Travels with Irene

I will admit I was a bit hesitant to venture out on our own to see Rio de Janeiro from a cable car high above the city on our second day in port.  I knew I would be way out of my comfort zone finding our own transportation in a Portuguese-speaking city as well as trusting a cable car to make it up the steep incline without me freaking out at the height!

But with the encouragement of my niece Julie and my decision to enjoy the adventure instead of being anxious, we headed off the ship at 8am, and walked into the cruise terminal.  Of course we needed to first purchase WIFI for the day, which we did for $12 from  her phone carrier.  Both of us were fairly new to using the Uber app, but we had researched and knew that would be the safest way to get to Sugarloaf Mountain.  We sure didn’t want to use a taxi where we would have the credit card out of our hands or could be hassled for wrong currency exchange of Brazilian Real pesos.  

Our driver pulled up within five minutes and we were on our way.  Julie and I grinned at each other.  Our plan was working.  We had unhurried hours ahead of us to explore this granite peak and see what we could see from high above the city.

When we arrived at the first station to get our tickets, we had to try to interpret the signs to figure out where to go.  There were already a few hundred people in various lines.  We saw a short line that had a sign with stick figures of an elderly person with a cane, a person in a wheelchair, a pregnant woman, and a parent with a child.  That seemed a good place to start.  The agent spoke English, got us our ½ price senior tickets, and told us to go to the front of the line to immediately board the car.  No lines for us!  Must have been my white hair!!

About 65 of us crowded into the gondola that would take us on the first stage of the ascent.  We stood closely together, holding onto metal poles that were strategically placed in the car.  The 4-minute ride went quickly, and then we exited onto the first granite peak, Morro da Urca.  How wonderful that neither the height nor the motion bothered me.  I was surprised to see food vendors and shops along with a large railed viewing platform.  And I had to take a photo of the colorful restroom doors! 

We boarded another gondola for the second stage of the journey to the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain. 

What breathtaking views we had as we stepped out onto the large platform and began walking around the mountain top! We could see the city below, the airport, Guanabara Bay, and Copacabana Beach.

We enjoyed a fresh fruit smoothie, and bought some cute straw hats on the summit.

The summit was so broad that we could hike through some trees to see orchids.

After enjoying the stunning panoramic views for about two hours, we headed back down, blissfully content.  We had seen the beauty of God’s created world and marveled at the ingenuity of man to build these safe cable cars.  We had taken photos of people whose language we didn’t understand but whose gestures we did as they handed us their phones with a smile. 

And we felt empowered to try more adventures in the future as we successfully reserved another Uber ride back to the ship and arrived there safely. 

A delicious Brazilian fish dinner in the Main Dining Room was a wonderful ending to our two-day visit to Rio.