“There are times in life where rest becomes bone deep and all subsequent motion is tricky.” – Old Sean
Leaving Lapa
After a month in Rio de Janeiro, in the depths of Lapa where nightlife runs a drumbeat against the walls of my apartment, I’m finally leaving the country for quieter lands.
Rio is a wonderful city and Brazil a truly gorgeous country, but my stay has been fraught with terrible health. Halfway through my initial visit, I grew annoyingly ill, warding off headaches and combating a deep, pervasive exhaustion. The local doctor informed me that I had gotten a sideswipe from COVID, but the main portion of the illness cleared up within three days or so.
However, the sickness opened up my immune system’s barriers for further damages, and I ended up with an extended hacking cough, bouts of sleepiness and a rattling snore in my sleep. I got tested a couple more times, but COVID had fled my system and I was dealing with something else entirely, brought on by a lack of sleep and a further lack of healthy food in the center of a metropolitan.
Sadly, this illness, while not contagious in any way, did hinder my attempts to get out and explore the remainder of Rio. Most of my days were spent working online in various locations or reading books with a sort of obsessive boredom. My only couple of friends in the area dragged me on mini-adventures when my health permitted, so I got to see a few other features.
Redemption on a Mountain
My largest-effort trip was to get all the way out to see Christ the Redeemer. It’s a little silly to visit hyper famous cities around the world and not at least glance at their most famous features.
In an odd juxtaposition, I enjoy visiting these tourist centers less than almost anything else I do on my trips. But visiting such sites is vital for a few reasons. It give a common conversation point to people who previously toured the area. It also gives others a chance to ask about it if they’ve not been somewhere yet. It also firmly checks off the “done it” section of a person’s bucket list. Most vitally of all, in the event that there are some unexpected quirks or treats during the visit, a person can experience them firsthand.
That being said, Christ the Redeemer impresses immensely but doesn’t surprise. Getting up to the mountain crest is a little expensive and past 5PM or so, requires the use of the funicular. Following the ride up, there are a series of staggered staircases carefully passing expensive tourist shops, cafes and standing restaurants. Finally, the Christian Son of God looms in all His splendor, arms wide as He embraces Rio.
Interestingly, in my head, Christ the Redeemer is always white. Not ethnically speaking. I mean that in my imagination and mental references to pop culture, whenever I picture the giant Art Deco statue, I picture the stone to be white, like marble. But Christ the Redeemer is actually crafted of a light grey stone. He only appears perfectly white in exceptionally powerful sunlight or through the powers of photoshop and other photo editing software.
Go figure.
Navigating the Redeemer
The platform to see Christ the Redeemer is absolutely cluttered with tourists jockeying for enough clear space to get a photo. However, in my opinion, the viewing platform looking over Rio is much more impressive. The city weaves and tumbles below with a jumble of favelas sneaking up mountain slopes. The sea shimmers resolutely and the Lago Rodrigo de Freitas creates an enormous additional blue space of a lighter hue. Islands which rise forth from the sea are serene swells of earth, helping waves appear in the far distance like thin lines of vanishing sugar. Facing the opposite direction, into the sun shows haze-tinged mountains splitting up sunbeams to color most everything a dusty gold.
As nice as Christ the Redeemer is, it took me a long couple of hours to get back into the city proper. Instead of grabbing a bus or taxi, I opted to walk, which took up a fairly solid chunk of my evening until I eventually stumbled on a place that offered some free WIFI for an Uber summoning.
In an era where we can make food and delivery services appear electronically with the absolute minimal physical motion, I’m amazing we don’t call it summoning. Ride Elsewhere Summoning. Three-Layered-Cheese Burrito Summoning. New Socks Summoning.
Pity the tech industry seems to specifically veer away from magical jargon. Otherwise, I’d be using my digital tome of communication to input my ancient sequence of wealth to summon chariots of deliverance and travel on an almost daily basis. The vast majorities of my modern disappointments are diction based.
I mean, that’s what I call everything in my head. Even the computer I’m writing on is a minor lightning alter of eloquent crafting. But I don’t get away with saying that in daily conversations.
Park Hikes
The following day, I had a much more exciting personal adventure by hiking through Parque Nacional da Tijuca. I managed to find a bus which got close the park’s main entrance, near Bar da Pracinha. This is a pretty standard restaurant near a park area, but it’s main draw it exists at a crossroads between two major green spaces in Rio.
I happily delved into Parque Tijuca, quickly veering off the main road to try my best for some summit views. It turned out to be a bit of a hacking endeavor thanks to my cough, but I struggled uphill jerkily, eventually getting some truly splendid views of the valley, complete with islands of purple flowers rearing over the local trees and a distant waterfall sluicing down the side of a mountain.
Parque Tijuca is a unique sensation. It’s all that remain of the once impenetrable forests that surrounded the safe-haven docking-bays of Rio. Much of the forests around Rio were so thoughouly battered back during its expansion that Herculean efforts were made to replant trees and restore the coastal highlands, primarily to protect freshwater sources. The park is a relic of itself.
As I wandered back downhill, I stopped frequently at water faucets to refill my bottle with some mountain spring water of pristine clarity. I remember when I was in Rome, the street fountains had lion heads spitting out the drinkable water with such tasty clarity, it was worth drinking even when not thirsty. The faucets here aren’t as frequently found, but they’re every bit as delicious. The recommended one is at the Tourist Visitor Center within the park.
Eventually, I started passing some of the more popular areas along the route, such as the tiny goldfish ponds found in Recanto dos Pintores. As I walked, the crowds began increasing and I found myself marching steadily behind groups of young folks in swimsuits and bikinis working their way up muddy inclines. Often, these groups would veer into the nearby streams, where were often dammed by low boulders creating tiny swimming pools. A few of these were more impressive than others, with the best one I found being Cascata Diamantina. I splashed around in a few pools myself but enjoyed the caves (Grutas) along the western road loop far more interesting.
Thoughouly winded, I tried a couple restaurants in the park and found them expensive and wanting before finally wandering back home.
Visiting Sugarloaf
My next trip was to Sugarloaf, which locals rave about, but I don’t really see the exceptional appeal of. The cable car going up was pretty crowded and the area overlooking the city is stunningly gorgeous, but no more so than the other vistas over Rio I’ve seen.
My following day, my friend Josi took me on a long subway ride to go visit Ilha da Gigoia, which is at the very end of the metro line. Ilha da Gigoia is a splendid little island tourist town absolutely crammed with narrow alleys, lots of artwork and classically tropical outdoor restaurants. We ended up frolicking around the island for my of sunset, saying hi to the many cats and dogs which lounge around the island. I managed to eat a somewhat painful amount of acai, which I enjoy immensely and knew I probably won’t find easily outside of Rio. My final night was spent wandering around the shadier streets of Lapa until I found someone willing to take my uneaten dry goods and the remaining change I had from Brazil.
Into Guatemala
And then, alas, I was done. I spent a couple more days enjoying truly glutenous meals at DarkCoffee, but my health wasn’t improving. About two days ago, I finally hopped on a flight and left Rio slightly early, landing in Guatemala for my usual dose of exploration.
Something in Rio must have been doing me considerable damage, because since I’ve left the seaside metropolitan, my sickness and weariness has vanished. I find myself in nearly-peak condition and eager to check out my new home front. My cough has scattered away, my sleepiness only ambushes me at appropriately late hours and my energy has resurged.
I’m gradually going to continue north until I reach the US once again, but I haven’t locked down an idea on how or when. So for now, I’ll take advantage of my newfound health and check out Guatemala.
Until then,
Best regards and excellent trails,
Old Sean
Written February 3rd 2022
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Ten years ago, I abandoned my military surplus store backpack for a Farpoint 40 Osprey Travel Pack. I’ve never replaced my bag since. Two years ago, I bought two more Osprey Backpacks for my younger siblings on their first tour outside the country. I have nothing but praise for Osprey Products.
