Day One: Success!
*Unfortunately the wifi in our hotel is nothing too spectacular so posting my blog entry from yesterday is a bit delayed.*
Today we rode to the top of Pão de Açùcar (Sugarloaf Mountain). We got breathtaking views of the city and the geography of the area. I learned my new favorite way to eat ice cream – add many different types of fruit first (I got pineapple, banana, watermelon, and kiwi), then add a small dip of vanilla ice cream and top it with crushed peanuts. Muito delicioso!
Upon arriving at the top of the mountain, I explored a little and soaked in the views. The buildings seemed minuscule compared to the massive morros (mountains). It’s truly mind blowing to see a city that is home to millions of people be so dense and compact as the built environment weaves around the bases of the mountains, sometimes even climbing up the sides. I will have this view in the back of my head throughout the rest of the week as we travel on the ground and learn about the city more in depth.
A few of us wandered on a trail for a while until we reached a bench overlooking the water and some small mountains and buildings in the distance. We heard Brazilian music being played on the ground below and decided it was the perfect spot to stop and sketch for a while. As I was sketching, clouds began rolling in. I would look at my paper to sketch a coastline and look back up to see nothing but whiteness (compare sketch to photo below). It really put it in perspective how high up we were, we were literally sitting in a cloud! I still can’t believe the cable cars used to reach the top of the mountain were built in 1913..
Tchau!