Rio in a Day

When I found out that I could extend my trip with an excursion to Rio de Janiero(The erroneously named River of January), I couldn’t pass it up. Especially with all the savings I had in French Guiana, this trip was within my budget. I took a 3am flight from Belem to Rio arriving before 8am. I was on the Metro heading to Copacabana before 9am.

Side Note: It may be just that I haven’t experienced efficient public transportation in a while, but I must say I thoroughly enjoyed how efficient and easy to access Rio’s Metro system was. Everything was clearly marked and a Metro pass costs only $1 per trip(which can be as far as the rail takes you).

Side-Side note:One thing of interest: There are separate women only cars for the metro. Meaning if you are male, you are not welcome. At first, I really liked this idea-allowing women to travel worry-free any time of day. Then I thought of a better option. A DOUCHE-BAG ONLY car. That’s right, if you think it’s appropriate to sexually harass or assault a female, or even condone it, then you get your own separate car. And a nice ankle bracelet and a mandatory mustache. It’s sad we live in a world where we have to separate women from men but after living in Guyana, I certainly understand the need. 

Exclusivo para mulheres

 Okay! Back to the trip. I arranged a Christ the Redeemer tour via bus that picked up right at Copacabana(Post 2) which was so convenient. Unfortunately for all of my readers, there were no professional photographers, so you are now going to be assaulted by unabashedful and numerous selfies.

How could I not? After all this is one of the modern 7 wonders of the world. Now I’m only 1 down on my brother Matt. We both head to Macchu Pichu in June so he’ll still be ahead.

It's funny most people are taking pictures of the view of the city and not the Redeemer itself

A nicer favela 

After CTR as I like to abbreviate it, I headed to my hotel in Lapa, which is a fun little area within walking distance of the airport and plethora of bars. I changed into my running clothes, stashed some Reals and my Metro card and I was off. I took the Metro back to Copacabana, and instead of heading to the beach, I headed up, up and up. Maybe it’s just because I haven’t seen an inclines for a while, but it certainly seemed like Rio has some of the steepest roads in the world. Either way, my breathing and mind concurred. After doing an up/down/up/down, I headed to the beach and ran the full length of it only singing a little Barry Manilow. I then enjoyed a frosty beverage overlooking Copacabana with CTR going in and out of view(depending on cloud coverage) in the background.

Instead of taking the Metro back, I followed the Walk Rio signs all the way back to my apartment. I wish I had known about it before because I would have definitely run to the beach instead of riding. Either way, it’s a good thing to know about and I would definitely recommend it. Felt safe the entire time and skirted the water almost the entire time.

It's the copa-copacabana

Back at my hotel, I showered(oh hot water, how I am going to miss you!), and headed out for dinner. Not nearly as inexpensive as Belem, but almost as good, I found  a little place where I had Baccliau which always reminds me of my dad and wished he would have been able to join me. Although, I am very much looking forward to meeting them in Barbados within the monthJ While not Portugal, Brazil is a nice alternative with similar meals and culture.

Speaking of culture: you cannot go to Rio and say you’ve been to Brazil. Already Belem and Rio are so different and tomorrow I head up the country to Boa Vista which offers an entirely different side of Brazil.

Until next time,

Danny