The Fella on the Hill Wants a Hug

Rio De Janiero, wow, you are a slap in the face of awesomeness. Did you know the Rio harbor is one of the updated seven natural wonders of the world?
And it deserves to be!

Our accommodation was of course, in Copacabana. We were warned multiple times to be extremeley careful with our belongings, particularly phones, watches, money and jewellery. Especially on the beach.
We were always vigilant with our belongings and mindful of our surroundings. We came away unscathed and while appreciative of the warnings, we felt the city was like every other large tourist city we have been to in terms of potential threats.

The landscape however, awe inspiring. From sugarloaf mountain the cable car ride and walk at the top provides a panoramic view of the harbor, airports, city centre and beaches. the landscape squeezes the city buildings together, airplanes need to wind through the rock hill tops to find a safe passage to the airport. Birdlife spiral upward catching the warm upift of air. Then turning back into the city you can see the large stone fellow reaching out for a nice hug. Remarkable.

Walking the streets we felt the heat, a constant layer of sweat was ever present.
Our first venture into the surf was a short walk from our accomodation, so had only a towel with us. We squeezed between umbrellas and made it known we only had a towel and our thongs before walking into the surf.
The beach had a fun heavy wave crashing at the last 20 metres. A lot of people bop up and down in the surf. There wasnt enough distance to get any sort of surfing take place. The water was warm on top and cool underneath. You didnt want to swim too far out as that was where the thin layer of rubbish began. Some grime and plastic floating on the surface.

The following day we took the train up to the Stone Fella. Despite being very early, there was always going to be a crowd and forgetting the statue, the view again was mind blowing. Now looking into Ipanema Beach and some other areas inland of Rio. Back at Copacabana and across to our earlier sugarloaf mountain.
We had to constantly shake our head at the breadth of view.
Most visitors seemed more interested in getting a selfie with the stone statue, but the main event was the city and the landscape. Rich in steep rock formations, lush green forest, all encircled or wrapped in white sand and rolling waves from the Atlantic.
We were grateful to Jacqui for her selection of accommodation in Copacabana, this provided a convenient location to access our favourite parts of the city.

After returning to ground level, we made our way along Copacabana and around the corner to Ipanema beach. It was fun to watch the kids jumping into the waves from the rocks. We had considered swimming at Ipanema but on this day it seemed far busier than Copacabana. So after some photos we walked back to Copacabana, found a shady place to sit at the back of the beach against a cafe, then coordinated dips in the ocean while someone waited with our gear on the sand.
Relaxing on the beach, we enjoyed watching the street sellers, walking the beach with a variety of items. We declined a lot of random merchandise but said yes to three beers and a coconut. After a few moments, we said yes to another three beers and a coconut.
We were feeling wonderful.

That evening we ventured out to a Brazilian bbq restaurant. For only $40 aud per head, it was an all you can eat buffet while the waiters walk around offering a variety of meats. A brilliant idea was a small token beside your plate, one side said, 'no more', the other 'yes please'.
For the first 20 minutes Ian and Alex's remained on the 'yes please'.
While Jacqui and Jamie both explored the salad bar and a moderation of meat. Ian and Alex took it as a challenge to see how much meat they could consume.
30 minutes was enough before they turned their token over. Approximately 1.3kgs of meat each and succulent salted meat was beginning to exude from their pores.
A brief respite was needed, a couple beers and a bottle of red wine aided that.

The evening was a delight, clearly the waiters selling additional items knew when to strike, while the girls were at the salad bar. Ian and Alex were offered some rum from a very large bottle, of course they accepted and were then surprised they got to keep the cups. Turns out they had purchased the shot of rum and glass. They both thought it was a bargain.

The following day was a slow start, meat needed to cure in the tummies.
In the afternoon we explored the botanical gardens. A variety of gorgeous trees, jungle paths, birds and monkeys. But a highlight were the greenhouses, one of orchids and the other bromelia's.
Stunning colours and organic designs captured the eye.

That evening Jamie and Ian relaxed at home with a home cooked meal of risotto.
A fantastic few days in Rio and a place we would be happy to return. Portoguese was a struggle, we found it slightly harder to pick up than Spanish.

Now back across the continent to Peru and Cusco!