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We are back with the topics for the #weekend-engagement initiative in Weekend Experiences Community. This time G-dog has given is a rest from thought experiments to choose from some topics related to photography. However one of them was very deep. It is not the one I'm choosing this time. I wanted to show a bit of my vacations in Brazil in 2012. This specific part when after arriving a Friday we could do something fun on Saturday after getting rid of jet lag. Our guide, Suzy, showed us the way to Sugarloaf Mountain (Pão do Açúcar), a big rock located near the coast.
This place has a great view of the whole city of Rio de Janeiro and from it you can see some of the sights. At least the big ones. It also has museums and other interesting areas on the top. There's a amphitheater and a theater stage. I'll show some of the photos but beware, they are really bad. This was 2012 and we had a 13mp camera.
Arriving to the cable car station
You might wonder why the mountain is called Sugarloaf. This term is derived from the old sugar plantations back in colonial times. The sugar blocks were pilled in mounds and coveted with clay that had that shape. The mountain has the same shape thus the nickname stuck. This site was declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 2012.
The mountain is made of granite and quartz. And it's located on the mouth of Guanabara Bay in a peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic. It has a hegitj of 396m (1,299ft). And the main attraction is its cable car. They panoramic view of the city is amazing.
First station of the cable car
Dad buying the tickets. The sign says "only cards"
That's my hand holding the ticket. I still have it stored in my mementos box
Something I learnt from this trip is that many countries apply two kinds of fees for these things. One is for nationals; the other, for foreigners. It makes total sense since it has to be cheaper for people living in the place. I only mention this because Venezuela works the other way around. But enough geopolitics.
This is some of the view from the cable car. It is great to see the city from many angles. Cable cars are just amazing. Before this, I had only gotten into the one in Merida and the one in Caracas. This is way better since you have a view of the ocean. And also, because it isn't so high. I get dizzy if I go pass the 3000m over the level of the sea.
These sculptures are made with geodes extracted from the same mountain. It was a really cool sight. It must take quite some work shaping something that's both very and brittle at the same time.
My parents posing. Augusto Ferreira Ramos' Statue in the middle. He was the engineer that came up with the idea and plans to make the cable car in 1907. So muito origado, Augusto.
The view is so good that you can see the forest of Tijuca where the Christ of Corcobado rests. That was our target for the next day. Unfortunately, I don't have those photos. And I think they were lost when one of my laptops died.
I remember that Saturday as an chill day. We went to this place with an amazing view and just sled the time together as a family walking around and taking photos of the things we found appealing. That's the essence of vacations. Or so I think.
The next day we did a tour of Rio that included the forest of Tijuca, the Maracana Football Stadium and some great places in the city including an All-You-Can-Eat Brazil steak house. You know those places where you can eat plenty and pay a round fee.
There's more form the trip. It's the only one we have made as a family outside the country. And we were old enough to drink together. And that we did in plenty. There's some great beers in Brazil. Use that information wisely or not.
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