Rio De Janeiro... A Spiritual Awakening

We have all heard the song "Girl from Ipanema" or maybe you've had the bad luck of hearing me break into a Barry Manilow version of "Copacabana" wishing I had some fabulous fruit headdress to accompany my "singing" or to distract you from it. So when Rio was on the itinerary, I was so excited.

Our cruise comes with 10 "free" excursions. We all know by now my feeling of ship excursions - like herding cattle, keeping your eye on the yellow flag the guide holds up in the air and the glamorous sticker with a number they make you wear so you stick with your own group of "cows". We were concerned about the crime in Rio, so we thought maybe we'd join the Rio "free" tour which would take us up to Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf mountain. A few days before we arrived in Rio, I had a slight panic attack - and I felt a wave of ESP that the ship tour to the Redeemer would be a shitshow of magnanimous proportions. I imagined 30-40 people in the deathly Rio sun waiting to go up and at that point I still didn't know about the tram.

I scrambled to Get Your Guide thinking there would be no way a guide would be available with 2-3 massive ships arriving but god must have been watching over me because Patricia replied to me from Rio Tours and she had a cancellation and Vincent would be free to take us for the day - let's just say at the end of the experience I was on my knees thanking God I decided to change plans.

He picked us up at the port and we were already late in the day - 11am as the ship arrived later than we normally do. He said we had to hurry because if you miss your tram "time" by even 1 minute you are screwed and there is no way to get up. Yes, you need to take a tram up to Christ the Redeemer. No cabs or private cars - it's a tram or a pre-arranged van that's it!

Once we got to the line it was long and there were the "herd of cattle" from our ship and many others waiting and waiting. I had another moment of sanity when Patrician asked if I wanted to pay a little extra for a "fast pass" aka like a Disneyland fast pass ticket and I said YES!!! Even with a guide who knew all the staff at the tram AND the fast pass - we waited close to an hour to get on the tram. Vincent already had a plan for the return down - he said he would get us up to the statue, help take a few pics and then run back to the line going back on the tram and wait for us.

I want to take a real moment from my usual sarcastic and cynical self and say simply "WOW". There in the middle of my worst nightmare of hundreds of people crammed together, taking selfies, posing for selfies I just looked up. This magnificent wonder of the world staring down on me. The eye of Christ looking down at you and you feel small and insignificant in the moment. Once we got a few shots, I put my phone away and just stood there and looked up. It was majestic, it was everything I could have imagined far more beautiful than the photos and videos I had seen. It was Christ 98 feet tall with his arms stretched out 92 feet. The clouds which we had seen moving in as we made the tram journey up the mountain suddenly parted and he just stood there clear as day. It is a moment in my life I will never forget and I am beyond grateful that we had an opportunity to see it. I can only tell you so many ways how truly magnificent it was. The view from the top was just as magical - to see Rio below in a 360 degree panoramic view. My photos do not do it any justice.

A little history of the statue... The idea of building a Christ statue was first suggested in the mid-1850s to honor Princess Isabel, the princess regent of Brazil and the daughter of Emperor Pedro II, but the idea was dismissed. It wasn’t until 1920 that the idea resurfaced from the Catholic community, and the country was experiencing severe economic problems for the $250K was raised and paid for by the people of Rio.

Thank god Vincent went down to get in line because when we were done the line to get back on the tram was even longer but there he was at the very front waiting for us. The tram is amazing itself. About a 25 minute ride up and down you are surrounded by an urban jungle with monkeys and jackfruit hanging from the trees. The original tram was built by Emperor Pedro as a way to reach his mountain palace.

After the statue which all in all took about 3 hours we drove around Rio center and Vincent showed us one of the approx 800 Favelas in Rio. What is a Favela? Not safe places to drive through but rather drive by, each Favela has its own "leader", its own laws and its own way of life. Rio is a dichotomy of fancy houses facing Favelas in many areas. We then drove past the Santa Theresa area, a hilltop district with a charming, village-like vibe. Steep, winding streets lined with elegant old mansions, many housing chic boutique hotels, quirky cocktail bars or romantic restaurants with bay views. As well as artists’ studios, “Santa” has Museu da Chácara do Céu, exhibiting European and Brazilian art, and the atmospheric Ruins Park, with an art gallery built around the ruins of a mansion. Apparently a great place to go for a drink at night.

Starving and not realizing it was 3pm - Vincent took us to the oldest coffee shop in Rio. Confeitaria Colombo founded by Portuguese immigrants in 1894 and is one of the most beautiful places I have been - a throw back to Art Nouveau. The ceilings are so tall and they have tiles that would make your eyes spin. Massive almost floor to ceiling glass cabinets hold vintage glassware and dishes. A coffee with a few small pastries did the trick. Vinvent took us to a few more places near the port where we learnt the history of how Rio was "founded". In January 1502 a Portuguese sailor called Gaspar de Lemos sailed past the Sugarloaf mountain, entering to the Guanabara Bay. That's when what we know today as Rio de Janeiro was “found”.

Done for the day from exhaustion and heat we headed back to the ship grateful we had another day to explore Rio.

The next day we hit Ipanema Beach and drove by Copacabana where we got to soak our feet in the water, while locals set up volleyball courts, vendors were selling much needed water and coconut juice from the coconuts! Super easy to go to the beach as they have chairs and umbrellas to rent - so basically bring your swim stuff and toss yourself in the water. The sand was soft and white and the water screamed for us to go for a swim - and that's me saying a lot cuz if you know me you know my hatred for sand runs as deep as my hatred for crowds of people - especially ones taking selfies. We drove past the bar where the song The Girl from Ipanema was written and the shop she now owns next door and is run by her daughter. The song was inspired by Heloísa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto, a seventeen-year-old girl living on Montenegro Street in Ipanema. Daily, she would stroll past the Veloso bar-café, not just to the beach ("each day when she walks to the sea"), but in the everyday course of her life. She would sometimes enter the bar to buy cigarettes for her mother and leave to the sound of wolf whistles. In the winter of 1962, the composers saw the girl pass by the bar.

I was in need of a few light weight dresses so we stopped by the Hippie Market started in the 60's in Ipanema by a handful of locals to sell their handicrafts and has now grown to a "must visit '' stop in Rio. I found a few dresses and a gorgeous Farm Rio beach bag - very much on sale and Dre got himself a local soccer shirt and now we were officially DYING from the heat.

It was a glorious two days and while the city is interesting to navigate- if you stick to the tourist areas and not venture too far off the beaten path - you are much safer. If Vincent said it once - he said it 12 times - watch our bag, watch yourself and your surroundings - but that's everywhere right?

But from the Redeemer to the incredible tiled city cobble streets and its long history - it is a place you must visit!

Seeing Christ the Redeemer was one of my top 10 bucket list check lists and now I can say I have seen it and more importantly - I experienced it.