May 9th

City skyline

More Scenery!




One word. RIO DE JANEIRO! Err three words. All I can say, is that Rio is officially my favorite city/beach/place of all time. We had a 7 hour bus ride from about 12 am till 7 am and I actually slept pretty well. After the bus ride we took a trolley/train/whatever you want to call it up to the top of the "Christ the Redeemer" statue. The view from that peak was breathtaking. I have never seen anything so ridiculously scenic. The view was almost a perfect 360 degree view of the city and ocean. After hanging out at the top for awhile and exhausting at least 50 some pictures, we headed back down the hill. After that we visited H.Stern, one of the largest gemstone companies in the world. We took an in depth tour which actually included watching the gemstone makers at work. Some of the pieces of jewelry we saw were incredible and incredibly expensive. However, the prices they offered us on the jewelry are probably at least one half the price you'd pay in America.

After our company visit we all went to Copacabana beach. The sand was amazing. The sun was amazing. The water was amazing. Everything was amazing at that beach. The waves were a little too strong to go out swimming too far but they were still ridiculously fun. We laid out in the sun and swam in the ocean for about 2 hours, and despite very poor food service at the beach, it was one of the best beaches I've ever experienced.

After wiping the sand out of places that will remain unnamed, we traveled to Sugar Loaf, a two hill tourist destination which gives a very scenic view of the city. We all packed into the lifts which took us high up into the air. The view once again was amazing and we even saw a few wild monkeys hopping around. More and more pictures were taken at the top of sugar loaf as we watched the sunset over Brazil. This was another one of those breathtaking moments you can't describe just with words. The view of the city got even more beautiful as the sun set and the city skyline was illuminated with lights. Once again, more pictures were taken!

We capped off our visit to Rio with a trip to the largest mall I have ever been to. The amount of stores, people, and food courts were astounding. We wandered around looking at as many stores as we could for the 2 hours we were given but I don't think we even scratched the surface of this mall. Beats the hell out of the York Galleria Mall. After the mall we all hopped back on the bus for the 7 hour bus ride back home. Rio was definitely my favorite part of this Brazil trip so far and I will most definitely visit again in the near future!