Checking things off the bucket list

So, as is rather well known at this point, I'm in Brazil.  And what is one of the most famous things about Brazil? (no. not zika/dengue/chikungunya. and, yes, I'm wearing bug repellent and taking every recommended precaution)

CARNAVAL!!!! Arguably the craziest party on Earth. So, how could I not head to Rio de Janeiro when I'm already in the country and have a friend there to stay with???

The view from the room I stayed in.

So the evening I arrived, I went with Bryan (the YASCer in Rio for the year) and Ellen (the YASCer in Porto Alegre in south Brazil for the year) to the apartment of Bryan's priest, Rev Luiz. His apartment is in an old converted convent and was totally gorgeous!

Sunflowers in front of the original
convent windows

Luiz told gave Bryan a key so we could come and go as we pleased, and invited us to join him and some friends for a "hike in the morning".

The three of us talked it over and decided that we could go in the morning for a few hours of hiking and then come back for lunch and decide what we wanted to do for the afternoon during lunch.  Sounded like a great plan...

Small cultural translation issue.  What we assumed was a "morning hike" was actually a hike that would start in the morning.  So at 9 am after a typical café da manhã, we set out for the bus to the forest park entrance.  I've found buses are often full, but due to it being Carnaval, full was an understatement.  So, separated from each other by a crush of other Brazilians packed so tight that you could get only one hand hold and then just had to trust that you wouldn't fall due to the 6 people pressed around you on all sides, we started up the sharp turns of the mountain roads of Rio.  What fun.

We arrived at our stop and kinda shoved our way off to stay with the group before the bus jumped forward again. We had arrived at the Floresta de Tijuca, a beautiful natural forest park.

Ellen & Bryan ready to hike!

And up we started. And after a little over an hour and a half of UP, this girl was struggling.  I mean, I've spent the last dozen years of my life in either Florida or Central Illinois, UP isn't really a thing in either of those places. We stopped along the way at the little park museum.

Look! Tiny Rio!

And after some more hiking, we stopped for some lunch of tuna sandwiches, which were interestingly made with corn in them, so that was new for me.

Bryan after eating lunch

Ellen after lunch

 It was nice to sit down for a bit.  And Luiz pulled out a map to show us where in the park we were.  He said his group was going a bit further on another trail for a bit, but we were welcome to wait at this playground and tables if we didn't want to go.  He told us it was one of the easier trails in the park, and not too long in comparison to others. He also promised an awesome view.  I was the one struggling the most at this point, but lunch had me feeling better and I figured his evaluation didn't sound too bad.

Me.

So that's not a mistake I'll be making again. For clarification, this easy trail included:

Stairs so steep you gotta grab the chain

But that was just at the very end point.  Before that was hours of UP mostly switchback rocky trails.  I was in a LOT of joint pain before we ever got near the top, and the altitude definitely messed me up too.  However, there was grace to be found in this endeavor.  I had some really cool trail conversation with Rev Luiz, and despite my being horrendously slower than everyone else (even the guys carrying all the liters of extra drinks and food) someone always offered to stay with me if I needed to stop.  These people, who I knew less than a day, had no problems waiting for me, encouraging me, offering advice on climbing, and helping me.  Which is generally one of the blessings of YASC and Brazil, but was extra obvious in this scenario where I could barely move without pain.

For reference: White arrow is the famous Christ the Redeemer statue.  I climbed to the top of the Red Arrow mountain.

And, to be honest, Luiz was totally right about the view.

Look! Tiny Rio for REAL!

And there was fun and relaxation to be had at the top as well.

Namaste, Nelson!

And then I had to get back down.  But after a grueling descent and another crowded bus ride, we stopped for dinner at a pasta rodizio restaurant.  "Rodizio" indicates that a restaurant has an all you can eat option where they bring unlimited whatever it is to your table as much and often as you want for a preset price.  It's awesome!  There's pasta rodizio, sushi rodizio, and my favorite option: Pizza Rodizio (yup, even their fried garlic pizza! which is possibly one of the best things ever!!!)

By the end of the day, I knew-courtesy of my fit tracker- that we had climbed a half mile up then back down, and covered 11.5 miles in distance in addition to the UP.

The next day, I hobbled to church (everyone else just walked normally).  Met some really nice people who are very welcoming, and enjoyed the service.  Trinity Church is MUCH more high church than the church here in Pedregal, so it was nice to switch it up a bit.  After church, the congregation, and specifically Bryan, set up a table outside with food to give to those living on the streets.  

And that evening we went in search of tacos...with strange not-quite-success.  We did find a "TexMex" restaurant, but...

 For example, Ellen's rice was made with weird barbecue/ketchup sauce. All the meat in the tacos was cooked with Brazilian spices (which are far more bland than texmex), and the piña colada was more water than anything else (I think that's kinda sacrilegious to an Anglican...or maybe that's just me). So the overall outcome was I would have been better off having just learned how to make sour cream myself than try for a sad facsimile. Especially when Rio has so much other really awesome food!

 Monday afternoon, we decided to head to the beach.  So the question was: which famous Rio beach do you choose? 

The view towards the water...I swear!

And the answer is: ANYWHERE YOU CAN FIND SPACE! And I gotta say, while the crowds were kinda intense, I really did like the people-watching, especially since Brazilian beaches are extremely different from US beach norms.  First off, swimsuits are WAY smaller. And there is quite a different culture when it comes to what is appropriate for bigger people to wear.  This is something I find rather intriguing, especially as I have just gone through some major weight loss and was feeling super uncomfortable myself.  Good new was: no one else cared. So for the first time in my adult life, I wore a swimsuit that didn't cover my stomach, and sadly, despite the logic, I didn't really enjoy it.  But I'm gonna keep trying until I can manage to adopt the Brazilian manner of comfort in a swimsuit at the beach.  Also, because it makes me uncomfortable but is logical, I'm gonna post the following pictures of me on this day.

Bryan and Ellen decided to try paddle boarding.  I decided to hold
our spot and not kill myself with my poor balance

Disclaimer: I'm not actually sure this is them...hard to tell

The beachside mountains as the sun started to go down

Really can't beat that kind of view for a sunset.

Also, had to use WAY more sunscreen due to smaller suit.

So, less than halfway through my time in Rio and I had already done two things I am pretty sure would have caused death if done a year ago.  Not too shabby.  And it wasn't even Carnaval day yet.

Carnaval came, along with a bit of sunburn on a spot on my knee that I missed...go figure.  And we decided to go out dancing!  It was great! The DJ played a really good set, and while the fact that we knew all the words and dances to every 90s song (we were the clear macarena champs!) probably clearly marked us as foreigners, it was still loads of fun!

So after 5 straight hours of dancing, I had to call it quits in search of a chair and some food!  Also, if you find this info helpful, know that a shirt with glitter patterns on it will leave you glittered for the rest of your life.  I'm still finding traces every so often, even weeks later.  If anyone ever invents GPS glitter I guarantee you could track who you want for forever because it'll never be fully gone.

Another thing I learned is that, during the week right before Carnaval, it is really hard to find a Carioca (what they call people from Rio) on the street.  They kinda hide from the hordes of crazy tourists.  But, come Ash Wednesday: *poof* people!  So we went to church.

And then when we finally caught a bus to the mall to find dinner, I couldn't figure out why people were giving me really weird looks...

Then I passed a mirrored window and saw the ashes still on my head.  I looked around and saw that I was literally the only one with ashes, which I found kinda strange for a country touted to be as "Catholic" as Brazil.  So I pondered for a minute, then my stomach growled and I hurried to catch up with my friends on the way to the food.

On Thursday, I wanted to check out somewhere I hadn't been yet, but it was a rather overcast day.  I headed to the Botofogo Shopping and found out that the 8th floor of the mall was their food court and "observation deck" which I was fairly certain I had mistranslated because that sounded weird.

I was not wrong.  They did have an observation deck off the food court.  So I enjoyed my lunch, and then a lovely strawberry-nutella crepe before I grabbed a quick shot of the view.

Even on a rainy day, the Botofogo beach and iconic Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf) mountain are beautiful

Friday we had to say goodbye to Ellen who had to get back to attend a wedding the next day.  But first we grabbed a nice little breakfast together.

 After Ellen left for her flight, Bryan and I kinda did a "What do you wanna do?" "I don't know, what do YOU want to do?" sorta deal.  So we went to see Jesus.  It seemed rather appropriate for missionaries.  And also, I liked the fact that there was a van option to get up this mountain.

The statue looks so unassuming from
a distance

  

We may not have had to climb this one, but it was super bright and sunny.  With the hordes of other people who all had the same idea we did, it got hot really fast up there.  So we got our pictures and retreated to the little cafe with some tables, chairs, and umbrellas with views overlooking the iconic beaches of Rio.  I got a nice cold can of Guaraná, which is pretty much the national soda of Brazil and which I have definitely fallen in love with since arriving.  The guaraná plant, whose berry is used in the soda, is native to Brazil and naturally contains caffeine.  So I'm gonna need to find a store back home that will help me keep my supply coming after I get back.

Another view of Tiny Rio, with some awesome foreground, too

 We then headed back to the metro.  We saw some pretty good street musicians with a rather distinct "funk" style that I hadn't heard in Brazil before. Then we went off in search of dinner,  (Big shout out to Bryan with the rescue on my lost chicken fiasco!) while we waited for the showtime of the movie we wanted to see.

It was a pretty good last day of vacation, but I was ready to head back home.  After all, I still had lots of work to do on the house and my classroom.

And there was some other good news yet to come.  But all that will have to wait until another post.

Big thanks again to Bryan and Luiz for being such excellent hosts.  I am really looking forward to getting back to Rio.  Hopefully in August for the once in a lifetime chance to see the Rio Olympics!