It’s a tough life to constantly be several posts behind on the trips we’ve taken.
But I’ll take it!
We spent the first weeks of 2018 in Rio to study at Caminhos Language School.
The mornings we spent several hours in classes. And then some afternoons, we had private lessons; most of those were about and about exploring Rio, and one was even at a bar. My kind of learning! Here are a few glimpses of that world.
Of course, our favorite thing was the beach. Our go-to beach was Leblon, and we stayed away from the “popular” beaches as much as possible. We couldn’t get enough of the sunsets, rainbows, sports, people (especially beautiful and/or “enhanced” people) watching, cold drinks, and squeaky cheese. We even saw a whale one day!
We did all the touristy things in a whirlwind day tour. The best, despite the crowds, was Christ the Redeemer.
On that same tour, we also hit the Chinese Vista, the Metropolitan Cathedral of Rio de Janeiro…
Parque Nacional da Tijuca, Santa Teresa…
We spent New Year’s Eve on the beach celebrating a Brazilian tradition. We wore white, sat under a captivating full moon, watched the fireworks reflect in the waves, and offered flowers to the sea.
But my favorite pictures from Rio come from the hike we took to Pedra do Telegrafo. It was this crazy urban walk straight up LOTS of stairs at first, then became an uphill hike through the rainforest. It’s a rock suspended in midair…or at least that’s how it appears. You can imagine all the selfies! But, the location was complete with an acai stand and professional photography. And the view…breathtaking. Speaking of breathtaking: pretty sure there was a collective sigh when I got down from the rock after finishing my “stunts.”
