Under the seduction of Rio de Janeiro - Part II

Greetings community! I share the continuation of my previous post (https://steemit.com/hive-184437/@sofathana/under-the-seduction-of-rio-de-janeiro-part-i).

Rio de Janeiro from Corcovado hill

My fourth day in Rio de Janeiro was to visit the monument that most identifies the city and perhaps all Brazil: the Christ the Redeemer, that giant statue located in the metropolitan heart of the city, within the Tijuca National Park.

I took a bus to the Cosme Velho area, there is the entrance to Corcovado, the 710 meter mountain where it is located.

Train station to go up to Corcovado

It is important to go on a clear day, because from there the views of Rio are spectacular.

The most popular way to go up to the statue is the elevator train, for which you have to buy the ticket at the Rua Cosme Velho station. There is also a road that reaches the base of the monument and a path.

Train wagons

Among the greenery of the Tijuca National Park

There were a lot of people when I went, apparently it is almost impossible to avoid the crowding. The train drops you off at one point and then you have to walk a bit.

I started to go up, to look up, but nothing was visible yet, when I advanced a little further the back of the Christ the Redeemer appeared with the sky very blue in the background. I went up turning around and had it straight on.

I think that regardless of being a Christian or not, the imposingness of the statue and the energy of the nature that surrounds it does not leave anyone indifferent, you feel a spiritual force there.

A part of the history of this place (sorry, in Spanish hehe)

It is visible from afar and attracts the glances from almost anywhere in the city, but up close its 38-meter tall Art Deco figure (including the base) really impresses.

It is not only for the size but also for the expression of serenity on his face, which surely is due to the beautiful panoramic view of Rio that he contemplates.

Corcovado viewpoint is always full of people

When I left this emblematic monument I went to the center, to wander around a bit and eat something.

I tried the delicious coxinha, a kind of croquette filled with chicken, cheese and other flavors. This was cheese:

Then I went to meet a famous local in the center, the Colombo Confectionery, a dazzling place founded in 1894, with art nouveau style, that makes you feel in another era. Here you can have coffee, desserts and they also have main dishes.

The interior of the Colombo Confectionery is pure luxury, its bars and tables are made of marble

Then I was walking around and seeing that mix of old buildings and modern streets that downtown Rio has.

I entered the Banco de Brasil Cultural Center, I passed through Candelaria with its plaza and church, Cinelandia (an area so called because almost 90 years ago it housed the main movie theaters in the city) and also the beautiful Municipal Theater.

Candelaria church

The Municipal Theater

The next day in the morning I passed by the Leme beach and went up to the Fort Duque de Caxias, better known as the Leme Fort, to see what I found there.

The rocky mountain where the Fort is located

View of the Leme beach

This building was built between the years 1776 and 1799 when Brazil was still part of the Portuguese Empire, to alert the other fortifications of the arrival of enemy ships in Rio de Janeiro.

Copacabana view

Through the mysterious corridors of the Fort

It is not a place very visited by tourists, something positive in the sense that there are no crowds, it is quiet and from there there are magnificent views.

A favela (low-income neighborhood) and the Christ the Redeemer

Already at noon I took a bus to the Lapa area, which is like Rio's bohemia, with many live music bars, restaurants, street art ... there I contemplated the Lapa arches, an old aqueduct that supplied the center of the city and the area of Santa Teresa, located on a hill.

The Lapa arches and in the background the Metropolitan Cathedral

Above these 64-meter-high arches runs the “bonde”, a famous tram that runs the Centro-Santa Teresa route and vice versa.

Another walk I did in Lapa was to the Escadaria (staircase) Selarón, an outdoor work by the Chilean artist Jorge Celarón, who covered the stairs of a street with tiles from all over the world.

Its color is a tribute to the Brazilian people and in total there are 215 steps.

In the afternoon, with a group of travelers that I met at the hostel where I stayed, we went to enjoy a little of the night in Rio, and returned to Lapa.

In Lapa there are some buildings in ruins but still beautiful

There we were listening to live music, bossa nova, which was in several bars, in some it was not even necessary to enter because the artists played outside. We sit down to have a drink and talk.

One of the most popular samba bars in the city, Rio Scenarium

Already after midnight when we decided to leave we had an extraterrestrial vision before us: the Metropolitan Cathedral of Sâo Sebastiâo, with its cone shape and illuminated in a deep pink tone.

My sixth and last day in Rio de Janeiro was relaxing on the Ipanema beach, drinking caipirinha, enjoying the atmosphere of this vibrant city and already feeling saudade (something like nostalgia)...

THANK YOU FOR READING!

Photos taken by me with a Sony Cyber Shot 7.2 mp digital camera

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