And maybe world’s tallest palm trees-
And I guy who deserves an Ivy League university named after him-
One of the iconic activities in Rio is take the cable car to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain, particularly at sunset. You can actually hike half way up and then catch the cable car from there, or so I was told. So I set out to do that allowing myself sufficient time to be sure to get to the top before sunset. Off I sped in the sweltering heat and was just about 5 minutes from the top when 2 people came down the trail and told me the ticket office there had closed at 5 and so no cable car from this stop. So my only option was to go back down and then get in line with everyone else heading for the sunset view. Good exercise I told myself as my plans to get there before sundown went totally awry.
Anyway I had always thought that the Christ the Redeemer mountain and Sugarloaf were one and the same. But apparently not or at least not nowadays. It seems they are 2 separate mountains now about 7-8 miles apart. I am thinking that perhaps some movement of tectonic plates or continental drift occurred in the last 20-30 years separating the two peaks. In any event, I just made the sunset and the view was, well, spectacular -
I spent the next day Ipadema Beach which has now apparently overtaken Copacabana as the marquee beach in Rio. You need to keep a watch on your stuff, particularly your cellphone I was told, as thievery is quite common, though in the end I had no issues and did not observe any crime either. But there were an endless stream of hawkers peddling everything imaginable - clothes, food, drinks, hats, jewelry, Persian rugs, etc.-
A veritable emporium. I would never fall for one these supposed bargains for something I don’t need, unless, well, it was truly a great deal. The other odd thing about it is that every one of these hawkers, whether just selling bottled water or trinkets, somehow has a machine for processing Visa cards. You can pay for virtually anything in Rio including taxis with a credit card. It is like people on Craigslist in the US taking Visa. Everyone in Rio no matter how poor has a cellphone (stolen or otherwise) and a credit card machine
The beach settings, whether Copacabana or Ipanema, were also stunning and deserve their famous reputations in my view. The water was warm, but the surf was quite powerful and I found myself washed ashore some distance from where I dove in, much to the amusement of a fellow who, at the behest of a friend, was watching over me and my stuff.
I take Uber everywhere in Rio as it so cheap. You can go half way across this sprawling and traffic snarled city for $3-7 But the quality of vehicles varies-
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