Day 7-8: Redeeming Christ
On day 8, we finally made it and went up to Redeeming Christ. We took a Taxi from Dan's place to the train stop (Rua Cosme Velho), our train was at 8:30 so we could arrive up there before 9 & avoid the crowd... We had the Christ for ourselves for 20 Minutes and then the other buses and trains started to arrive, at 10 the place was getting packed..
Last steps before the Christ
Travel tips:
- Get to the Christ before 9am (check out article on Day 6 for more info on how to get to the Christ)
- If you take the train, to avail of the best view: on the way up, sit on the RIGHT-HAND SIDE. On the way down, sit on the LEFT-HAND SIDE!!!
The view is stunning up there, that's when you realize how small we are on Earth! I would advise to spend a bit of time to observe Rio and the layout of the City. From the rooftops of the buildings to the surrounding mountains, the famous Pao de Açucar in the distance and the never ending rain forest, you can feel the soul of Rio up there!
On our way back, we stopped at the museum/shop Hotel Paneiras (half way down the train ride), there is a wide range of souvenirs and gifts so if you are searching for something, you will have more chances to find it there! The prices aren't too bad either.
In the museum upstairs, we found an interesting exhibition about the ecosystem in the forest. Though some interactive touchscreens, you can understand how the many animal & vegetal species interact with each other. There is even a small game-like activity where you can recreate an ecosystem and see what good or bad influence the different species can have on the others, for instance we realised that dogs were bad in the rain forest for many reasons mainly because they were not native from there but brought by humans ! Anyway you will discover that by yourself if you go there, just make sure to stop by the Hotel Paneiras on the way down, it's free and quite interesting!
At the back of the shop, you'll find a set of glass doors taking you to a little café. The terrace there overlooks the rainforest, giving you the impression of being suspended over the many magnificent trees. We would have loved to take a moment to have a coffee there and enjoy the view, but we had quite a tight schedule so we headed back in.
Travel Tip: don't challenge yourself with crazy schedules and activities over the top. Take time to live the moment, doing nothing but relaxing can be amazing at times.
