Rio de Janeiro Day Six: Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf)

Getting To Sugar Loaf Mountain

On Friday, the 28th of March we went to visit yet another highly significant landmark in Rio de Janeiro: Sugar Loaf (in Portuguese it is called Pão de Açúcar). After our experience with Cristo Redentor the previous day, we decided that maybe we would have better luck later in the day.

(One of the things we really missed in our apartment was some way of hearing or seeing the news, there were no TVs or radios there. By the same token it was really nice, though weather reports are sort of important in this type of adventuring.)

We found ourselves catching the bus after a nice lunch. Then the Metrô, and finally another bus. The first bus and the Metrô were not bad at all, but the last bus was overcrowded. I was holding Kylie, and the driver took one look at me and told me to enter through the back door. This happened a couple of times while in Rio. I think it is so we didn't have to deal with passing the turnstile and the crowded aisle. Nádya still had to go through the front and pay for us.

I was holding on for dear life while standing and holding Kylie near the back door, and Nádya had started a conversation with someone at the front. Soon she motioned for me to get off at the next stop. She had asked a student at the nearby university where to get off, and the student had a shortcut for us.

What our guide did not know is that we had a child with us who is over 9 kilos and does not yet walk. It was a bit longer than we expected. On the upside, we did walk by this very interesting tree:

Pão de Açúcar

Once we wandered around enough to find our way to the parking lot of Sugar Loaf Mountain (Hill? I have seen it both ways.) we were treated to this sight:

Our timing had been great. No clouds for miles. It was not even that hot in the afternoon sun (well, at least for those coming from Teresina). We really enjoyed our visit to Sugar Loaf, for me it was the best day of the trip by far. Very cool scenery, great weather, and wonderful company.

I took so many pictures that I want to talk about, but I think I will let them speak for themselves. If you have any questions or comments, though, do feel free to write them in the comment box on the individual photo in the gallery. I will reply as soon as I can.

Do be sure and look at the panoramas of Rio de Janeiro. There are three at the very end, probably my favorite photos from the day. There are full-size versions you can download if you wish (though only of the panoramas). Here is my favorite panorama from the day:

It is quite small as it appears here, but if you click on it to visit the larger version it is quite a treat, if I do say so myself. ;)

We also had a great view of Cristo Redentor, and took full advantage of that fact. I probably got better pictures of the statue from here than I did up there!

The Trip Home

This was a story in and of itself. Rio de Janeiro is a city of 11 million people. Cities half that size (and smaller) have traffic jams. At the very peak of rush hour we headed home. We had heard that Rio can become a very dangerous place at night, and so wanted to be home at, or around dark.

We caught our bus to the Metrô without any trouble, but when we got to the subway station there were all kinds of people. We crowded into a car and found only standing room left. Again I found myself hanging on for dear life with one hand, and trying to keep hold of Kylie with the other.

I did that for a couple of harrowing stops before a man graciously gave up his seat so I could sit down. That was good. I felt very fortunate—until I realized that Nádya was at the other side of the car, and we could not see each other. I even wondered if she knew where I had gone.

We had heard a story or two about the crowded subways, but I brushed them off as exaggerations of the truth after riding a couple times. It turns out the stories we heard were pretty mild.

The car got more and more full. I felt crowded even though I was seated. Having studied the map a bit, I knew that there was a transfer station shortly after the Centro (downtown) stop, and figured a great many people would disembark there.

Have you ever seen masses of people push so hard against other people that it looks like the waves of the ocean? Maybe a mosh pit (sans music)? That is what it was like at this stop. I was worried that Kylie and I would get carried away out the door, and onto the platform. That was the scariest thing that has happened to me for a very long time.

Nádya fared less well than we did. She had been standing between the doors because there was no other place to go. She nearly got piled out of the car and onto the platform by this mob of people exiting the train. Somehow she was fortunate enough to remain inside the car.

The rest of the journey home was much more peaceful, for which we were glad. I do wonder, though, how all the little old ladies I saw in that car fared. How do they even survive with all the jostling, and cajoling?

If you wish, you can view a slideshow of all the photos from our Pão de Açúcar trip. It may take a few moments to load, but it is full screen, and quite good quality. I recommend it.

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