Rio de Janeiro

We went to Rio de Janeiro (pronounced without the "R" by the locals) and it was an amazing experience! However, anyone you ask who lives in Brazil thought we were absolutely crazy to even go to Rio, let alone between Christmas and New Years, which happens to be the most crowded week of the year. 

Our first hurdle for the trip was finding a vehicle that could accommodate us all. Fortunately, Jacob Miller, a friend in our ward here in Brazil works for Hertz Rent-a-Car. He said that there were all of 50 minivans for rent in all of Sao Paulo. We searched all the websites and the pricing was ridiculous. He lined us up with a Fiat Freemont (same as a Dodge Journey). But, when I arrived the Freemont was in need of repair, so they gave us a Chevrolet Zafira, which is a smaller version of a Mazda 5, much smaller... So we piled the 5 of us and Jack in for the long drive. 

Google Maps estimates the drive up to Rio at 6 hours from Sao Paulo. We were packed into the Zafira with all our stuff and very little wiggle room. We set out on Dec. 27th and traffic was not that bad. Unfortunately, the car adapter didn't work in the Zafira so as we're driving in to Rio, Eric's cell phone battery and the GPS both died. So we were driving in to one of the craziest cities in the whole world, rolling down our windows, asking everyone "onde esta Praca Copacabana? / where is Copacabana Beach?" Amazingly, I think we made it in a relatively direct route. We got safely to our lovely hotel, the JW Marriott at Copacabana Beach, courtesy of Jack & Carolyn Snyder, as a Christmas gift to us. It was a wonderful hotel, right across the street from the beach. The most magnificent part of the hotel was the glorious air conditioning in our hotel room, which we don't currently enjoy in our condo in Sao Paulo. 

The hotel's pool is on the roof of the hotel. It gives some incredible views of Copacabana as well as the Christ the Redeemer statue. Though we weren't there over New Year's, which would be another "bucket list" event, I can only imagine how crazy that must be. 

The next day we started bright and early, hoping to beat the rush of all the other tourists. We fortunately were able to line up a local tour guide named Wolgrand who was recommended by some ladies in the Newcomer's Club. 

We first set out to the Christ the Redeemer Statue. It's an in-city national park. You drive up a very curvy road to a small parking lot. From their you purchase your tickets and hop in an official park minibus that takes you up to the monument. It has some breathtaking views of the beaches, bays and buildings. It's pretty spectacular that a country still will recognize Christ with such a prominent statue. 

We then went to the Pao do Azucar landmark. There was a cable tram to take you between the two different mountains. It was hotter than Hades this day.We got some ice cream and it nearly melted upon opening!

After doing all the site-seeing we wanted to enjoy the beach. The JW had beach tents set up. For the first time in my life, it was so hot at the beach that they had to hose down the sand where you walked from the promenade. Your feet would have definitely burned walking on the normal sand. With all the people, it was a sea of tents all along the beach. Unfortunately, with all those people the water was incredibly dirty. I would have compared it to hazardous water quality back in Los Angeles. But, it at least felt good to cool off from the scorching sun and humidity. 

• All in all, Rio is a must visit city for anyone making a trip to Brazil. We would have loved to stay longer. We've decided that Rio for New Year's is on our couple's bucket list. No kids allowed :)