Sunsets and Samba in Rio de Janeiro
The iconic view of Rio de Janeiro from Cristo Redentor
We arrived in Rio de Janeiro exactly six months after leaving home. Since flying to Bogota in June, we travelled 19,133km overland by bus to get to our final stop in South America. It was quite emotional!
We were determined to make the most of our last week on the continent, and what a place to spend it! Rio de Janeiro, the "Marvellous City," with its vibrant energy, iconic landmarks, and stunning landscapes. The thing that stunned us most about the city is its geography: pockets of urban life spring up between lush mountains and the Atlantic Ocean… It is an incredible sight to behold.
Samba Hangovers
We had both been looking forward to being in the famous city, but our time there got off to a bit of a flat start because of the weather. We lost pretty much an entire day to a relentless downpour of heavy rain. We used it to be productive and plan some of our route through Central America, but, still… we wanted to be out there. In one of the best cities in the world. Not stuck in our AirBnb!
Luckily the next few days were rain-free, if still a little overcast. We spent the next ticked off the sights around Centro, waiting for the sun to return before hitting the headliners. We sipped caipirinhas on the Selaron Steps, walked around the bohemian neighbourhood of Santa Teresa, visited the Portuguese Reading Room, and had coffee and cake in the famous Colombo bakery.
We also joined a pub crawl where we met some lovely people (because do couples go to clubs alone? It felt weird to us!) and got to know the famous Samba clubs of Lapa.
It was an amazing night with a lot of dancing, although I’m not sure how much of our efforts would be recognisable as samba. Due to a few too many cocktails, we then had our second day confined to the AirBnb… this time definitely our own fault! Groggy brains and churning stomachs meant it wasn’t a day to be productive, so we got cosy and watched Harry Potter - a festive tradition for us at home.
The Real Rio
Then, all at once at the end of our time in the city, came the ‘big ticket’ items. First, we took a cable car ride to the top of Sugarloaf mountain. Pão de Açúcar, as it it known in Portuguese, is one of the flagship sights for Rio's natural grandeur. The granite peak, named after the traditional conical shape of refined sugar, apparently offers panoramic views of the city and Guanabara Bay… only, contrary to the promises of the weather report, the clouds hadn’t quite shifted by the time we got to the half way point of the ride.
At £30 per ticket this was one of the most expensive things we had done in our whole six months in South America, so we weren’t about to give up and go home! We had a coffee on the lower deck and then, when the top of the mountain actually became visible, we continued our cable car ride up. There, we spent a very patient 90 minutes waiting for the clouds to shift before we were rewarded, finally, with the famous view of the city’s iconic skyline. Worth the wait? 100%.
We think our 3 hours there might be a record for amount of time spent at the attraction, but we have no regrets! We returned to solid ground and made our way to that world-famous stretch of golden sand, Copacabana Beach. Just a few days ago I said I might have been converted to a beach-lover after five days in Ilha Grande. Well, it’ll be a while before I love a city beach in the same way. However, I do still love Copacabana. Why? Because it’s the most amazing place to people-watch.
We bought some empanadas and beers from an Argentinian seller on the beach - and were relieved to be able to have a conversation with him in Spanish, because we will be needing that skill again soon! - and spent a few hours watching life in Rio unfold. The area along that iconic mosaic-patterned sidewalk pulsates with life; bustling markets, restaurants, beach sellers, restaurants, bars - it encapsulates the rhythm of Rio.
In the end, we saved the best until last. We woke up early on our final day to clear blue skies and were on the first train to the top of Corcovado Mountain, home of Cristo Redentor - Christ the Redeemer. The awe-inspiring monument is an omnipresent symbol of Brazil's faith, an engineering marvel, a New Wonder of the World, and, without a doubt, the must-see attraction in Rio.
We stood on the platform and silently contemplated the city sprawling out before us, with the statue behind and embracing us with his open arms. If there is a place on this planet where the scenic meets the spiritual, surely it is here.
We spent the afternoon in the trendy Ipanema neighbourhood and beach, before getting dressed up for our evening at a cooking class. We love cooking, and this is our second cooking class experience on the trip, having previously done one in Lima. Cooking together is one of the best parts of our day in ‘normal’ life, so we are keen to learn and bring elements of our trip back into our lives when we are home.
Our class in Rio was hosted by Patricia, a lifelong Carioca (resident of Rio), in her beautiful home. There, we learnt how to make an authentic version of our favourite Brazilian dish, Moqueca - a coconutty fish stew - along with some of the lethal cocktails we had been drinking a few nights earlier. We cooked and shared dinner, along with many travel stories, with Patricia and two other travellers from America. It was such a warm and friendly environment, it was like having dinner with old friends.
We ended the evening on the balcony of Patricia’s apartment, enjoying cocktails and conversation under the watchful gaze of Cristo Redentor.
The sky slowly turned yellow and then purple as the sun set on our time in Rio, and on the first part of our trip.
My final thoughts for South America… it’s been an experience of a lifetime. I’m not sure we will ever fully process that fact we have taken such an epic journey. We often says it feels like a dream, but that’s because it was a dream… only now we are living it! And whilst it is sad to close chapter one, we are so excited to see what the next part of our trip has in store for us. Bring on Central America!
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