Rio de Janeiro

Monday night I nonrevved directly from Houston Intercontinental (IAH), departing at 20:10 and arriving at 8:15 at Rio de Janeiro (GIG).

After arriving in the city, it was quick and simple going through customs. However after I got through baggage claim and to the arrivals section, I quickly learned none of my cards would work. I couldn’t use my debit card to get money from the atm and I couldn’t use my credit cards to pay for my taxi ride. My taxi driver drove me to a couple ATMs to see if I could unlock my card. Unfortunately that didn’t work either. He dropped me off at my hostel and gave me his number to call him when I figured out. Initially when I was at the airport my Uber app wasn’t working either. Once I arrived at the hostel, I waited until I was able to check into my room and my apps would work properly. My friend arrived later that night and I was able to get everything sorted out and get cash before midnight. Looking at the weather before arriving to the city was showing high 60s for the low and mid to high 70s for the high, but I forgot to check the humidity. For my first day in Rio, the weather was at 92% humidity. I can say that while even though the weather in Houston was higher in temperature, the humidity was almost double.

The next day I started off by buying water and snacks at a local grocery store. Afterwards, we grabbed some empanadas and a snack for breakfast and walked along Ipanema beach for a little while. After watching some of the locals play volleyball, we headed to a mall nearby. The mall was 4 stories high and filled with stores from all over the world. We walked around the entire plaza and even went to the rooftop to check out the view. We were looking for a Nike store, so I could find a shirt to add to my collection and for a new pair of walking shoes for my friend. Unfortunately, there was not a Nike store located inside of the mall, even though Apple Maps showed one. We decided to just walk towards the hostel and grab a drink on the way. We tried a local drink called Cachaça, which is really delicious when paired with fruit mixer. It is a liquor that can only be made in Brazil from fermented sugar cane. It is comparable to rum, and the proof can be anywhere from 76 to 96.

Our plans for today were to go up to see Christ the Redeemer and then stop by a Harley dealership to see if we could rent motorcycles for a day. We started our day around 11 with the best breakfast we had during the entire trip. Just 2 blocks away from the hostel was a small café with very limited seating. We were lucky there was a table ready for us, but every other day we were there it was overcrowded. With wait times of over an hour. Following our breakfast, we took an uber to the bottom of Corcovado to see Christ the Redeemer.

Standing in at 125 feet, on top of a 2,329 foot tall mountain is the symbol of Christianity across the world. Construction of the statue was completed in 1931, and it can be seen from almost anywhere in Rio. At the bottom you have an option to take a shuttle to the top, a tram or you have the option to hike. We chose the option to hike so we could get a little exercise. We were the only people on the trail and we quickly realized why no one else chose that route. The path intertwines with the road and tram tracks on the way up so we were able to see the faces of the people that chose the easy way. When we finally made it to the top, full of sweat, we still had to pay an entry fee.

After maybe about 10 minutes at the top taking pictures and catching our breath, we decided to head down. We made the correct decision this time to take the tram all the way to the bottom and rewarded ourselves with a nice cold beer. It was nice to get off my feet and just relax before heading back to the hostel.

Friday we started the day late and decided to just have a beach day. It was probably the most relaxing time during the entire trip. We rented chairs and an umbrella from a stall and relaxed while they served up Caipirinhas. My favorite was made with pineapple, but you had other options like strawberry, lime or passion fruit. Later that night we decided to grab drinks with some other people staying at the hostel. We our group was made up of people from USA, Ireland, Germany, Argentina and Russia. One of the Russians wanted to take a shot of Cachaça with a snake fermenting inside the bottle. I was the only other person that decided to partake, and surprisingly the shot was smooth with very little burn. We continued to hang around the bar and stopped at one more before calling it a night.

Saturday started off just like Friday. We returned to the beach to take in some sun, relax and drink some Caipirinhas. I decided to eat some shrimp as well while we hung out. Today I decided to have a chill day and spent most of the time walking along the beach. I tried to enjoy as much of the peacefulness as I could. When the sun started to set, I decided to grab a quick bite to eat before heading back to the hostel to try and figure out flights back home.

To start off Sunday we grabbed breakfast at a bar nearby. There was a local soccer match going on at the time so we joined in cheering for the local team.Today was my last day, so I tried to just hang out with the group as much as I could. We went to the mall and then headed to the beach around 5pm, until well after sunset.

We just sat around in a circle chatting. Getting up every once in awhile to jump in the ocean, or play fetch with some guy and his dog. And ending the night with one of the Irishmen losing his swimming trunks in the water. Luckily his friend brought him a towel to wrap himself up, after having a little fun and making him run around to catch him. The following day I was able to get one of the last seats on the direct flight back to Houston on United. My time in Rio was very relaxing and very much needed.