Feliz Páscoa!

Happy Easter to all from Rio de Janeiro!!!





I sit here wondering a couple of things:
1. how did 2 months in Brazil just fly by?
2 how I have yet to lose my lip balm after 7 months.
3. how many more times is this invisible mosquito going to bite me? (scratch, scratch)
4. why do Brazilians prefer to use utensils to eat a Eggcheeseburger w/ bacon?
5. Cristo Redentor - 700 meters tall? WOW!

While I continue to wonder, in honor of Easter Sunday, I present to you.....Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) and friends.

We're buddies, and we're cousins and we're brothers...






The view from up here is absolutely breathtaking. That thing sticking out of the water right behind us in the center of this photo....yeah, that's what they call the Sugar Loaf.



YESSSSS! We were definitely in the clouds and got a view of my favorite- classic fog. It felt like Daly City, but we waited it out for a couple of hours for the sun to make a move. While waiting we found humor watching all the gringos going for that perfect pose and photographers getting creative to work that perfect angle...





You don't learn this technique in Photography 101:


And here we are again at the same exact spot as the fog photo. After several chants of "REDEEM the Clouds" (i'm not even sure what that means), the sun made a move and ahhhh....there was the Sugar Loaf.



We took the cable up to the top of that Loaf to catch another view of what is known as the Marvelous City.


Sugar Loaf pt. 1


Sugar Loaf the sequel.



This, my friend, is the Copa...Copacabana.


And here's Muzz getting a closer look at Redentor. If you look closely you can see Cristo Redentor at the top of the highest peak. Muzz tried to bust out some trivia on us.
Muzz: How many meters tall do you think Redentor is?
Me: Hmmm...good question (thinking....)
Brian: Ummm...I'd say about 226 meters.
Muzz: Okay.
Me: TWO HUNDRED??? Damn...that's HUGE. I say....about 35 meters.
Brian: 35?..that's it? That's like from here to that wall (pointing to a hella close wall).
Muzz: You ready for this? 700 meters.
Me & Brian: WOAAAAHHHHHHHH.




Muzz wasn't lying when he told me way back in October when I first got to BsAs... , "this trip is gonna be SIC." That's gotta be the understatment of the year.

But Muzz was lying about one thing. He misread the facts. I knew it couldn't be true but for some reason I believed it. 700 METERS????
After a day of confusion, Muzz revealed his guilt and informed us that Cristo Redentor is actually 700 meters above the ground. "Samsonite, I was way off." The statue itself is 38 meters tall.

Me: I knew that was fake.
Muzz: That'd be sic though.

So go ahead and look back at the photo where Muzz is looking through that telescope and imagine Redentor being as tall as that entire peak looking over the Marvelous City of Rio de Janeiro. We had a major giggle session. And til this day, I get the giggles just picturing how HUGE of a statue that would be.

Happy Easter everybody and see you soon...