Pão de Açúcar /
Sugarloaf
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Coco Loco - cachaça, coconut
milk, coconut water,
condensed milk and ice cream - yum!
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We were waiting and waiting for the
clearest of days during these cooler months so we could explore
TripAdvisor’s
top rated site in Rio, which is the most famous
viewpoint in all of the city, if not the country. However, time was slowly
running out and our remaining weekends in Brazil were now countable on one
hand, so we had to bite the bullet and just go for it. In the morning we took
the bus to Copacabana and started the day with a bang as we explored Zona Sul,
feeling a bit more comfortable walking around the streets than we had when we
arrived in February. I say
bang because one of the first
things we did was try a cocktail called Coco Loco, which was was not only
delicious but meant we started the morning with a bit of a buzz. The
weather was a little hazy and we were worried that it wouldn’t clear up but
after lunch it looked significantly better, so we jumped in taxi and headed to
the foot of the first mountain.
We were
expecting a queue but there were very few people and we managed to get a good
spot on the first cable car that arrived. Seemingly about 1pm is a great time
to go as most people are eating lunch. With the morning haze cleared up, the cable
car journey was beautiful. Even Katie, with her fear of heights, seemed to love
this one (although not my comments on the reliability of the engineering in
Brazil).
The first cable
car took us up to the mountain called Urca, where there is a large selection of
shops, restaurants, and cafes. There are also several view points, and the one
over woodland was great for bird-snapping. From Urca you could take a (very
short, very expensive) helicopter ride but we decided against it as neither of
us had any spare underwear and we have seen how Cariocas drive cars...let alone helicopters. Urca had
some of the best views of Rio we have seen, with Christ visible of course, as
well as most of Zona Sul (South Zone) such as Ipanema and Copacabana.
From Urca you
can take a second cable car to the actual Sugarloaf mountain, which is a lot
higher than Urca and hence has a different perspective of the city. We ate ice
cream (Dolce de Leite Magnum and a Cornetto), drank beer, watched a giant
lizard, spied on a private beach, and generally just absorbed the view for over
an hour. It was a great way to spend an afternoon and if you visit Rio, it’s an
absolute must-see.
Feira do Hippie
Every Sunday in
Ipanema there is a market called the Hippie Market (Feira do Hippie), and the day
after visiting Sugarloaf we decided to take a morning and see what all the
fuss was about. As our regular readers know, we are massive market lovers and
can think of no better way to spend a morning/day/night than looking at the
delightful items and same-same tat that is sold around the world. The hippie
market was very nice and sold many items that we haven’t seen anywhere else.
Also the stalls didn’t all sell the same things as each other, most stalls were
unique actually, which meant we had to navigate the entire market to ensure we
didn’t miss the one thing we wanted! The market isn’t that big and you can walk
around in an hour easily (depending on how many things you buy of course.)
We bought a bag
that Katie fell in love with when she saw one Swedish friends in Jeri had. I
bought the hardest thing in the world to transport back in a suitcase; a huge
round plate of painted glass that is as beautiful as it is fragile. Anyway it
will look lovely hanging in the window of a new flat somewhere.
