Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro, meaning River of January, what an unbelievable place and completely beyond our expectations. Here is a breakdown of our trip so far and what we loved so much.

Rio 2016 Olympic winners:
Picture the scene, freshly landed the night before; we were woken up early to a party brewing on the beach. We headed out of our beautiful apartment and walked up Copacabana beach to realise it was the final vote for the host of the 2016 Olympics and Rio was up against Chicago, Tokyo and Madrid for the honour. Chicago were huge favourites so we were not expecting too much, (although a party was already kicking off with music and dancing), then at 1.45pm the announcement was made and Rio had won! Suddenly tens of thousands of Brazilians erupted as if they have just scored the winning goal in a World Cup final, it was pandemonium and the party had truly begun – what an incredible day it turned out to be, and what an intro to this wonderful city. We celebrated on the beach with the locals who just love to party. There was music everywhere, in the markets, on the beach, in the streets, and everyone just dances wherever they are standing, all with huge grins on their faces – I think we now truly understand the meaning of the Latin spirit and it is certainly alive and well in Rio!

We spent the rest of the day walking the Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, which are both beautiful with golden soft sand and big crashing waves. The water was chilly but the weather was hot so there was no shortage of locals in the water and we managed to at least dip our toes into the surf. We then headed back to our apartment for dinner and to take it all in. It was such a bonus to be in Rio on this day and so unexpected. Anyway we drank into the night and celebrated with the locals who were still going crazy well into the early hours.

O Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) and SugarLoaf Mountain:
We woke up on Saturday for Leise’s birthday and as per his request had Steak and chips (with a side of champers and orange juice) for breakfast yum yum! We then headed to O Cristo Redentor. The Christ the Redeemer statue is considered the largest art deco statue in the world and stands 40 meters tall - thanks Wikipedia ;-).... Anyway those are the facts, the simple truth is that it is one of the most awe inspiring statues you will ever see, standing on top of the 700 meter Corcovado mountain looking over the whole of Rio. We caught a bus to the top of the mountain and then a lift and escalator to the peak, the view across the beautiful city at such a height took our breath away! The statue itself is magnificent, although the pushing and hustling of the tourists up there is another story – pesky tourists, who needs em eh! ;-) There is also a stunning little chapel at the base of the statue but it’s the statue itself and the view that make this trip worthwhile.

After that we headed to SugarLoaf mountain, and caught a cable car to the top – it’s a 2 stop journey and quite nervy but well worth the trip. Our first view of the city was from the base of the mountain and then we headed to the top of Sugarloaf itself. The view from the top is stunning. Rio has one of the most beautiful settings for a city, surrounded by tropical hills and mountains, and made up of multiple sandy beaches stretching as far as the eye can see, it is very impressive. After taking it all in we made our way down and our tour guide Paulo dropped us back at our apartment for a short nap and dinner before heading out for the night.....

Lapa:
Lapa is an area full of bars, restaurants and clubs; it is very urban and gives a great feel of local Brazilian nightlife. It is loud with plenty of street music and people dancing everywhere, so we sat outside at a bar and watched the world go by while drinking beer and Caipirinha’s which are extremely strong (although not as strong as Georgies half pint of neat vodka)...... it only took a couple of these to get the girls slurring! Shaun and I shared a Cuban cigar to mark his 30th and we had a great night drinking and enjoying the music and local entertainment before catching a cab home.

Maracana Stadium:
Sunday was a very chilled day, and Shaun and I left the girls to go and watch the Chelsea v Liverpool game at a bar on the beach – 2-0 Chelsea but Liverpool were robbed I tell ya! That was only the start though, we caught a tour bus at 4pm to go and watch the Rio derby at the world famous Maracana stadium (for those who don’t know this stadium still holds the record for the largest ever football crowd which was 200,000 for the World Cup final in 1950). The derby was between the 2 biggest Rio rivals Flamengo and Fluminense and was a 90,000 sell out. 90 minutes before kickoff the stadium was already half full, and when the game finally started it was the best atmosphere we have ever experienced, singing, chanting, screaming, dancing – the crowd was dominated by Flamengo supporters so no surprises who we were supporting. We won 2-0 with both goals from Adriano, the Brazilian and ex Inter Milan striker. What an experience!

Afterward we headed back to Copacabana for a meat feast dinner before heading home shattered and passing out. And so here we are, Monday morning and we are checking out before our private coach ride to Buzios about 2 hours up the coast from Rio. It’s a relaxed bohemian village north of Rio, and we are looking forward to some relaxed time on the beach after a hectic few days – this travelling takes it out of you ;-) we head to Santiago, Chile on Thursday but will tell you all about Buzio on our next post, until then Ciao

RIO HIGHLIGHTS:
There are many many highlights but here are our best and worst:
- The people and Latin spirit – nobody parties like the Brazilians, they love it
- The city – yes there are poor areas and it is heavily populated, but it is one of the most beautiful cities we have ever seen – spectacular setting
- Language – very few Brazilians speak English, and those who do speak it minimally so it’s a lot of fun communicating but they seem to enjoy it too

We have added some photo’s below, hope they give a small feeling of what it is like here