Rio De Janeiro - March 18th
Today is clearer so we can go up to see Jesus. Based on yesterday’s example at the Sugar
Loaf, and because this is after all a ‘Wonder of the World’, we decide to do
this as the only sightseeing trip of the day.
We start by getting a bus to the base of the mountain, which is an
adventure in itself. The buses here are
driven by madmen. They absolutely fly
around the place, especially corners, and they throw you about in the bus. It is also a bit tricky crossing the roads
sometimes, as if you see a bus and a car in the distance, it will generally
turn out to be the bus that reaches you first, not the car as it would be in
most other places.
When we arrive at the train station at the base of Corcovado
Mountain there isn’t that big a crowd, but we still have to wait an hour. Unlike yesterday’s cable car which had a
frequency of about every 5 minutes, the cog train system used to reach the top
of the mountain only runs every 20 minutes.
In fact there are some delays so we actually end up waiting an hour and
15 minutes. The trip up is quite an
adventure, pretty steep, and with a bit going backwards in the middle which is
a bit unnerving. The views are
breath-taking though, and at one of the stops to let a train pass us on the way
down we also get to see some monkeys.
Then we get to the top.
The statue is not as big as I had expected, I guess that is part of the
whole built up image that it being a wonder of the world entails. I think I was expecting something the size of
the cross in Skopje. Like our other
wonder on this trip, the Taj Mahal, it is crowded, which makes getting good
pictures difficult, as does the sun being right behind the statue. But the crowding here is mostly from the
small size of the viewing area at the top, rather than the number of people. In fact given it is a wonder of the world,
and we are here on a Sunday, the big surprise is that it isn’t more crowded.
I’ve always wondered if this should be included in the
man-made wonders of the world, and I think that part of the problem is so many
people cannot distinguish between the man-made item and the natural beauty of
the whole city laid out before it. The
views really are spectacular, but I don't think it should be a wonder. We try to
get some photos of the city, and then take a break at the refreshment stand, and to
also let the sun move a bit so we might get better photos. We do get some better photos later on, but at
the same time the clouds roll in and we also get to see how the clouds would
have obscured our view had we gone up on either of the other two days.
When it comes time to head back down the mountain we again
have to queue, although not quite as long as coming up. Coincidentally we meet up with a girl from
Colombia who was also at the Sugar Loaf in the queue behind us. She went to the Samba clubs recommended in
Lapa and wasn’t too happy with them. So
I think we are now OK with missing that part of Rio. At the bottom we board the bus to come home
and then we hit a little snag. As I get
on the bus last in the queue a man appears from nowhere, jumps on the bus past
me and knocks me over. Before I can get
up he is gone again, and so is my wallet.
It only had about £30 (in US$ and Reals) in it, but it is quite
annoying.
Once we get back to Ipanema we go to the Irish pub which we
didn’t make it to the previous night for a drink. It’s actually a nice place, but it stinks a
bit after the day before. The drinks are
pricey even for Rio. We end the day by
going to a Thai restaurant just to get some different food for once (and also
because the restaurant we wanted to go to wouldn’t take us without a
reservation).
Today is clearer so we can go up to see Jesus. Based on yesterday’s example at the Sugar
Loaf, and because this is after all a ‘Wonder of the World’, we decide to do
this as the only sightseeing trip of the day.
We start by getting a bus to the base of the mountain, which is an
adventure in itself. The buses here are
driven by madmen. They absolutely fly
around the place, especially corners, and they throw you about in the bus. It is also a bit tricky crossing the roads
sometimes, as if you see a bus and a car in the distance, it will generally
turn out to be the bus that reaches you first, not the car as it would be in
most other places.
When we arrive at the train station at the base of Corcovado
Mountain there isn’t that big a crowd, but we still have to wait an hour. Unlike yesterday’s cable car which had a
frequency of about every 5 minutes, the cog train system used to reach the top
of the mountain only runs every 20 minutes.
In fact there are some delays so we actually end up waiting an hour and
15 minutes. The trip up is quite an
adventure, pretty steep, and with a bit going backwards in the middle which is
a bit unnerving. The views are
breath-taking though, and at one of the stops to let a train pass us on the way
down we also get to see some monkeys.
Then we get to the top.
The statue is not as big as I had expected, I guess that is part of the
whole built up image that it being a wonder of the world entails. I think I was expecting something the size of
the cross in Skopje. Like our other
wonder on this trip, the Taj Mahal, it is crowded, which makes getting good
pictures difficult, as does the sun being right behind the statue. But the crowding here is mostly from the
small size of the viewing area at the top, rather than the number of people. In fact given it is a wonder of the world,
and we are here on a Sunday, the big surprise is that it isn’t more crowded.
I’ve always wondered if this should be included in the
man-made wonders of the world, and I think that part of the problem is so many
people cannot distinguish between the man-made item and the natural beauty of
the whole city laid out before it. The
views really are spectacular, but I don't think it should be a wonder. We try to
get some photos of the city, and then take a break at the refreshment stand, and to
also let the sun move a bit so we might get better photos. We do get some better photos later on, but at
the same time the clouds roll in and we also get to see how the clouds would
have obscured our view had we gone up on either of the other two days.
When it comes time to head back down the mountain we again
have to queue, although not quite as long as coming up. Coincidentally we meet up with a girl from
Colombia who was also at the Sugar Loaf in the queue behind us. She went to the Samba clubs recommended in
Lapa and wasn’t too happy with them. So
I think we are now OK with missing that part of Rio. At the bottom we board the bus to come home
and then we hit a little snag. As I get
on the bus last in the queue a man appears from nowhere, jumps on the bus past
me and knocks me over. Before I can get
up he is gone again, and so is my wallet.
It only had about £30 (in US$ and Reals) in it, but it is quite
annoying.
Once we get back to Ipanema we go to the Irish pub which we
didn’t make it to the previous night for a drink. It’s actually a nice place, but it stinks a
bit after the day before. The drinks are
pricey even for Rio. We end the day by
going to a Thai restaurant just to get some different food for once (and also
because the restaurant we wanted to go to wouldn’t take us without a
reservation).
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