Okay Senor, today was a busy day. After a breakfast of ham and cheese we switched from our hotel in Copacabana to a hostel in Ipanema. On the way there we saw one of the most disgusting things I have ever seen and something that just shows you that with all the beautiful beaches, people and pleasant cafes, there is still a homeless population, and not just favela dwellers, but druggies spun out on the streets. As we were walking we saw a young guy wearing dirty clothes and sitting on a fire hydrant slumped over holding his arm. When we got closer we could see that at the bend in his elbow on the inside was a dime size hole. It was a fresh wound and you could see red muscle fibers. It actually made me gag. I mention this first to juxtapose the homeless drug problems with the fit and healthy people of Rio and also because it is things like this that you see when you travel out of the US and encounter real poverty and down and out people that have no chance of breaking out of their low low social class that opens your eyes and makes you appreciate life in the US and what you have.
Anyways, got to our hostel and asked what the best way to get to Corcovado or the Christ the Redeemer statue was. The hostel desk guy told us to take bus 584 or 583, either one. In case you need to know you can catch them on Rua Visconde De Paraja which is the main street with all the shops on it that goes through the middle of Ipanema. We caught the bus for 2,20 Real and rode for an hour. Buses are clean here, some are air conditioned and you won’t find any sketchy people during the day riding on them although our book says don’t ride at night. I would say that the bus system in Rio is similar to the one in San Francisco in total experience except that it is slower and they don’t give you a transfer which is kinda weak because then you have to pay both ways. Anyways, after we finally made it to the base of the mountain that Christ the Redeemer is on top of we bought a ticket and boarded a cool little tram that takes you to the top and to the direct base of the statue. You can also take a cab or walk but apparently walking is a good way to get mugged because the road goes through a foresty jungley area and through a favela. It was very cloudy once we made it to the top and the mountain is so high that it actually gets engulfed by low clouds. Everyone was doubtful about whether or not we were actually going to be able to see anything at the top, didn’t even know if we would be able to see Christ the Redeemer. As we got off the tram and walked up a bunch of stairs to the base of the statue the clouds opened and revealed a beautiful view of Copacabana, Ipanema, Maracana soccer stadium and pretty much the whole of Rio from hundreds of feet up. We could see the statue perfectly. We took some pics and hung out and enjoyed the view. It was a very peaceful place to be and the silence up above the bustling city was zen like.
After spending some time at the top we took the tram back down and hopped on the bus once again but this time the ride back was an hour and a half, longest bus ride ever because it was rush hour. It was also very sweaty. Cabs here are not much of a better option because you are still going to sit in the same traffic, most of the ones I rode in didn’t turn on the AC either and instead of 2,20 it is going to cost you 40 to 50 Real. That’s the price of a good meal and not worth it for me. We picked up some laundry that we dropped off at a laundry place yesterday so now I can change out of this t-shirt that I have been rocking for three days straight. I don’t think I have ever done that before.
We’re eating a chicken sandwich right now at a cool little juice bar that has table on the street and is just pleasant and peaceful to kick back at. It’s called Beach Sucos… that means beach juices. Earlier in the day I got an Acai berry shake here that was delicious. So later we are going to go to Devassa Brewery which we heard about from trusty Zane Lamprey and the Three sheets TV show. Hopefully we will find a beer that is darker than the barely darker than water and almost flavorless beer that we have been drinking for most of this trip and that is the standard in Brazil. Maybe we’ll go to Mud Bug also.
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