Day 63 - Christ the Redeemer
We got to breakfast at 730 and were told that there were a few more ATMs down the road that opened at 800. We tried another 4/5 ATMs and were extremely frustrated. The banks did not open until 1000 for us to ask about other options, so we were extremely frustrated. Somewhere in the frustration, the light went on. Maybe the ATMs are not the problem, maybe it is our Charles Schwab bank card. We walked the five minutes back to the hotel, connected to Skype and quickly got the answer, they had deactivated the account due to activity in Brazil. I was happy and angry at the same time. Thankfully, they can activate it and we can go get cash to start out the day. But angry because he confirmed that they had our travel plans and dates on file and of course we were in Rio just like their note said. He explained that Brazil is a hot spot for banking crime so they are extra protective. They obviously do not have a quick way to review the automatic deactivations. Either way, we grabbed cash and dropped off our dirty laundry across the street ($16 for two loads), pretty much our entire bag.
We flagged a cab and took the 25 minute cab ride to the train that takes people to the top. Train tickets were sold out! What a brutal start to the day. No guarantee that there were going to be any tickets available for the next day either. You could only buy them online. (Lesson: we knew this, but stopped when it asked for your Brazilian iD number. They said that you can enter your US passport number and it will be fine. This is a must do as we had a brutal experience getting to the top)
We were told that you could walk up the block and take one of the park buses to the top or take a taxi. Our last driver would not take us up as it is steep and very busy. We walked the block to turn the corner and bam, about 500 people waiting in line for the mini buses that seat 15 people. We started walking to the end and came across a taxi driver who was willing to drive us up, back down, and to our hotel! What a savings grace. This wasn't cheap ($100 USD), but it was that or wait forever. The problem was that this was just the beginning. The buses and taxis take the same winding road to the half way part where everyone is let off to buy the park ticket. The wait in line was 1 hour to buy the ticket, then another 3 hours to get on the park bus. Taxis were not allowed to drive up the second half of the road. We got lucky in that we had a very connected taxi driver who got us our tickets in about 15 minutes as he knew someone at the front of the line. He then tried to get us to cut the 3 hour line, but to no success as other tour guides were all over him about it. No connections were going to get us out of this wait!
The view of Christ as we walked up the hill was pretty awesome. As we continued to approach, it continued to grow into what eventually was an enormous sculpture over looking the Bay of Rio de Janeiro. The crowds were obviously heavy, but we were able to make our way around to the different view areas. We were able to get some snap shots, but were not able to really take in the views that they deserved as everyone wanted to take the different pictures.
I was very glad that we were able to get to the top to see the famous sculpture up close. Seeing it from the beach was cool, but it did not do it justice to to the scale of the sculpture and how difficult it must have been to place at the top of this huge rock mound. Seeing the Bay was also amazing. This city just has a different feel, one that I have trouble describing. It has the Latin beach city feel, but a bit more sophisticated that your traditional Latin city. The energy and emotion amongst the people here was felt.
We were able to take the buses down after about 30 minutes of viewing. On the way down, we decided to view the Bay again from Sugar Loaf Mountain. We had read it was the better viewing spot for the city. We chose to do Christ the Redeemer first as we just could not imagine coming to Rio and not seeing it. We knew that we could get to the mountain first thing and avoid the long delays of the lines.
Our taxi driver was right were he promised and we got back to Copacabana much faster than going up. I highly recommend visiting the sculpture, but you have to get your train thicket ahead of time (you avoid the midpoint ticket stop). If not, you have to be there first thing when it opens to get the only few not purchased online. If either of those don't work, get there first thing to take the bus up and avoid the lines. I don't think anyone should visit Rio without visiting the sculpture.
We had lunch at one of the beach kiosks. The food really wasn't that good, but it was nice to have a beer and watch the beach crowd. We were eager to get on the beach and relax.
In Brazil, there are multiple traditions for NYE. The biggest one is that you must wear white to bring good luck into the new year. We didn't break anything white to wear (at least white and dressy enough to wear) in our packs, so we had to go shopping. Unlike in Buenos Aires, there was white being sold everywhere. We found white dresses, but many were too short, too long, too skimpy, not a skimpy enough, or too big. After multiple stores (but probably only 30 minutes) we finally found a dress just right. They also had a nice orange necklace as it is appropriate to accessorize with one color, but not too much. Despite the look in the store in tennis shoes, the dress ended up be amazingly perfect for Kristen and the event.
For me, we headed of to one of the stores we saw chasing a working ATM this morning. After various combinations of trying on (in stinky sweaty clothes mind you) we found white shorts and shirt that would work for me. We were excited to have an outfit and be done shopping so ewe could enough the beach. We picked up our laundry, changed and were back on the beach by 4:30.
Copacabana beach is known for being extremely crowded and today was no exception. We however found that there were plenty of chairs and umbrellas available along with the space to relax. The beach is so wide and long that it can comfortable hold hundreds of thousands of beach goers at once. We absolutely loved the energy on the beach. Not a lot of volleyball, but moistly people relaxing with the occasional circle of kids kicking a soccer ball around. And by around, they would keep it in the air and pass back and forth. It was obvious why Brazil puts out great soccer teams as the least skilled kid in the circle still had amazing ball control.
We took in some sun until sunset (although most time was under the umbrella since it was 100 degrees). Despite the craziness of the morning and afternoon, we took in sunset with a few cervezas relaxed on the beach. You could buy drinks and food easily from the various folks walking around. They were always around, but never annoyingly in your face. They just integrated into the beach and are a huge factor in creating a relaxed beach atmosphere.
By the time we left it was late and raining, so we called it a night in preparation for an early rise to Sugar Mountain and the big New Years Eve celebration.
Day 64 - Sugar Loaf Mountain and NYE Revillion Celebration
We were at the Sugar Loaf Mountain ticket office about 8:10 after a quick taxi ride. There was already a decent sized line, but we were in the cable car within 30 minutes. The first cable car took us about half way up where there were places to eat and view the city. We quickly jumped on the second cable car that took us to the top of the actual Sugar Loaf Mountain.
The views from Sugar Loaf is a much better experience. The advantage to this viewing is that you get to see Christ the Redeemer across the valley. Also, there were much less people here this early, so we were able to just take in the views watching over a dozen planes come in and land right along the bay. Pictures do this destination better justice than words. Sugar Loaf Mountain is a must see in Rio and we were both glad we got up early to check it out.
We were back at the hotel by 11:00, so we did a few errands on the computer for home before dropping off our laundry from yesterday and today. The temperature was once again approaching 100 and we need as much clean clothes for the Galapagos cruise as possible. Being on a yacht (they call it that, but it isn't what you are picturing) for 8 days, we won't have access to any laundry and I only have four pairs of shorts and tshirts. We ate lunch a block from our hotel where they cooked the meat on an open fire in the middle of the U shaped bar.
The beach was more crowded than yesterday and the sand was soo hot you couldn't walk barefoot. Luckily they had water lines soaking the sand half way to the water. The cool thing about today was that we put our chairs in the "front row" where the water actually came under us when a huge wave came in. This was awesome. We got to people watch the walkers strolling and others playing in the giant waves despite the swim warning.
We went between chair and waves all afternoon. The waves were fun to play in, but be bit dangers today. The waves would make huge crashes at the beach level throwing you land. Not only did this create a huge undercurrent, but made it likely that you would hit someone in the crowded waters. We strategically played in the he waters trying to minimize the danger, but it was cooling to escape the warm sun in the refreshing water. Not only were the waves fun to ride in the water, but they were fun when they crashed hard on land as they soaked our fee and sometimes buts. We had to tie and hang all of our under the top of the umbrella. Again today, the vibe was festive and enjoyable on the beach despite being soo many people.
We hung out all afternoon until it started to sprinkle at about 5. We headed in to relax and get ready for the evening festivities. Ultimately, the sprinkles did not bring rain which we were thankful for.
It was a bit difficult to find dinner as most restaurants were doing a big dinner party and we wanted to be on the beach celebrating. We found a place that made some sandwiches so we settled for those.
We had a quick problem getting ready as there was no working ironing in the hotel. We hung our outfits in the bathroom, cranked up the hottest shower water, and closed the door. I'm pretty sure we used enough water to shower for a month. The steam room wasn't as good as ironing but it helped get some of the creases out to make us presentable. I do have to say that I was shocked at how great my date looked for the evening. She really cleans up well once she showers and looses the tennis shoes.
We headed to the beach at about 830 and it was already extremely crowded. We managed to get about 50 yards from the main stage after about 20 minutes of squeezing by various tents, coolers, and groups of people. There was absolutely no personal space, which we were expecting. The music playing was all in Portuguese so we kind of just took in the crowd and the moment. The amount of people was nuts. The crazy part was that we could not communicate with anyone. As others around us got annoyed (along with us) at people trying to squeeze through, we couldn't communicate with them. There is an unsettling part of not being able to as peak to people in a huge crowd.
The second act on stage was a DJ with a group of kids who hip hop danced to some English popular dance music and some of their own songs. It was much higher energy and the dancing skills were outstanding. I didn't want them to get off stage as they really keep the crowd energized and we understood the music. The third guy who came on stage did not keep the energy going. More and more people kept trying to push to the stage that we finally decided to relocate out of the stage section and on to the beach.
Moving to the open beach was the best thing we did. People were much more friendly and there were less people trying to move through. We were just outside of the stage fence, but could still see the stage and big screens. Additionally, we could view all of Copacabana beach. My iPhone doesn't come close to capturing it. We ended up next to a group of people from Brazil, Chile and Argentina. The one Brazilian girl spoke English and kind of took us into their group area. She was the only one we could communicate with and the only one we heard speaking English all night. This group was fun as they loved the guy on stage despite us not caring too much for him. He did pick up the energy closer to midnight and most people on the beach were dancing and singing to his music.
The countdown came to midnight came quick and all of the sudden we were counting down from 10 in English along with the crowd in Portuguese. The fireworks show was the best I have ever seen. They had eight barges in the bay constantly shooting for 16 minutes. All of the barges were synchronized together. They just continued to light up the sky to the grand finale where you could hardly see the huge buildings on the street as the smoke just filled the air. I only reordered a brief moment of the fireworks for two reasons:
1) I know that there will be professional videos that do a much better job than my iPhone
2) I wanted to just take the moment in vs looking through a camera lens.
I couldn't be happier that I did this. Kristen and I will forever remember that amazing firework show amongst millions of people from various walks of life.
Here is a better fireworks video:
We hung around the beach for about 30 minutes as we had to manage the crowds of people trying to go all sorts of different directions around people dancing and singing to the stage music. We wanted to get off the sand and walk around a bit to see other parts of the beach. There were two other stages, but we only visited one. The crowds were soo heavy that we wanted to escape them and try to dance to some hip hop music. We knew this was going to be hard as the best clubs are not in this area. We tried a few venues recommended from the hotel, but none were right for the mood. We gave up on the night of dancing to wonder the streets and take in the energy before calling it a night at about 1:45.
Looking back at the evening, I am so glad we got to experience this type of NYE celebration. Just like NYE in Times Square, the evening is very special to experience. I highly recommend it and feel very fortunate to have experience both NYC and Rio NYE celebrations. This experience allowed us to bring in the New Year on an amazing beach with other various cultures. Yes the crowds were absolutely crazy. Yes I had red wine spilled on my pants by a passer by. Yes there were some moments of uneasiness as someone in the crowd was a bit too pushy. Yes, we really couldn't drink as it was impossible to go to the restroom. But it was all worth it. The unique experience in Rio had so much passion, energy, excitement, and celebration that it was all worth it.
Similar to NYC and the crowds, I am not sure we would do Rio right on the beach again. We would want to be in the hotel overlooking the beach (or Times Square) celebrating with a bit more luxury with food, drinks, restroom, and space. However, neither of us could enjoy that kind of experience without first being on the ground. Had we booked a hotel party, we both would have spent the whole night wanting to be in the mix of the crowd taking it in. I wouldn't do Rio again on the actual beach, but I sure would experience Rio for New Years again.
Day 65 - Travel day to Quito, Ecuador
This morning we woke up "early" at 8:30 for breakfast and packing before leaving at 10:00 for the airport. The best news of the day was that I forgot we have a business class air ticket! We are flying COPA Airlines for 7 hrs to Panama City for a four hour layover before a 1.5 hr flight to Quito, Ecuador. Having such a long flight and layover, it was a perfect ticket for business class (COPA doesn't have a first class). This flight is our only business class ticket. It was the best way to get our flights to work and make our connection tomorrow to Baltra, Galapagos (from Quito) where we will catch the Darwin Yacht tomorrow afternoon!
Business class is sweet! So much room. The best part is that I get earplugs and blackout eye shades which replaces my lost ones a few months ago! The flight was spectacular. Multiple glasses of wine and three course lunch with ice cream sundae with chocolate syrup made the trip enjoyable. And of course, the reclining chairs and entertainment system! We watched "The Butler" which is about a slave turned butler at the White House. It is inspired by a true story. It was one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. Between the food and drink, movie, and photo organizing, the seven hour flight went by fast.
Another perk to Business Class is the VIP lounge where we got to try some Panama beers (for "free") and watch the Rose Bowl. We ultimately had to leave with just over a minute left and I am optimistic that MSU held the lead. Another perk, fast internet. I got to load and caption the photos for Patagonia. It usually takes me over night to save them, but it took less than an hour! The joy of normal internet speeds,
The day went by fast despite being a long day of traveling. We have a quick night in Quito before catching a 9 am flight.
I wrote the above blog in the Panama City airport before our flight was delayed about 30 minutes due to some passport problems with one couple. We didn't get into immigration in Quito until midnight. We did quickly get our bags and hit up the ATM (kind of nice to be in a country that the official currency is USD!). About 30 minutes into our cab ride, Kristen asked in Spanish how much longer and he replied 1 hour. WTF, it was then about 12:30 and we were both exhausted. We gained three hours today so it felt like 3:30! Ultimately, there as was a communication misunderstanding as it was only an hour from the airport and that was during busy traffic. Obviously at 1:00 am there was no traffic which can be eery when in a developing country. We put our heads on the pillow about 1:15 am. Hotel Reina Isabel was perfect. Quick, good service, new, and clean and modern rooms with US outlets!
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