Just got home yesterday from being "Tagalongs" with our stake president and his wife who had served as mission president and mission mom in Brazil. Awesome opportunity to see a new country (and set foot on Continent #5 for me, uh huh) so with a personal translator and personal travel coordinator, we had a great opportunity to tour and see some highlights :)
1. Beaches of Rio. Sugar white sand, check. Dramatic mountain views, check. Cool black and white wave-patterned sidewalks, check. Famous names: Copacabana and Ipanema (yes, I sang both the cheesy Barry Manilow song and "The Girl from Ipanema" while there), check. Beautiful people, kind of check (there were some, but also some pretty scary bathing suits). Yep, I could live totally live there :)
2. Running and walking on the beaches. The country is apparently in a fitness craze. Loved it! In the mornings, traffic lanes are even blocked for runners. On Copacabana, the sand was perfect for barefoot running. In Fortaleza, the whole town seemed to be running beachside with me. Sweaty humid, but fun. Even did some obligatory beach handwalking.
3. Corcovado, the famous Christus statue overlooking Rio. Tram ride up, wonderful 360-degree hilly, beachy, big-city views.
4. Fortaleza. It's a beach town on the Atlantic, and the water is mid-80s! Incredible! The beach area is totally fitness-crazed: beach volleyball and a kind of beach soccer-volleyball (kick serve, and players can hit with their head, chest, or legs only), 100-person zumba classes, running groups, and fitness trainers every hundred yards or so. The town is on the move :)
5. Iguazu Falls. I've been lucky enough to see Niagara Falls and Victoria Falls and now to EXPERIENCE Iguazu Falls. We rode in a little motor raft right into some drenching downpours, hiked along a mile-long, spray-soaked trail, took a helicopter tour from above, and got to see both the Brazilian and Argentinian sides. These falls are spectacular. The water just keeps on coming!
6. Tour of Rio. We went through the stadium for the upcoming Rio Olympics (recently renovated for the World Cup), saw press rooms and sat in team seats right next to the field, saw Pele and other cool memorabilia. We also enjoyed going up Sugar Loaf Mountain for more scenic views and saw toucans in the Botanical Gardens (rainforest beauty right inside a major city).
7. The Amazon. We stayed in a floating hotel (called the Floating Jungle Palace, though I'd probably delete the last word of the name if I were honest :). We were near Manaus on the Rio Negro (the water really does appear black) and saw the "meeting of the waters," where the Solomon River (brown) joins, and the two run side by side with a distinct line between them, apparently for over 100 kilometers. Scott got a cool snakeskin, and we saw cute monkeys and sloths. Piranhas kept sneaking his fishing bait, but we weren't able to reel one in. No alligator or anaconda near-death experiences this time . . .
8. The surprisingly impressive colonial Opera House and other buildings in the middle of nowhere, i.e., deep in the rainforest jungle, in Manaus. Imported European marble and glass. A funky air conditioning system built over 100 years ago.
9. The restaurants. Brazilians have Americans beat in fast food (though they do have some American fast food too). "Kilos" are a great invention, affordable buffet/salad bar/dessert bars named after the payment system (you weigh your plate). Also, pizza and barbecue places where servers are ready and circling with dining options.
10. The beautiful LDS temples in Sao Paulo and Manaus. Dramatic Brazilian granite. Impressive and sparkling. Fun for us to see touching missionary reunions in the different areas and conference in Rio as well.
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