Rio de Janeiro

I flew to Sao Paulo from Salvador, then took a bus to Rio de Janeiro. A little disoriented at the Sao Paulo airport, an airline employee helped me get to the right bus to the bus terminal. Once in Rio I made it to the hotel by Ipanema Beach via the metro. The metro tunnels were bored into the solid granite underlying the city, it was amazing. Once on the street the Copacabana and Ipanema beaches were incredibly beautiful, surrounded by dramatic granite domes everywhere. The opulent hotels and resort lining Copacabana were impressive, the wide white sand beaches were stunning, even the very wide sidewalks with mosaic patterns were glamorous. The beaches were mostly deserted because it's June (southern hemisphere winter), but the temperature were in the 80's Fahrenheit. Fernando's friend Carlos took me to modern shopping malls via air-conditioned busses, which made me catch a cold. These malls are grander than American malls and the rich people went there in fancy cars. He also took me to the opposite side of the Bay, the city of Niteroi. This city is much more run-down-looking, it's working class Brazilians living here. However there are stunning views to be had of the Rio skyline with its monumental granite domes, among which the Sugar Loaf and the Christ statue.

From my Brazilian friends back in San Francisco, CA I got tips to visit a mountaineering store, where I bought hiking shoes and arranged a guide for a hike. My guide Marcio met me the next day and we took a two hour hike to the top of Pedra da Gavea, a 2700 feet granite mountain next to the city. Pedra da Gávea's upper section is a granite monolith looking like a huge human face. Here was a section of steep rock that Márcio had brought climbing gear for just in case I would have trouble scaling it, but I didn't. Márcio and I rested in the sun on the summit for more than 2 hours, enjoying the peace and quiet, the cool breezes, and the glorious view of Rio de Janeiro skyline. I had a pleasant chat with Marcio, who was a college student interested in environmental management. After taking a two-hour break, we came down. Coming down the mountain during midday heat was quite exhausting. When we got to the trailhead we had a glass of refreshing açaí juice, from a Brazilian tropical fruit of the Amazon.