Americas

[Visited: October 2023 and several times before]

It was many many years ago that I went up to Corcovado, the famous statue of Rio and indeed, the famous symbol of Brazil. The last time I went there was by taxi, I saw it from a helicopter, and I saw it many times from afar from the beaches of Rio. Today, it is time to put in some more effort and hike up. I take a taxi to Lage park - and the statue of Cristo Redentor is not even visible yet. After crossing the park diagonally, I register at the entrance, which somehow gives me a safe feeling. I immediately enter a thick forest, and it is hard to believe that I am still within the city of Rio de Janeiro. Even though I hear a lot of birds, I don’t see many. There are switchbacks and some muddy parts, several waterfalls, and in general it is very quiet. I don’t see one single person. Then, I arrive at a higher altitude and hear the first helicopters above me. Just like the birds, I can't see them. Not yet. I continue walking through the thick forest with the regular sound of overflying helicopters.
After a while I reach an opening in the forest and for the first time I see some of the mountains of Rio and some of the bays and beaches far below. It is amazing how much higher I have already hiked. I also start hearing people and I know that I'm coming closer to the road. I make the mistake to detour to the visitor center where I learn that I can buy the ticket right at the entrance of the statue itself. The visitor center turns out to be a huge tourist circus where people swarm the souvenir shops and food joints. I make sure to leave as soon as I can back into the forest onto the trail instead of taking the van. I hike further up on the trail, until I reach the road. The last part is on asphalt and I am overtaken frequently by many buses hurrying to take their tourist loads up so they can go down for more. When I reach the entrance gate, a friendly lady takes my money, opens the door, so I can finally walk up the stairs to the platform on which the statue of Cristo Redentor stands. Now that I am so close, the size of the statue overwhelms me. Its huge arms spread on both sides of his body: they are enormous. In fact, the span of the arms is 28 metres. Even though the head is some 30 metres above me, it is clear that it is huge. It makes me feel like an ant crawling at the feet of a giant - together with hundreds of others. The sheer size (it is the largest Art Deco statue in the world) and its significance for many was enough to earn the statue one of the New Seven Wonders of the World in 2007.
I have reached another world. I have to push myself through the crowd to even reach the points where I can't enjoy the views over the city but indeed, once I make it to the very end, the views are absolutely fantastic and the reward for the hike up. I am around 700 metres above sea level, and I can see the Two Brothers, the Sugarloaf, and other mountains that make up the unique and spectacular scenery of Rio de Janeiro. I also see the other side of Guanabara bay, and in the distance, the higher mountains of the hinterland of Rio. After circling around for a while, pushing my way through the crowd, trying to dodge people while undoubtedly being in someone’s picture, I decide to leave again, and when I'm back to the visitor center, I treat myself to a guaraná drink. But the hardest part is yet to come. I book an Uber and it is supposed to pick me up in two minutes. When I walk down to the pick up point however, I don't see the car and I also find out that I do not have any connection anymore after walking around for ten minutes. I still don’t see the car so I walk back to the madhouse around the visitor center where I see that the car would be arriving in 28 minutes. I cancel, and I try a taxi which asks me three times more than the Uber would have cost me so I decline and decide to start walking down. I am sure that I will find a taxi on the road and indeed, there are lots of taxis, but they are all waiting for customers who are visiting Corcovado themselves, so I end up walking down something like three km on the busy road when I finally have reception again and order another Uber.

Around the World in 80 Clicks

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Corcovado (Brazil)

Corcovado > Brazil > Americas

[Visited: October 2023 and several times before]

Around the World in 80 Clicks