Back in Rio

I recently returned to Rio de Janeiro for the third time in just over two years. Each year in october I have been making this trip for a much needed meeting with family. Rio really is a wonderful city, the sun shining, long white sandy beaches filled with bronzed people, the pavements of black and white tiles have the appearence of waves and are walked or ran day and night by those in search of the perfect body. Buildings surround the beaches both old and new, a real mixture of architectural styles. At one end of Rio a large lagoon (Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas) where people sail, at the other end the Sambodrome, home of Samba music and Carnaval, and in the north the Maracana Stadium, home of Brazilian football. Sticking out in the water and overlooking Botofogo bay is Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar), two giant rocks, the largest being 396 metres tall, both of which are connected by cables that transport cable cars filled with tourists. The city is nestled into hills filled with slums, houses built on top of houses in a very precarious manner, dirt tracks and steep steps the only access. These hills are green forming the urban forest of Rio (Floresta da Tijuca), the largest urban forest in the world, it was replanted by six slaves in 1861 after the original forest was destroyed to make way for coffee plantations. The forest is immense and in the middle of it all, on top of the highest hill, there he stands, head bowed looking down over the city, arms wide open, Christ the Reedemer.