Date: 01 May 2011 Sunday
Good morning! We have the whole day for sight seeing today before starting our 1 week DBIB course on tomorrow.
View from our room in Hotel Novo Mundo – The Sugar Loaf (Pão de Açucar).
And Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) @ Corcovado
09:00 Breakfast @ Hotel Novo Mundo
Breakfast
10:00 AM Day Tour Begins
Hotel Novo Mundo
Exploring the area around the hotel.
Some of the roads are closed to traffic on Sundays and holidays. We were advised not to move around flashing any jewelry, cameras or handphones, to avoid theft. I had my camera strapped around my wrist and was holding it tightly in my hand while walking along the streets when a Brazilian lady warned me about flashing my camera in public and told me to keep it in my bag.
Flamingo Beach, just opposite Hotel Novo Mundo. There were many locals enjoying the Sunday along the beach.
10:45 AM Christ the Redeemer (Cristo Redentor) @ Corcovado
We took a cab to Christ the Redeemer. The place was packed with tourists and we had to stand in the long queue to get our tickets for the Corcovado Rack Railway up to the top of the mountain.
The queue moved quite fast and we got the 12:20 PM tickets. It’s another 1½ hour of waiting time! We walked around the area to kill some time.
Church opposite the Corcovado.
Old railway
The ticket
12:30 PM Corcovado Rack Railway
Time passed really slowly as we waited in the extreme heat. At last it was our turn to board the train! The Corcovado train, a mountain railway, will bring us from Cosme Velho to the summit of the Corcovado Mountain. The summit is well known for its statue of Christ the Redeemer and the beautiful views of Rio.
