Rio de Janeiro

This time I flew into Rio de Janeiro to meet Fernando, who took a 24 hour bus ride from Salvador. We toured the gay beach at Ipanema, hung out on the famous Copacabana beach, and visited the major attraction that I missed last time - the statue of Christ on top of the sharp-peaked Corcovado mountain. We negotiated with a taxi driver who took us up to the peak, then another vista point in the Tijuca National Park overlooking the city. The city of Rio de Janeiro has the most beautiful natural setting of any major city in the world, and the stylish architecture of its many coastal neighborhoods are wonderful. However, being close to New Year's day Rio accomodations are pricey, we decided to move on to Petropolis.