Christ the Redeemer
After a month of being in Rio de Janeiro, I figured it was time to visit their largest tourist attraction, Christ the Redeemer monument. It’s become a very famous statue worldwide and is now considered one of the 7 wonders of the new world!
The trip to get up to the statue was a big part of the experience as well. There is a train that takes you up the mountain for $36 Reals ($20 USD). At first I figured it was going to be “neat” but not an overly exciting train ride. I was wrong.
As we left the station at the base of the mountain we began our accent. The conductor piloted the train up the steeper and steeper slope and then the vegetation started to change. The trees and bushes all became more dense. The smell in the open air train car started to smell tropical. The smell gradually intensified. Peering out, the thick dense foliage became a healthy dark green color and moss covered rocks started to appear. Every so often, I could see spider webs at least four feet in diameter; some with trapped insects. We kept on chugging up the hill and the jungle smell continued to intensify. This trek was becoming eerily like Jurassic Park. Too bad there were no monkeys or other wild animals to complete the adventure.
At the top of the mountain, standing tall, was Christ the Redeemer. Beautiful, well kept gardens lined the final walking path up to the monument. The pictures will do a much better job at giving you a glimpse into the feeling from up there. There is a complete 360 degree views of Rio that is extrodinary.
Enjoy the photos in the Christ the Redeemer photo gallery here.
Awesome!
Looks like you timed your visit right. We found ourselves in throngs when we visited..
during Christmas holidays. Loved your pictures. What a beautiful view.
Cookie
HI Jason,
The pictures are so awesome. I now have the true picture of the Rio you have been describing. Keep being safe…proud of the way you handled the punk!
Hey, this is on our list of things to see, very cool. Now you have to go to Iguazu and then to Machu Picchu. I imagine the effect of the height of this combined with overlooking the mountain is somewhat amazing. Keep up the posts.
Nice pics yet again J.
Your camera is amazing.
That pic of the helicopter caught the blade frozen mid spin.
Gotta ask, whose the lady friend in the 2nd to last pic?
Frank
Looks like it was a fun adventure. Now that I think about it, I think the last time I saw that statue was when I watched The Exorcist.
Frank: I met her up at the top of the monument. Her name is Catalina. She is from Sao Paulo and is on vacation in Rio for two more days. At first, she asked me to take a picture of her with her camera. Then I asked her to take one of me with my camera. Then we parted ways. I saw her 10 minutes later and we started talking. From there she told me she is in school to become a pilot. She wants to work for an international airline and travel the world. We had lots to talk about but the language barier was very difficult to overcome. I snapped the photo of her and she gave me a kiss on the cheek.
Hey Jason,
Great blog, I love living vicariously thru you!
Glad you’re having a great time. Love the pictures! Be safe,
MaryJo
WOW!!! That’s all I can say.
Jan