Cruising across the southern Atlantic Ocean after a stop in Recife, I finish in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil where I spend an extra day sightseeing. The disembarkation tour took us around the city to explore the area from the port to the downtown, Sebastian or Rio Janeiro Cathedral, then to the north to the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, and finally of course Copacabana beach. Being a Sunday, this stretch of beach and roadway had tens of thousands of people on it!
Since I was flying out of the 2nd regional airport Santos Dumos, I had booked a hotel right in the terminal, so very convenient for the next morning’s early flight. Considered one of the top 10 most dangerous airports in the world, I could see why from the rooftop lounge of the hotel! A short runway and water on both ends make for an interesting take-off or landing.
But having that extra day to explore the city of Rio de Janeiro I already had my sights on seeing Christ the Redeemer on the top of the Corcovado Mountain surrounding the city. This ascent certainly involved a lot of different stops and starts via vehicles to get up there! Starting out with an Uber ride to the bottom where a train depot is, I decided to just take a tour van up to the base area. Certainly nice views from there already!
You will need to purchase a ticket to get to the next phase whereby the national park takes you up again to the base of the statue via their own proprietary vans of Tijuca National Park. Once inside that area elevators, stairs, and escalators take you to the platform of the base where you get 360-degree views as well as close-up views of the amazing sculpture. And do not forget the monkeys that hang out in this area!
Christ the Redeemer stands over 98 feet high with a base of 28 feet with his arms spreading out 92 feet. Made from reinforced concrete and sandstone it was created by the French sculptor Paul Landowski and was constructed from 1922 to 1931. It certainly is impressive and is a true representation of Christianity around the world.
Were the 3-4 hours riding up in taxis, and vans, and standing in lines with thousands of others worth it? ABSOLUTELY!
