On Tuesday in Rio we decided to visit Corcovado one of the sugarloaf hills (more on this later) in Rio the location of the Christ the Redeemer statue. We had learned that the best way to get to the top was to take the tram, so we hailed our first Rio cab the rides and grabbed a ride to the bottom of the tram. The taxi ride was pretty affordable under $10. It was a beautiful day and since we delayed school we were able to get out early. We boarded the tram just barely making the train 10:30 tram. To get to the top of Corcovado the tram takes you up the hill at about a 20 degree angle traveling through a preserved jungle on the sides of Corcovado, we didn’t see any animals but the atmosphere was exciting especially when you past one of the several viewpoints overlooking the city.
It was a warm day approaching 90 degrees and the top of Corcovado and was very exposed, the girls did great with a ton of sunscreen and lots of water. As with most days when we are out we end up eating a snack or a pre-lunch lunch at 11am. This sustained us through walking around the statue and taking pictures. At first Julie was very apprehensive about the height but got used to it by the end. We got lots of pictures and the views were fantastic.
After Corcovado we looked at an area with old buildings that were beautifully ornate but a bit run down. They appeared like they were just hacked out of the jungle after 100 years of being over grown.
At lunch time which we went to a park close to the Praia do Flamengo, a beach within the Rio bay that was very close to down town, we played on a playground and then headed to the beach. The beach was not very crowded and the water looked pretty disgusting and brownish green algae color. We did not let the girls go in the water and were actually very surprised to see other people taking swims but they didn’t keel over dead. It a good spot to play in the sand and take in the great views of Sugarloaf mountain.
So the original Sugarloaf mountain, the one in this picture, located at the mouth of the Bay of Guanabara is a famous symbol of Rio. It is also where geologists first described this type of rock formation which looks like, you guessed it, a loaf of refined sugar. The many hills around Rio have this same type of conical shape formed by erosion and exfoliation of the gneiss. So they are all called Sugarloaf Mountains referring to the geological formation but there is only one with the proper name of Sugarloaf Mountain.
Travel-Trotter 