RIO DE JANEIRO!!

Last weekend I went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and it was a DREAM COME TRUE!! Rio has been on my bucket list since November 16, 2009 (to be exact) when I saw Twilight: New Moon in theaters with Janna. There is a scene where the cameras fly over Rio and all around Christ the Redeemer. I remember telling Janna right then "I don't know where that place is but I will find out and I will go there." Good news 14-year-old Danielle, WE MADE IT!!!

My friend Tiana and I bought plane tickets over a month ago when we found out we both had Rio on our travel lists. We found a great flight but when we tried to buy it online, the website said it only accepted Argentina credit cards. So get this - we had to pay for our flights in cash. Apparently that is normal here. United States citizens usually have to get a tourist visa for Brazil which costs about $200 USD. Thanks to a miracle of beautiful timing, I didn't have to get the tourist visa because Brazil suspended the requirement for the Olympics. SCORE! We planned to go over our break in June where we had a few days off from class. We left before dawn on Thursday morning and arrived not much later the same day.

We grabbed a taxi to Ipanema where our hostel was located, and got to see a lot of the city on the drive. I looked out of the car window and there He was - Christ the Redeemer on top of the mountain. I couldn't believe I was actually there! Our taxi driver pointed out some of the locations that will be used for the Olympics on our way. We arrived at our hostel - Ocean Hostel Ipanema - and were SO please with our choice. After getting settled in, we grabbed lunch and headed to the beach to check out the sights. We spent the day walking around our neighborhood so we could get familiar with it. The weather was warm and beautiful which we definitely needed after the chilly winter of Buenos Aires.

Friday was by far my favorite day there because it was the day we went to Christ the Redeemer. I usually refer to Him in His Spanish name, Cristo Redentor, but His name in Portuguese is Corcovado. We took a van to the top of the mountain and got a view of Cristo from the back. HE WAS SO MASSIVE. There is a platform in front of him for tourists and it was pretty packed. We wormed our way around to take photos and admire Him. I would argue that He has the best view over Rio, so we took a lot of time looking out over the city. I kept staring at Cristo, then at the view, then at Cristo, then the view. It seemed so surreal.

Saturday was unfortunately a bit too cloudy for the beach, so we spent the morning at the botanical gardens. It's winter in Brazil, so a lot of the plants weren't in bloom but it was still a lovely area. That night, we went to a fair on Copacabana beach. There were lots of vendors and I got to pick up some souvenirs. We were very cautious about being out at night, but this gave us a great opportunity to see a tiny bit of the nightlife. All along Copacabana beach are tiny restaurants and bars on the sand. Each one had live music and a fun atmosphere. It was pretty to see the city and the favelas lit up in the mountains. On Sunday, we spent the morning at the infamous Ipanema Hippie Fair and then went to Sugarloaf Mountain. Sugarloaf if the second biggest tourist attraction (next to Cristo), where people can take cable cars up to a mountain that gives a beautiful view of the city. The cable cars to the first mountain, Urca, gave us a great view but unfortunately Sugarloaf itself was covered in a cloud so nothing was visible. We got some authentic acaí and watched the sunset to finish off our last night there. Before our flight took off on Monday night, we did a free city walking tour where we got to see a few more popular landmarks in Lapa like Escalera Selaron and the Lapa arches.

Some other highlights of the trip that I can't put in chronological order:

1. Everyone told us before we left that even though Brazilians speak Portuguese, we would get by just fine in Rio with English and Spanish. That is a big fat lie. We knew how to say "thank you" (obrigado) and "sorry" (disculpe). Aside from that we resorted to charades.

2. We tasted a lot of the local food favorites and traditional Brazilian cuisine. A popular dish is feijoada, which is meat served in a pot of beans. Not my favorite. I loved pao de queijo - bread with cheese baked into the dough. Last were coxinhas which I wish I could bring back to the states. It is basically a fried ball of chicken in a teardrop shape. Delicious.

3. It's possible to buy basically anything on the beach. There are vendors that walk around selling sarongs, coconuts, bathing suits, sunglasses, alcohol, and my favorite, PASTA IN A BOX!! The beaches are beautiful and I would really love to go back during Brazil's summertime so I can experience a little more of it.

4. Bikini's and speedos galore.

Cristo

Copacabana

Ipanema

Botanical Gardens

Botanical Gardens

Sugarloaf cable cars

Cristo

View from Sugarloaf

All in all, I absolutely loved Rio. I think it earned a spot on my list of favorite places in the world. When the Olympics roll around, I'll be the one screaming "I'VE BEEN RIGHT THERE!!"

Sadly, Rio was the last stop for my South American travels. I'm in Buenos Aires for about one more week until I get back to the States. I hope to visit Rio again eventually, but hopefully a little more versed in Portuguese next time :)

Wishing I were under a Rio palm,

Danielle