Loafing around with Christ

The 3 bikers arrived from Vitoria and, given the amount of room in my apartment, it made sense for them to spend a few nights here. There is no such thing as budget accommodation it this part or Rio so it helped their budget a little.

It was a flying visit, especially for Wing, he only stayed the one night as his rear bearing is still not right. He has to give up any hope of reaching Ushuaia and ship his bike back from Buenos Aires - bad luck and it is such a shame not to be able to see Patagonia.

That left Catcha, Adrian and I to visit Corcovado (the rock or "Morro" that the statue of Christ stand upon) and Sugar Loaf.

There are two ways of getting to Christ (well three if you believe in prayer) Taxi or Funicular railway. We took a taxi but the train looked a more charming way to do it. It is a steep climb through waxy green forest. At the top you are thrown in to the world of the Tourist with coaches taking you up the final climb. It is low season and I would hate to think what it is like at its peak. The Statue is big at 40 meters but that is about half the size of the Statue of Liberty. It took 10 years to build and was finished in 1931.

The Statue is nice but the real sight is the view across Rio. This is the lake in the middle of the city.with Copacabana in the distance. Noticing the horse race track, I asked the taxi driver when there were races. I think I may pop along one evening for a bit of fun. I will have to phone Mother to get some tips.

 This is Sugar loaf and Botafogo Beach/Bay

The little strip of buildings in the distance is Ipanema where I am staying. One of the top three districts in which to stay. If I was to recommend somewhere I think I would say Copacabana. Although it is a little tired around the edges, it is much more central (taxi's are pretty expensive). Although the traffic is remarkably good for a big city, it still takes a while to get around. You could take lots of photos of the view but this gives you some idea of the city.

On the way back down we passed the inevitable tourist shops. It made me chuckle that the Brazilian Number 9 shirt gets top billing over Jesus.

Once down we trundled over to Sugar Loaf - it seemed a good idea to get the tourist bit done in one hit so we could get back to the beach bars.

 Unlike Corcovado there is only one way up - a two stage Telecabin. It is not cheap at Reals 53 per person (Jesus was only Rs18). This picture is at the mid-station. I wear the Dakar shirt to let people think I actually did the race. If they knew anything about the Dakar, they would know that it would be impossible as I would be dead! This is Catcha (always called Gordo as a child, even by his parents).

This is a view back towards Botafogo beach from the mid station................

 

 The long stretch of sand is Copacana from the top.

This is another picture of Botafogo beach from the top. For some reason it just isn't as interesting.

We also spotted that there is a second way to the top of Sugar Loaf - half way up were a few mountaineers. I don't know if it is a tourist thing but I wouldn't be doing it anyway!

Last but by no means least, you can look down on the aircraft as they do an approach for Rio airport. If you are flying in to Rio book a seat on the right hand side and you will pass Christ and sugar loaf pretty close!