We arrived on Friday morning, flying in from Buenos Aires. It was a long old morning because we’d had to wake up at 3am to catch our flight at 6! Buenos Aires airport was absolutely heaving that morning and we were stuck in all the queues. Queues to check in, queues for security, queues for passport control… I’m not sure we’ve ever been in an airport that busy (seriously!).
Thankfully, we made it onto the plane (extra queuing here as there was no space for people’s bags in the overhead lockers and people were refusing to move!), and it eventually took off about 30 minutes late.
We arrived in Rio at about 9:30, got cash from an ATM in the airport, met our taxi driver and were at our hotel within the hour. Our hotel wanted to charge us for early check in, so we said no thanks and just made use of their massive couches and free cookies and drinks in the lobby for a few hours!
Once we were all checked in, the kids first plan of action was a swim in the rooftop pool. After that, we all headed out to the beach for some fresh sea air and sand between our toes. We had pistachio ice creams (Kate and the kids) and beer (Martin) at the beach and then walked back to the hotel for an early dinner and bed!
On Saturday we planned to do the touristy things, following a massive and delicious breakfast buffet. We booked a tour to include the main things we wanted to see here, as we’re planning to head further East on Monday rather than stay in Rio for the week.
The Grants are here too and we booked the same tour – but when we were picked up by Jonas, our guide, we realised they were in a different minibus! We’d have to spy them at the sights instead.
First stop… Christ the Redeemer. Located at the top of Corcovado Mountain, within the Tijuca National Park, this huge statue has become a prominent symbol of Rio and Brazil itself. It was finished in 1931, and stands at 38 meters tall.
I think this is the busiest tourist place we have ever been to!! It was completely rammed with people, all trying to take pictures and enjoy the views – although the views weren’t as spectacular as we’d been hoping for sadly as it was such an overcast day.
We did find the Grants up there and with a little sneaky shoe manoeuvring from Kate and a timer on the phone we managed to capture some great shots!
Sylvie and Ffion wore their matching t-shirts that they bought back in Cardiff in May…
It was very impressive, but I think we were all ready to leave when we did – there were just too many people to be able to relax and enjoy it properly.
Our next stop, via the beautiful streets of Santa Teresa, was a cathedral – the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Sebastian. This cathedral was designed in a modern style based on the Mayan architectural style of pyramids. It has a capacity of 20,000 people so it’s pretty huge.
We also travelled past the Carioca Aqueduct, also known as the Arcos de Lapa. It was built in the 1700s, and served as an aqueduct until the end of the 19th century. It is now a viaduct for the famous Santa Teresa Tramway.
Next up was the Escadaria Selarón, locally known as the Lapa Steps, a set of world-famous colourful steps designed by Chilean artist Jorge Selarón. He began renovating and recreating these steps in 1990, using old bits of tile scavenged from construction sites in Rio, but in later years lots of the tiles were donated by visitors from all over the world.
Again, it was crazily busy here, but really fascinating. We loved walking up and trying to spot tiles our favourite tiles, interesting tiles and tiles from different countries all over the world.
We also enjoyed some musical interludes along the way…
Our last stop of the day was the cable cars up to Sugarloaf Mountain – where we would watch the sunset. We already knew the views wouldn’t be as clear, as the sun hadn’t managed to peak through the clouds all day, but there was no point worrying about that.
To reach the top of the Sugarloaf, you take two cable cars – the first ascends to the shorter Morro da Urca, and the second to Pão de Acúcar itself. The original cable cars were built in 1912, then rebuilt in the 70s. The ones used today were built in 2008 and are bubble shaped and completely glass so you get 360 degree views (or you would if you weren’t squished in with 64 other people!).
At the top, we enjoyed the views while snacking on slices of pizza and chicken balls (we didn’t know what else to call them – they were conical shaped balls of mashed potato with curried chicken inside and deep fried).
It was a great day of sightseeing, and well worth it even though it was cloudy and overcast.
Sunday we planned to just spend on the beaches enjoying the sun, sea and sand – so after another hearty breakfast (plus nabbing some sneaky made up rolls and fruit for our lunch!) we got ready and took an Uber to Ipanema beach.
We absolutely loved it – the sun was shining, the ocean wasn’t cold and the waves were brilliant. Add to that some excellent company and some great food options from people selling directly to us on the beach and you’ve got the recipe for a great day.
After Ipanema beach, we wandered along the seafront to the famous Copacabana beach, buying some souvenirs and snacks along the way.
We ended the day with a meal out together, before the Grants headed back to their Airbnb and we headed back to our hotel – just leaving enough time to shower off the sand, pack our bags and head to bed ready for our new destination tomorrow. Thanks Rio, we’ve had a blast.
Coyle Family Adventures 