3-1-20 - Rio with Ricardo in 1 day

Leanne, John and Ashley fly out to New Jersey tonight. So that leaves exactly one day to see the Christ the Redeemer Statue which will be our 5th Wonder of the Modern World and the Rio Harbor which will be our 3rd Wonder of the Natural World.  John has booked us a full day tour of Rio for today which hits all the major highlights. 

We wake up to a pouring rain beating against the window and street.  Kyle’s heart drops as he picks up his phone and sees a text from the tour guide asking if we can do the tour another day this week due to the rain.  Crap, um no, we can’t. Kyle frantically texts back that we flew halfway down South America yesterday just to do this tour today and fly out tonight.  By now, the rain has let up a little and the tour guide agrees to give it a shot. 

Our tour guide Ricardo shows up promptly at 7:40 am. He’s an older, jovial Brazilian who grew up in Rio but lived eight years in the U.S. working for a bank.  He shares that this massive rain is completely uncharacteristic for this time of year and its causing a lot of problems in the city. Another sign of climate change perhaps?

We wanted a “the works” city highlights tour and we got it. Starting with one of Brazil’s favorite sports, we visit the enormous Maracanã soccer stadium which was inaugurated in 1950 and whose official name is Jornalista Mario Filho Stadium.  It was once the largest stadium in the world where they used to jam 200,000 fans into the stadium but now for safety reasons, they limit to a maximum capacity of 78,838 people now. It is one of the only stadiums in the world to host two World Cup finals matches in 1950 and 2014 as well as the Olympic Games in 2016. The place is an obvious source of pride and memories for Ricardo here on this early Sunday morning.

Next up, we visit the contemporary San Sebastian (the patron saint of Rio) Cathedral also known as the New Cathedral or the Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio which was completed in 1979. The cathedral was designed in a modern style based on Mayan architectural style of pyramids.  It is an elongated pyramid that rises way up into the sky at 75 meters.  There are stain glass windows on all four sides that stretch from the floor to the ceiling. “A lot of Brazilians think it’s ugly,” shares Ricardo. We disagree as its creative architectural design definitely stood out from the 100+ churches we have visited these past eight months. 

We next drive to a couple architectural structures.  First is Lapa’s Arches, built in 1723, which was an important construction of Colonial Brazil as part of the ancient Carioca Aqueduct. Initially the 270 meter long / 18 meter high monument with its 42 arches in overlapping levels was used to transport water from the Carioca River to the Largo de Carioca Fountain supplying a large part of the water to the local population.  As the aqueduct became obsolete, Lapa’s Arches was converted to a tramway that serves the St. Teresa neighborhood.

Next, we see the Sambadrome which is a venue in downtown Rio that was opened in 1984. It was built with the purpose of receiving the parades of Samba Schools of Rio. Each Samba School brings up to 4,000 revealers.  The capacity of the venue is 72,500 people.

Next, we visit a work of art called Escadaria Selaron (Selaron’s Steps). Chilean-borne artist Jorge Selaron lived here and worked on his neighboring outdoor stairs for over 20 years until his recent death.  There are 215 steps measuring 125 meters long now covered in over 2,000 tiles collected from over 60 countries. Individuals from all over the world gave him tiles from home and even bathtubs. It’s very Instagramable spot but it’s hard to get a great photo with all the stairs.

All of the sudden our peaceful art admiration time comes to an abrupt end.

BANG BANG BANG. A woman is banging from the inside of her locked apartment door towards group of relatively quiet student tourists (not ours). At first, it seems she is trying to get out of her house. While she is not showing her face (on purpose perhaps?), she is screaming at the top if her lungs in almost inaudible Portuguese.  She’s piping mad right now supposedly calling these teens every name in the Brazilian book. The teens stop short and start to giggle. Two neighbors emerge on the rooftops scream back down at her to just settle down or they will call the police — implying the neighbor might be a bit unbalanced on a normal basis. At least 12 policemen are at the bottom of the stairs but none seem to have heard the incident.  

BANG BANG BANG. She’s still having her moment here minutes later. The teen snickers seem incite her rage even more. When we meet Ricardo at the bottom of the steps, he says this display is part of the experience of visiting Selaron’s famous steps and his quirky artist community as apparently she makes a scene on a regular basis.

Next up on our whirlwind day tour is Sugarloaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar) which is a volcanic mountain peak that rests upon the edge of Rio that you can go to the top via sky tram.  The peak rises Rising 396 m (1,299 ft) above the harbor, its name is said to refer to its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar. It is known worldwide for its cableway and panoramic views of the city and beyond. Geologically speaking, it is considered part of a family of steep-sided rock outcroppings known as non-inselbergbornhardts.

We enjoy sweeping views of Rio Harbor blocked by a rare fog that adds an ethereal feeling to our photos.  Rio Harbor is actually one of the 7 Wonders of the Natural World and our 3rd one on this trip along with Mount Everest and the Great Barrier Reef.  While the harbor is nice, it is not on the same scale as Mount Everest or the Great Barrier Reef.  Kyle notes that there must have been some funny business with the voting going on. Our guide Ricardo was not aware that Rio Harbor was one the list and is convinced that Kyle is pranking him even despite Kyle showing him the website on his phone.

We stop for a quick lunch.  The rain has come and gone in spurts and is now pouring down as we head to our last attraction for the day which is the Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) statue. The statue of Jesus which sits a top Corcovado Mountain overlooking the Rio Harbor is 38 meters (125 feet) tall with arms stretching 28 meters (92 feet) wide.  The statue which was completed in 1931 is our 5th Wonder of the Modern World along with The Great Wall of China, Taj Mahal, Machu Picchu and Chichen Itza.  Unfortunately, the fog has rolled in after lunch and blocks a clear view of Him but it also gives the heavenly look as we are high in the clouds here.

By the end of the day, we have befriended Ricardo and he shares more about his insights in his country, its economic woes and his own. He so wishes for a better and more prosperous Brazil, and its hard to get by on a day-to-day basis. While he adores his country, he wishes for a government that can serve its people better with more integrity. He is open and frank on his concern. He’s 70 years old and he cannot retire. It is a familiar story we have heard time and time again from guides we have had across the world.

The teens make pasta for dinner while Leanne, John and Ashley ready for their overnight flight back to New Jersey.