Monday, September 9th, 2019 - Rio de Janeiro

We still can't quite believe that we are really here in Rio de Janeiro. But what I can believe are the 15 mosquito bites I got last night!

Driven by hunger, we walked straight into the only cafe we knew from yesterday morning. Like all the locals in the small place, Thorsten ordered a portion of Pao de Queijo and a bowl of Acai, and I ordered a pancake made from Tapioca flour filled with bananas.

Thorsten was the first to brave the Acai and tried the dark purple fruit puree... after a few spoonfuls, you get used to the taste and overall, it tasted different from everything else we know, but it was still really delicious.

Feeling energized, we ordered another Uber and headed straight to Cocovado, where the third wonder of the modern world, the Christ, stands.

There are four different ways to get to the top of the mountain. You can either walk, drive, take a minibus or take the red cogwheel train. We chose the cogwheel train.

Since it was still morning, we were lucky that we didn't have to wait too long for our train. In the train, we sat right at the front next to the driver's cabin and had the best view. The ride took us through the Tijuana rainforest, past exotic trees, incredible vines, and beautiful flowers.

Once we arrived at the top, we were initially on the back side of the Christ. The situation here was still relatively relaxed. We took photos, enjoyed the view, and then strolled towards the large observation platform.

Here we were almost shocked. On this very limited area, there were hundreds of people. Thorsten, being quite tall, managed to push his way to the very front. I, however, decided not to have a hundred elbows in my face.

To recover from the crowds on Cocovado, we took an Uber to the beach of Ipanema and dipped our feet in the sea for the first time... which, to be honest, was freezing cold.

Info: Copacabana and Ipanema Beach are practically right next to each other and are only separated by a small concrete area.