Christ the Redeemer

Today we struggled to get out of bed for breakfast at 9:30am. We shoveled cakes, coffee and white bread with ham and cheese into our bodies and passed back out until afternoon. We woke up feeling guilty for wasting so much of the daytime, gathered some things together and left to see the Christ the Redeemer statue. We got to the bus stop which is very close to our hostel and must have looked a bit lost so a local man who spoke some English offered to help and assisted us with locating the correct bus. The busses here are much better put together than that of Peru. They look similar to the busses in Vancouver and actually have a system to them. We got off the bus at the base of the mountain and were instantly approached with “deals” to get to the top of the mountain. The hostel had informed us that it should cost about R36 in total to get to the top including the entrance fee. One man offered us R38 for the return ride as well as the entrance. We also had the option to take a tram up for a few extra dollars. While we were thinking about it, we were approached by another man from the same company who offered us R25 with all included. So of course we paid the man the cheaper price and hopped into the van filled with other tourists. He drove us to the middle of the mountain and stopped so we could take photos. It was pouring rain, windy and cloudy so the pictures may not be beautiful but it was still a great experience and an outstanding view of Rio.

Then we took the same van a bit higher on the mountain and it dropped us off, the driver gave us a business card and drove off. We were left there to pay our R18.50 “entrance fee” which was meant to be included in the original R25 we paid. The people collecting money for the entrance were of a different company so complaining to them was a bit useless but regardless of where the blame landed; they were very helpful and apologetic on behalf of the other company. Of course we felt a bit ripped off and upset but we paid the extra money for the entrance and went to the top of the mountain to see the second wonder of the world of our trip. It was another one of those things where you may think: I have seen a hundred pictures of it, how different could the real thing be? Awesome! The statue is huge and remarkable. I would even call it a bit creepy because it was covered with thick clouds but we could still make out the shadow of the HUGE statue. Then the clouds would move aside and we could make out the amazing detail.

Inside of the base of the statue is a praying area set up quite beautifully. Even though a lot of what we are doing is quite “touristy”, it is worth taking the time to do it. There is a reason 150 million people around the world selected this statue as one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

When we got down from the mountain I approached a man from the same company who jipped us earlier in the day and expressed my concerns to him. He asked me to wait while he looked into the issue and returned with R10 and handed it to Tyson. He apologized for our situation; it was above and beyond most of the customer service I have ever seen in my life. Tyson said he got goose bumps. This is just one example of the many examples we have witnessed during our short time in Rio of the kind nature of the people here.

We were going to see Sugarloaf Mountain with the surrounding mountains (one of the seven natural wonders of the world) today too but decided to wait for a sunny day because apparently it is all about the view. We could not grocery shop today because it is a sort of holiday here so we bought food from the hostel and cooked up some pasta for dinner.

We walked over to the bank to take out more moola to finance the next leg of our plans which include a trip to an allegedly beautiful place called Buzios. We have organized a bus and a hostel there so that has become the official plan for early tomorrow morning.

"If we are not happy and joyous in this season for what season shall we wait"