Rio de Janeiro: One for the Bucket List

Part 2 of The Discerning Travelers Marvellous Adventure in Brazil and the Amazon series

Have you ever seen a movie or watched an online video and thought, “I have to visit that place before I die?” Art had kept an image of the statue of Christ the Redeemer in his mind for decades, always hoping that circumstances might one day propel him to visit it for himself. That image was one of the driving factors behind our bucket-list trip that started in São Paulo.

After two days in that megalopolis and a road trip along the south coast of Brazil (you can read about that leg of our journey here), we arrived after dark in Rio de Janeiro to see the twinkling lights along Copacabana Beach, where we checked into our hotel, the J.W. Marriott Copacabana, to begin a couple of days of memory making before embarking on a cruise that would take us into the Amazon and beyond.

When the sun rose the following morning, we were finally able to take in the breathtaking beauty of the city. You can almost feel the beats of the samba and bossa nova as you meander through this city, which is one of the most visited cities in the southern hemisphere.

We were up bright and early to meet Michael, our private guide, for a full-day tour of the highlights. When you don’t have a lot of time, you must pack a lot into a day or two. We would spend a day seeing tourist sites with our guide and then a day exploring on foot on our own.

We began our tour with the crème de la crème. According to Michael, early in the morning is the best time to see Christ the Redeemer (before the crowds), so we made our way to the ticket booth and boarded the tramway train car to get to the top of Corcovado Mountain, home to this impressive and iconic statue.

Michael was a bit concerned as we made our way to the top that it might, as it had been in recent days, shrouded in fog. We were lucky that day. The massive face of Christ moved in and out of the mist as our morning visit progressed. It was very atmospheric.

Opened in 1931, the Art Deco statue is 30 metres (98 feet) high, and Christ’s outstretched arms span 28 metres (92 feet).

Despite the early hour, the crowds on the top of the mountain were already beginning to gather. Once we had seen the monument from every possible angle, it was time to get back on the tramway train and go back down so we could reach the top of the other icon that makes Rio so recognizable in photos: Sugarloaf Mountain.

Getting to the top of Rio’s Sugarloaf is a two-stage trip on two gondolas. What we would have missed if we hadn’t been with a private guide was the stop halfway up. Instead of immediately boarding the next gondola, we took a walk through the lovely garden. We were able to appreciate the views from there before ascending to even more spectacular views of the beautiful city.

Once back at sea level, Michael took us to another site he suggested was a must-see: the Escadaria Selarón—a set of steps covered with tiles. He insisted we weather the crowds and see the Canada tile. Well, we did, and we found it odd. If anyone were to ask us if we thought they should visit, we would have to say it was seriously underwhelming. It was hot, crowded and not particularly interesting as Brazilian sights go. But we can say we were there.

Our last stop was the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Sebastian. Michael thought we might enjoy seeing a church that wasn’t at all what we might expect to see. It wasn’t, and it wasn’t at all like the European-style churches we would see as our Brazilian adventure continued. (Churches are not really our thing, but when in Rome… or Rio …)

Once back at our hotel on Copacabana Beach, we wandered out into the evening buzz and found ourselves an outdoor restaurant right on the Avenida for dinner.

Dinner anyone?

The following morning found us up and out to walk the beach to get a feel for the Copacabana vibe, after which we took a walk into Ipanema to search for that girl—and a Brazilian bathing suit for Patty!

Art, ever the musician, had a chance to walk with guitarist and composer Antônio Carlos Jobim, who wrote “The Girl from Ipanema,” that iconic song, and we both concluded that we liked the vibe on Copacabana Beach better. Ipanema is much smaller, although if you’re a surfer, that’s the beach for you.

It was a hot day, so we went to a restaurant at Fort Copacabana, an old military establishment with a to-die-for view of the beach and two restaurants. We were ready for a local beer—Hocus Pocus.

We had only three nights (and two full days) in Rio before we boarded the Oceania Marina to head north along the Atlantic Coast and into the Amazon. That’s a story for part three!

If you want more of a taste of our days in Rio, here’s a little video.

Saying goodbye to Rio as we sail away to the Amazon River. Stay tuned.