"Rio de Janeiro" a Rio de Janeiro Travel Page by sunlovey

And there he was, peeking out atop Corcovado from a vista in the Tijuca forest. This experience was mystical. I think I have a strong affinity for trees... being in this dense forest, the largest urban forest in the WORLD was incredibly cool for me. And it offered new and beautiful views of Rio below.

Um, OK, yeah, it was good... I think a touch of bacardi would have made it better though! ;-)

Upon arriving in Rio I was a bit disappointed. I stood by the rooftop pool of our hotel and said to Tim "Why did we fly all this way to go to South Beach*?" But, by the end of our very first night there, I totally eradicated that thought from my brain. Rio is NO South Beach. Rio is HOT. Yes. SPICY. Yes. BEACHY. Yes... But there is so much more, the samba, the cuisine, the landscape, the forest, and the most captivating sight I think I've ever seen, the majestic Corcovado. And the people are amazing. So free and so beautiful.

Yeah, I loved Rio.

*My South Beach comments are in reference to Miami, a place I frequent quite often as a South Florida resident.

So Tim, Mark, Rebecca & I opted to travel up to Sugar Loaf just before sunset to watch the lights turn on over Rio. It was pretty beautiful, however, most of our pics look like we were drunk when we took them. (AND WE WEREN'T, I SWEAR!) I'm going to find good ones though...