Sightseeing in Rio

Rio is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been to!  Last time Jason and I visited we only had a day and a half to visit but I fell in love with Rio.  I was so excited to show the kids some of the amazing sights as well as having over a week there to explore some areas we didn't get to last time.  With a busy work schedule for Jason and a lot of events we had tickets to attend we had to fit the sight seeing in between other things.  Lines were long as expected but we were able to get to most of the sights we wanted to see.

When we arrived at Sugar Loaf we were greeted by a long line but it moved quickly and within an hour we were riding the tram the first peak.  An hour didn't seem like too long and since we were squeezing it in between track in the morning and beach volleyball in the evening I was glad it wasn't too long.  The tram takes you up to the first peak then another tram takes you up to the second peak.  The weather was beautiful when we arrived but by the time we had made it up to the first peak a strong wind had picked up.  A storm was blowing in.  I was a little hesitant about the tram ride to the taller peak with the high winds but we had already bought our tickets and I wasn't sure we'd get another chance to come back.  As we went to get in line for the second tram we found a long winding line that took another hour.  Suddenly the waiting was starting to get long.  Luckily there was a monkey in one of the trees that entertained the kids for a while.  We also ran into one of the women's steeplechasers from Team USA and enjoyed meeting her and her family.  We finally made it to the top.  We took pictures, walked the trails through the forest and enjoyed the views of the bay and the beaches below.  Unfortunately the bottleneck of the line for the tram wasn't any better on the way down.  With about an hour wait in each line that meant we spent a total of four hours in line that afternoon and it was starting to get tiring.  The bright side to this was that we got to experience the breathtaking view in the daylight, at sunset and after dark!

The next day we had a guide take us to Tijuca Forest.  It is in the mountains above Rio and is home to one of the most diverse forests in the world.  We loved walking through the lush vegetation and the beautiful waterfalls.  The guide was mentioning all the animals that lived there and the kids were dying to see a monkey but she said you had to get lucky to spot them.  No sooner had she said that then Jared spied a capuchin monkey eating fruit in a near by tree.  The kids were delighted to watch him for a while.  We ended the day with a scenic drive down the mountainside with some amazing views of the city and the coast.

On Wednesday we had tickets to the morning and evening sessions of track and field so in between we checked out the city center.  It was the first place in Rio that had some areas that were a little more sketchy but during the daylight we felt fairly safe.  We saw several cathedrals and the aqueduct.  We ran out of time to ride the trolley that runs along the top of the aqueduct and figured we would come back another day but when we went back on our final day in Rio we found out it was closed for a holiday. We also missed the colored tile steps but we were able to hit that again on our last day.  It was packed with tourists but a fun place in the city center.

A trip to Rio just wouldn't be complete without a trip to the top of Corcovado with the Christ the Redeemer statue.  We thought we would have just enough time the morning before we went to the men's basketball game.  The problem was that we woke up to partly cloudy skies.  We weren't sure we would have another time to go though so we bought tickets and hoped the clouds would clear enough to get a  bit of a view.  Of course everyone else thought the trip to Corcovado was a must as well so it was as packed as the other tourist sights.  The bus was running on Brazilian time: very late.  We didn't have a lot of time to spend on top once we got there but it was so packed with people I'm not sure we would have wanted to.  It was still quite cloudy but you could occasionally get glimpses of the beach and city below.

The kids and I spent a couple afternoons at the beach while Jason was working.  The kids enjoyed a warm afternoon playing in the water while I sat on the packed beach where you were lucky to find a spot to set down a towel.  The vendors were constantly pestering me with items they were selling to tourists.  We also enjoyed a lot of walks on the boardwalk along Ipanema by the hotel and USA house as well as the rocky point out bay Fort Copacabana.

It made me sad to hear all the negative media our country was spreading about Rio because we all loved it so much and were sad when it was time to leave.  We love the Brazilian culture and the beautiful city and hope to make it back some day!