@mytraveltoons in Rio de Janeiro

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We picked an afternoon to visit the Sugar Loaf, hoping we could catch the sunset from above. And once we were up there, a tempting experience came to challenge one of my greatest fears. For 60 USD we were able to fly over Rio for 5 minutes on a helicopter. It was terrifying, but totally worth it!

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One of my goals in Brazil was to venture inside a Favela and see it for myself. After some research and listening to a podcast about Rio, I found favelatour.org. This company is run by people from Rocinha, the largest favela in Brazil with over 300,000 inhabitants (this is where Bruce Banner used to hide in 2008’s “The Incredible Hulk”). The visit was one of the best experiences in the trip. Not only did we get to explore its alleys; we met a lot of friendly people, gazed at its amazing street art, and fell in love with its vibe. Of course it has its issues, but over all, it’s a place full of joy.

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For some strange reason, Copacabana’s nightlife is at its best on Mondays. A bar-hopping experience has to start at Bip Bip Bar, where we listened live samba sessions (just follow the rules above). 

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We picked the least cloudy day on our trip to visit one of the new 7 wonders of the World: The Christ of Corcovado. We had to come up with the cheapest way to get there, considering private cars are not allowed beyond Paineiras Visitor Center. Besides, we had to be there as early as possible, in order to avoid the thousands of tourists posing for selfies like Jesus.

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As design-nerds, we had set an important requirement for our trip: to visit as many buildings by architect Oscar Niemeyer as possible. Across the bay in Rio there’s a town called Niterói, where a path called Caminho Niemeyer features several of his works. After a 45 minute drive (or taking a ferry from the city center, your choice) we finally got to see his futuristic vision.