Highlights of Rio De Janeiro

We had an early start today to go to see the Christ the Redeemer statue. There is a train, then an elevator, and then an escalator for those like me who do not want to hike 2 and a half hours and then climb 220 steps up to the base of the statue. Our guide said the we needed to get there early to beat the crowds but it seemed to me that the crowds were already there when we arrived. The statue is very impressive and the views were clear on one side and foggy on the other side at the top. 

Next stop was the Escadaria Selarón. In 1990, Jorge Selarón began renovating dilapidated steps that ran along the front of his house. There are 215 steps measuring 125 metres (135 yards) long, which are covered in over 2000 tiles collected from over 60 countries around the world. 

 

^{There were so many people that is didn't seem like a very fun experience to me. Although if you looked closely some of the tiles were quite nice.}

 

Our final stop prior to lunch was at the Cathedral of St. Sebastian of Rio de Janeiro. It opened in 1976. With architecture inspired by the Mayan pyramids of Mexico, the conical shape is believed to give proximity to God. Four stained glass windows run from floor to ceiling forming a cross at the top. 

We had lunch at a local restaurant and had a traditional black bean dish called Feijoada that was served over rice. 

Late afternoon we learned about the favelas (slums) from a young Brazilian man who grew up in one and still lives in a favela with his wife. There are many favelas located throughout cities in all over Brazil About 6 percent of the Brazilian population lives in favelas. Our guest speaker shared how each favela is run by a different cartel. The topic of favelas is one of the major controversial topics in Brazil.

 

The day ended by listening to a Bossa Nova group at a small cafe not far from our hotel.

 

Just in case anyone thinks that I slacking on exercise the pedometer on my phone registered that I walked 6.7 miles today. I also realize I need to think more about traveling to hot humid places since the weather is definitely not my favorite.