Looking down on Rio

Wednesday, 17 April, 2013
Out the door at 8 am this morning in order to get to Corcavado before the crowds.  This of course meant a slow journey through peak hour traffic.   One sensible thing is that the road from the hotel to downtown becomes one way traffic in the morning - it is a narrow road on a rocky point that juts out into the sea with a high granite mountain on the inland side.  Apparently the city is building even more tunnels at the moment to relieve the traffic pressure for the World Cup and Olympics - they are very excited about these two events coming to Rio!

We drove along the little river/canal in Leblon which separates the ocean  from a huge lake just a few blocks back from the shoreline - Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas.  What a surprise this is.  A huge lake encircled by beautiful parks, running/cycling tracks, huge trees, and lovely apartment buildings, all with the spectacular backdrop of the mountains - the Two Brothers to the south and Corcavado to the northwest.  There are variety of trees and I recognise many of them, including royal palms, poincianas and jacarandas - must be a sight to see in the spring.  The lake is a sportsman's paradise - rowing, windsailing, jogging etc.   There is exercise equipment at various points around the lake and plenty of people out taking advantage of this picturesque facility.   Lots of dog walkers - one almost never sees stray dogs in the streets - heaps of controls here.  We drove alongside the lake for several kilometres before taking a three kilometre tunnel through to the north side of the city and turning up into the hills to the leafy suburb of  Laranjeiras  where the Corcovado cog-wheel train station is located.   Laranjeiras was the original coffee growing area of this region and there are some grand colonial style mansions between the newer apartment buildings.  It is very hilly and has a lot of charm.

Lakeside with view to Corcovado

Lakeside - view towards the coast

One of the nice things about being on a group tour is having everything arranged and organised - it is very stress-free and Mauro, our tour manager, is totally unflappable and good humoured.  No ticket queues.  So all board and up through the Atlantic rainforest to the top of Corcovado, then a short elevator ride (or two hundred and something steps) and we are at the base of the Christ the Redeemer statue which is 85 metres high, constructed of concrete in 1931 and overlaid with tiny sandstone triangles which give the surface a smooth sheen and capture the light, especially when it is viewed from a distance. It is certainly very imposing.  There is a tiny chapel in the base and of course a large terraced area with stupendous views in all directions.  Corcovado is one of the highest peaks above Rio (710 metres) and is known as the hunchback because of its shape - a sheer granite cliff on one side and a steep forest covered slope on the other.  It is lot higher than the Sugar Loaf Mt which lies dwarfed below.  The amazing geography of the Rio area can really be appreciated from up here - to the north is the huge Guanabara Bay with more granite peaks on the horizon and the downtown area of Rio.  Directly to the east are the beaches of Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon with of course Flamengo Bay and the Sugar Loaf (named by Vasco da Gama).  To the south are two high peaks called The Two Brothers and the beachside suburb of San Conrado with its favelas climbing the hills alongside the mansions of the wealthy.   West of Corcavado and beyond the city are high mountains which are part of an extensive national park.  Today was clear and sunny but a little hazy in the distance - more so to the north. We have been so fortunate to have this perfect weather and to get the best of the views.  Anyway it is totally awe-inspiring to be up here and I am so glad to have this opportunity.  It is very special - not only for the views but also for the atmosphere and significance of the Redeemer to the city.  It can been seen from just about everywhere and seems to cast a protective presence over Rio.                                                                            

Christ the Redeemer from the cog-wheel train station

Ipanema and Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas

Downtown, Sugar Loaf and coastline



Flamingo Bay

After visiting Corcovado the bus took us to the downtown area and we had a quick stop to inspect the ultra modern cathedral which is cone shaped - a bit like a pyramid.   Inside it is one big open space  with four huge stained glass windows.  I am not sure that I like it particularly but it is certainly striking.  Apparently it took the locals a long time to accept it and the Church had to rely on a visit from Pope John Paul to persuade people to attend mass in this vast concrete edifice.  The interesting thing is that it sits in a large grassy square which is surrounded by modern office towers and the reflection of the cathedral  in the glass walls of these buildings is quite stunning.

Rio de Janiero Cathedral

The bus took us a large part of the downtown area and Mauro advised us not to come alone to these parts - apparently not as safe as where we are staying .

Colouful street market, downtown Rio.

Today we had a free afternoon and some of us departed the bus in Ipanema for a look around this famous area.   Behind the hotels and apartments on the beach front there are tree lined streets with shops and restaurants.  On Mauro's recommendation Brenda, Arlene (from USA) and I wiled away some time having lunch at a small place with tables on the pavement - just salad but very nice.  It is a fairly up-market area, very clean and obviously popular with the locals.  Around 12 dollars for a pretty good salad - enough for two of us to share.

Cafe Viasete, in leafy Ipanema  - our lunch venue 

  Our next stop was the workshop/factory of the jeweller, H. Stern where we saw craftsmen making exquisite and very expensive pieces using Brazilian gemstones - amethyst, topaz etc.  An interesting tour although I though some of the jewellery was over the top - very ostentatious.  We decided to walk along Ipanema Beach to return to the hotel.  The red flags were flying at the beaches today as the waves were huge and quite ferocious - a heavy swell coming in from the ocean.  The sea was pounding at the rocks on the point and the beach below the hotel was inundated.   A spectacular sight! 

Seafront boulevard, Ipanema

Big surf, Ipanema

Sheraton Hotel and waves

Today proved to be a long one as at 7 pm we boarded our bus and drove south to San Conrado where we dined at the Churrascaria Oasis - a  Brazilian barbecue restaurant.  There was an endless salad bar with a huge variety - eat as much as you want - and then the waiters came around with huge chunks of barbecued meat on enormous skewers which they proceeded  to slice at the table with lethal looking knives.  They would keep refilling everyone's plate for hours unless deterred by a very firm shake of the head. 

Just when we were all feeling as though it was time to retire for the night we were whisked off to a show at the Plataforma Club in Leblon.  The place looked a bit tacky and there were a few scantily clad girls mingling with the audience - including one absolutely huge transvestite.  The show got under way with a woman dressed in the Brazilian soccer uniform managing to keep a soccer ball off the ground and bouncing from leg to leg for about half an hour.  Quite skilfull but incredibly boring after the first five minutes.  Then the show started - it turned out that most of the dancers were professional performers who are the mainstay of Rio's Carnivale.  We were treated to two hours of mind-blowing costumes, acrobatic feats and incredible dancing - it was a kind of potted history of Brazil depicted in music and dance.  Turned out to be very good.  This tour certainly has variety and a prerequisite of a high degree of stamina! 

Showtime - Rio style