Leblon, Ipanema, Copacabana) with the sun setting behind the mountains. It was absolutely fantastic and a wonderful way to end our day.

 

Back in our hotel room … we have showered and are refreshed. No need for dinner tonight as we have eaten well through the day. I grabbed a couple of cokes, Ian grabbed an empanada carne and we were done for the day.

Time now to rest and get some sleep as we have another full day in Rio tomorrow!

Steps … 16,330

Distance walked ... 12.48km

Photos taken … 888 and another 120+ by Ian