Day 8. 10th Sept. Rio De Janeiro.
A city tour of this bright vibrant city.
Rio is a stunning seaside town scattered among the steep mounds of The Tijuca Massif, a granite and gneiss range formed by volcanic activity 520 millions years ago.
Our first stop was Christ the Redeemer, who stands on top of Mount Carcovado, staring down over the main attractions. Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches, Sugarloaf Mountain and the stunning city.
Construction on the statue finished in 1931, using money raised by the people. He is one of the “New 7 Wonders of the World” and has been replicated in 20 countries.
It is 30 meters high, plus the 8 meter pedestal.
The arms stretch 28 meters wide. It’s made of soapstone and concrete. When you look really closely you can see the mosaic of soapstone and pieces of ‘reo’ poking out. The mountain is right in the city, surrounded by Tijuca National Park. At 39.58 square kilometers forest, the largest urban forest in the world. In the 1700’s this forest was destroyed for agriculture. In 1861 Emperor Pedro ll, took federal control to restore the forest. Fantastic.
We had a 25 minute train ride up through the national park. We spent a while up there doing the classic poses, and staring at the stunning views. Vultures and Frigate birds circled on the up drafts caused by the mountain, and helicopters circled.
Escadaria Selarón, is a set of steps leading up to the Convent of Santa Teresa, in the area of Lapa. The decorations are the work of an artist Jorge Selaron, an eccentric artist, who said it was “my tribute to the Brazilian people”. Jorge went to live next to the 215 stairs, and in 1990 he invited people from all around the world to send ceramic tiles. He worked on it for 20 years.
So bright! The colours were nuts.
People lined up to sit in the middle for their trendy photos. Most of them barked orders at people walking up. Even yelling at them to move.
Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião, was next. An amazing building. It was designed by a not famous architect who based the design on Mayan architecture. It’s conical, with a 96 metres diameter and 75 metres high. It only seats 5,000 (but another 20K can stand). The 65 meter stained glass walls were equally amazing.
The beehive looking design has no cooling, just natural flow and has killer acoustics. It was Sunday so a full service was underway. Both the priest and the choir sounded amazing. Interestingly there was no cross on top – usually the defining point of a Catholic church. It is on another structure next to it.
We had to call past the main football stadium as the Brazilians are mad for their football. No, that haven’t forgiven Argentina for the recent World Cup win.
Past the place where they hold Carnival. Huge infrastructure. You can pay up to $2,000AU to be in the standing area.
This was followed by a great meal at a Brazilian meat house.
Rio is covered in great street art.
Sugarloaf Mountain is a 396 meter peak on the edge of Guanabara Bay. Amazing. Huge and so perfectly shaped. Named for the way sugar was originally transported in loaves. You reach the top via two cable cars. The first takes you 220 meters from Morro da Urca, the second is 1,400 metre and very steep. Quite the engineering feat.
It was pretty amazing up there. Cool. AS in hot hot, Yay. And stunning. Tiny wild Marmoset (the smallest) monkeys came to see us.
The views were amazing. The city, the famous beaches, Christ the Redeemer. Everything. Yachts everywhere. So many vultures. An amazing day.
Day 9. 11th Sept. Rio De Janeiro.
An optional tour today. Eat Rio Food Tour.
And wow. Another fantastic day. This was a walk food tour (with a few taxi rides) and amazing.
We started at the produce markets, Rua Vicente de Sousa markets. Fantastic as always. Ate amazing fruits, including some hybrids and drank Sugar Cane juice. Dangerous stuff. You could easily drink a liter without thinking.
Next was Nova Capella. A Brazilian meat house where the gauchos walk around with meat on sticks and you take what you want. The place was full of locals, especially groups of older men out together. The star of the day was ‘Hump Beef’. The meat from the hump on the brahman like cattle. Oh my! It was glorious. Maybe like a poor man’s wagyu. Local beer was of course tasted. I had a wheat beer with honey. Appia. Wonderful. I ordered one, but it was a bottle not a glass – the bottle was 600mls!
Of course it would have been rude not to eat the Portuguese tarts.
A stop at Boteco Belmonte for a glass of the famous fruit caipirinha. The bar was stunning. Worth a visit just to look at the bar.
Caipirinha is Brazil’s national cocktail. The spirit is cachaça, a Brazilian distilled liquor made from the fermentation of raw sugarcane juice. So basically a rum I guess. 39% alcohol.
It’s mixed with lime and fruit juice. I had mango and it was sensational. So off we went, walking down the street drinking our very strong cocktails to our next stop. The streets were amazing. Old and new.
Then the iconic Armazém Senado. A bar and warehouse that serves great tapas. Opened in 1907, it is a little hole in the wall establishment that hasn’t changed much int eh 115 years selling snacks, cold draft beer and a huge selection of everything else. In 2011 oit was awarded the status of City’s Cultural Landmark as declared by the City of Rio.
The food was pretty amazing. Pork Belly, chicken croquettes, and chicken hearts (chewy but good) as a few examples. And some not so nice things like greasy eggplant. More beer.
And finally to a tiny shop, Sorveteria Blaus, that had queues out the door for their pudding dessert. A favorite spot of the police. But not just the police..the specail services guys.
The desert was a dark purple mix made of purple corn, rainaforest berries and seeds. You sprinkled granola on top. Edible but just OK. It did make your teeth a pretty colour.
That was followed with a shot of Meu Garoto, a 38% spirit made from a natural extract of jambu, of a rainforest herb. You swish it around in your month then swallow. Almost immediately your mouth and lips go numb. Really numb. For 30 minutes. Tasted nasty as well.