Volleyball Brazilian Style (Ipanema Beach)

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.

― Marcel Proust

It is amazing to watch the Brazilians play their version of volleyball. They only use their feet, heads and chest (no hands). They are without a doubt the most athletic people in the world! When the Brazilian athletes come to the United States and other countries and are paid large sums of money to play they must say to themselves, "this is really unfair, we get to use our hands!"

Pao de Açucar (Sugar Loaf Mountain)- SWEET!

There is one voyage, the first, the last, the only one." - Thomas Wolfe

Today we took a trip to Pao de Açucar (Sugar Loaf Mountain). Pao de Açucar is located near the Botafogo area of Brazil. The mountain is about 1300 feet high. You take two cable cars to reach the mountain. The first goes to Morro da Urca (Urca Mountain) and the next one takes you to Sugar Loaf. The views of Rio from the mountain are spectacular. You can see the Cristo Redentor statue, the beach areas of Copacabana and Ipanema as well as the long bridge which connects Rio with Niteroi. The mountain was named Pao de Açucar by the Portuguese in the 17th century when Brazil was the center of the sugar industry. The cane sugar was put in cone-shaped molds to be brought back to Europe by ship and the mountain resembled these "sugar loafs", hence the name. Very sweet, huh!

Pao de Açucar (Sugar Loaf Mountain)

The cable car ride up

The view of Botafogo and Central Rio

The view of the bay

The Cristo Redentor seen in the distance

Flamengo Beach

The area of Urca (the famous Brazilian singer Roberto Carlos lives here)

Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) Rio de Janeiro

"People don't take trips . . . trips take people."
- John Steinbeck


Today was a beautiful sunny day (almost 80 degrees in winter!) so I decided to take a trip up the Corcovado mountain to see the world famous "Cristo Redentor" (Christ the Redeemer) statue. This statue is the image most associated with Rio de Janeiro. When the Portuguese colonized Brazil they originally called the mountain "the Pinnacle of Temptation" but later changed it to "Corcovado"  (the hunchback). The statue is enormous with Jesus' arms stretched out waiting to greet you. Besides the statue, the view of Rio from Corcovado is incredible! And on the way down from the mountain, we had two detours. The first was a "mirador" (look-out point) which had a great view of the Christ the Redeemer Statue. The second was on the road down, where we stopped to watch and feed the indigenous monkeys of the Tijuca forest (where the Corcovado is located).

Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer)

The Chapel of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception is inside the base of the statue

The inside of the chapel

The view of the statue from the mirador

The statue of Jesus which stands over Rio welcomes and protects the city

The fabulous view of Rio from Corcovado (on the far upper left is the Pao de Açucar  "Sugar Loaf" mountain)

The indigenous monkeys waiting on top of a snack shop waiting for their next meal

The Tijuca forest is full of monkeys