Author: Ged & Rach

Photos: Rach

This is our first blog being officially on our travels! We write this as we bed down for the night in the check in hall of Lima International Airport, exhausted but full of thoughts about our first week away.

We arrived into Rio late on 5th Jan with little idea of what to expect! Aching from a 12.5hr flight from Heathrow we scrambled to find WiFi and booked an Uber to our Air Bnb. We were soon whizzing towards Botofogo, our Rio neighbourhood of choice, eagerly peering out of the window trying to get our first glimpse of Christ the Redeemer. After some improvised hand gestures (how do you mime ‘we need to collect a key’?!) we gained entry to the studio flat – the bed was comfy, the fridge was cold and the air conditioning welcome refuge from the stifling heat. We toasted our arrival with the little welcome gift from our hosts in the form of some cachaça which Rach fell in love with! And so we collapsed onto the bed to sleep, determined to make the most of the next day.

Day 1 in Rio:

Ged, being the one that wakes early of the two of us, went for a walk and returned with breakfast, sharing his spoils of a cheese toastie, grapes and some fresh papaya (£2.25 each including water). Happy days! We headed out a few steps across the road to Botafogo Beach. Wow – how did we miss that huge bastion of rock riding out of the sea? Sugarloaf mountain is an awesome sight in the morning sun so we walked along the beach, drinking in the view and the heat and made a plan of action. Stop no.1: World famous Copacabana Beach! We walked the 2.5 miles to take in the full stretch and were rewarded with an awesome sight. The bustle of the beach was almost overwhelming, packed on what was Christmas Day in Rio on 6th January(!), but helpfully juxtaposed by the calming sound of the waves and everyone having clearly the best Christmas Day ever!

At the far end we decided we deserved our first Caipirinha (Rach has pronounced this a different way every time she ordered one!) Yum yum!

We then went for a paddle to cool off, being sensible by having only one of us in at a time so the other could guard the bag. Ged went first and relished the coolness of the water in a short swim, though Rach’s experience was somewhat less relaxing and more like a more authentic (although accidental) go at the Rio surf… on her way out a wave broke just behind her and knocked her right under. Quickly deciding what was important to keep, she grabbed her sunglasses tight to her head and neglected her bikini bottoms. Upon coming up from the wave she looked the part from the waist up, but in her haste to maintain dignity managed to scoop up a large pile of the copacabana in her bottoms as she hoiked them up before the next wave came in. Ged found it hard not to laugh as a clearly embarrassed Rach walked away, bikini loaded down with sand like a nappy. First funny tale we’ll laugh at for a long time!

After Rach recovered we found a quiet little cafe to try an empanada and borrow some WiFi to book an Uber home. Another tasty treat!

Day 2 in Rio:

Time for a little more culture. We shot over to the Santa Teresa area first thing to see the famous Escadaria Selarón tiled steps.

So much colour and a real celebration of cultural diversity with a whole array of countries, cultures, artists and history represented. It would be so easy to spend hours perusing all of the individual unique tiles – we even found one from Sheffield; a couple had commemorated their marriage in Rio in the form of a tile! Ged spotted a Beatles one straight off and Rach found the Welsh dragon, so our own heritage was also reflected somehow!

We then took a quick look around nearby Lapa but didn’t like the vibe as much so headed over to one of our main events – the statue of Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado mountain. We opted to take the “trem” as it was WAY too hot to manage the steep trek up, and we had also read about a few muggings that had taken place on the way up. In any case the tram was great, winding up through the thick forest slowly until the light shines through the trees as you emerge at the top behind the statue. I’m sure most people would recognise the monument at a glance, but nothing prepares you for the incredible panoramic views of the city below. Breathtaking undersells it! If the statue had eyes and could see it would probably stand for a thousand years without tiring of the splendour of Rio. It’s unlike any other city we’ve been to, skyscrapers cascading down from high peaks between jungle-clad mountains, wedged into the varied landscape with impressive determination. We spent a few hours drinking it in as the sun moved in and out behind the statue, and of course trying to master one of the most impossible selfie situations, with a 98ft Jesus behind you!

Day 3 in Rio:

We slept in a bit as the sun had clearly gotten to us a bit the day before (Ged the Red strikes again!) and so decided to seek shade in the Jardim Botânico and the Parque Lage with its beautiful mansion below Corcovado mountain (now a Visual Arts School). We got to the gardens confident our trusty Revolut payment card would gain us entry (we did the whole of Rio without ANY cash – more on that later) but their card machine wasn’t working. And so we were left trying to figure out how to get cash from a non existent ATM (nearest one was miles away!), when a lovely couple in the line behind us offered to buy our tickets. Daniel and Carol from São Paulo paid the 30 Brazilian Reals and wouldn’t let us pay them back via bank transfer! Just goes to show that there are some lovely people in the world and we will be sure to pay the kindness forward if we see someone else in need. We were so grateful to them because the gardens were absolutely stunning, a beautiful place to relax for a few hours among cacti gardens, orchid houses, waterfalls, lakes and great yet largely unknown views of one of the wonders of the world. I think we lost a whole hour just watching marmosets bouncing all over the place in the trees (Ged lost count of the number of photos I took…)

Ged got me a lovely sailing trip around the coastline of Rio as my Christmas present, so we raced straight from there to the Late Clube do Rio de Janeiro to catch our 4pm departure. It was a lovely 3hrs spend skirting around the coastline past Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, Christ the Redeemer revealing himself periodically in between the giant rock formations closer to us on the ocean. There really was no better way to end the day than sipping strong ice cold Caipirinhas in the sun, gently rocking with the waves (luckily Rach kept her sea legs!) and jumping in for a swim when we got too hot. The sailing ended just as the sun was dropping down to set behind Christ the Redeemer. Perfect.

Day 4 in Rio:

Our last full day in Rio had to be jam packed. We started with a ride to Ipanema beach & we found we preferred it to Copacabana – bit more relaxed, less built up, and calmer waves for Rach (no flashing!) It also had the added bonus of some nice viewpoints at either end and a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream stand at one end (we had a lemonade flavoured sorbet – yum!)

(That’s the “two brothers” at the other end)

Ipanema is about 3 miles long or so and we pretty much walked the full return journey, grabbing a coconut en route to keep hydrated.

Before we knew it it was time to head back to get ready for our last big attraction, Sugarloaf mountain, and a meal out. Churrascaria was the name of the game, the traditional Brazilian way to cook meat, and where the servers bring it to you on skewers to cut straight onto your plate. We got there early so they just kept coming and coming with all sorts of different cuts of beef, pork and chicken. Our favourite was definitely the melt in your mouth beef rib and Rach went out of her comfort zone with a traditional dish – chicken hearts!

Then the main event – Sugarloaf. Rach wanted to go up at sunset, as apparently it’s THE place to see this spectacle in Rio. I think it’s a bit like the sunset decision in NYC – most think of standing at the top of the Empire State for this but isn’t it much better to stand and look at the Empire State Building rather than miss seeing it by being up it? In the same vein Sugarloaf has you staring right back at Christ the Redeemer from a vantage point strut out into the sea, the whole of Rio spilling down in front of you. We went up about 6pm – there’s two mountains (Sugarloaf is the second), connected via cable car.

Wow was it worth it! The light changed softly but quite dramatically at times, pink and purple hues across the skyscrapers and blood red and orange behind the mountains. As it set the sun was cradled in between two peaks casting the promenades below into shadow as the lights flickered on in the cafes and bars. Magic.

The night was almost over but not quite – last thing on the list was to see a little samba / bossa nova! We grabbed a taxi to Lapa which really comes alive at night, bouncing with loud samba sounds as soon as you swing open the car door. We found a quiet bar with 3 guys playing traditional samba, which was great to catch during our short time here.

With an early start to pack and check out the next day though we couldn’t stay too late, so headed home before we had too many caipirinhas.

All good adventures must come to an end, or in this case evolve into new ones – onto the Amazon next!

Rio, you’ve been a beaut.