Rio: so much to see, so little time

There are a number of places in Rio that you have to see but there’s a few that I particularly liked.

Selaron Steps

These steps are in the bohemian neighbourhood of Lapa (or Santa Theresa depends on who you talk to) and are now a major tourist attraction. Despite this, there is an interesting yet sad back story that is well worth a read. This is a stairway consisting of 250 steps stretching for 150m that Jorge Selaron, a Chilean artist who moved to Rio in 1983, started decorating with tiles that he created himself in 1990. At this time, the area was very run down, full of crime and certainly was not a tourist attraction.

This is am image of the artist himself in a tile that was given to him by a fan.

When decorating the stairs, Selaron used discarded bath tubs and painted them red as the starting point of his artwork. He didn’t start out to cover the entire steps, it just happened over time. As interest grew people started visiting the steps and met the artist who was known to be slightly (interesting) but would chat about his work on a good day. He was a tortured artist and rarely had money but people who saw his work were impressed enough that when they returned to their homelands they sent him tiles from their country which he would add to the stairs. He dedicated the stairs to Rio and Brasil – his adopted country – but never received any help from the government or tourist companies that continued to bring groups here. 

In the end, he committed suicide in January 2013 on the very steps he spent years creating right in front of his house by apparently setting himself alight. What a way to go! However he leaves behind a masterpiece of artistry and enjoyment for generations to come, and he turned this once colourful neighborhood into a more respected and visited area.

Christ the Redeemer Statue

A couple of facts

• 38m high including 8m for the base
• Arms are a whopping 29 m wide… That’s a whole lotta Jesus peering down on you making you wonder (rather uncomfortably) when was the last time you went to confession

Hoards of people come here every day of the year and fight for the highly sought after positions from which to take the same photo that a million other tourists have taken for years before them (tip: get here as early as you can) so you’ll need the best trained set of netball elbows to jostle for a viewing spot. Or if you can, get away from the craziness of it all and take it all in from a diferent vantage point. I did and it offered quite a site – a headless Jesus! Never seen that before.

This location has the most amazing views of Rio taking in her beaches, downtown area and the colourful favela’s that give the city it’s spunk. I came up here twice and glad for it because I completely missed certain spots the first time and had a much calmer visit on my second try. The trick is to go slow and take it all in, this is RIO stretched out in front of you in all her glory so I soaked it up, stopped and watched the madness and chaos of the tourists and had a little inside chat with J.C.

Despite the fact that this site in on everyone’s list, it absolutely deserves to be and I would fight everyone all over again to see this magnificent view.

Walking Tour of Downtown Rio

I also did a ‘Free’ Walking Tour, I say ‘free’ because whilst you are not charged to do this you are requested to give a tip on what you think it was worth. This tour group was started by 3 under 25 yr olds and they do it every day of the year. This is their business. It’s a great way to get to know parts of the city and I should have done this on day 1 rather than day 4, but them’s the breaks.

Whilst you walk past a number of well known buildings in the city you don’t visit them, it’s just a taster of what’s available and you can then go back and visit what interests you later if you want. It was just over 4 hours of walking in 39 degree heat but well worth it. (Growing up in Dubbo during a 10 year drought with average summer days of 40 degrees had prepared me well for this heat!)

We all went for lunch together in Lapa afterwards and tried the traditional Carioca (word for a Rio local person born and bred) dish of black beans and pork and sausage stew with rice and accompaniments on the side. As some of you may know, my culinary prowess is absolutely top notch, but to be honest this was a pretty tasteless dish (despite the local people raving about it)  and given a couple of other people thought so too I’m glad it wasn’t just me. It was Saturday and the once-a-month markets were on, so it was very lively with many people in all the bars and restaurants with music blaring everywhere. Locals abound here so it’s a great atmosphere to be among and soak in.

Rio can be expensive so shop around with your tours to get the best value. This was a good start and they give you tips on how to do things for free or cheaply in Rio. And they are passionate about what they do which is infectious. 

Other things to do that were interesting:

Sugarloaf Mountain

I went up here to get a different perspective of Rio. Glad I did despite the heights and 2 x cable cars it took to get to the top. It’s interesting how I had no fear whatsoever about taking a flying leap off a mountain exposed to the natural elements, but could not for the life of me look down 396m out of the cable car and stuck very much to the middle of this contraption thank you very much.  The views again blow you away, it was a gorgeously sunny day a tad on the hot side at 38 degrees, but completely fabbo nevertheless. You got a much better view of Copacanaba beach from here rather than from the J.C. statue, and you could see much more of the downtown area and Gunnabarra Bay. A great spot for a picnic or to take in a different view for a little while. I quite enjoyed my time here.

Chinese Garden / Botanic Gardens

The Chinese garden is a bit of a hike in the car. Good view, however if I had my time again I would probably skip it, but the botanical gardens are a good time out piece to just meander around and catch your breath in this bustling city. . I would also definitely get on a bike a lot more and just ride the footpaths of Rio to wherever they would take me. There’s so much to see it’s ridiculous, so it’s recommended to just stop here and there to watch the world go merrily around.

Full day boat tour

I took a full day tour to some gorgeous waterways 2 hrs south of Rio and sail all day with lunch included. To be honest I actually spent more time in a bus getting to and from the destination than I did on the boat. I would probably not do it again this way but rather take the time to go to the beaches south of Rio such as Paratay and Ihle Grande if you can, and spend a day or two there. They are worth it. Still it was great to be on the water on a sunny day amongst more fantastic scenery. 

My God I could wax lyrical about everything there is to do here. Have I said 6 days it not long enough? Well it’s not!

Travel is the best.