Day 30: Cristo Redentor

After breakfast, check-out and check-in to a cheaper hostel in the same neighborhood, we wanted to take advantage of the day to visit the Cristo Redentor. We decided to take an Uber taxi and get as close to the statue as possible up the mountain. When we arrived at a bus platform, we embarked on an adventurous jungle hike. We walked uphill for an hour and a half, on a small narrow trail towards Christo Redentor. Why choose the easy way and take a free shuttle bus up the rest of the mountain when you can also take the more complicated 'walk'. Totally sweaty and exhausted, we finally arrived at the top in 33°C. Unfortunately, we had to find out that we had to buy another ticket for the last thirty steps to Cristo. Since we thought the view wouldn't be much better and we would rather save the money for something else, we went back down and took one of the free shuttles. Since we had no internet reception when we arrived at the bottom, we were forced to walk further down the road until we had reception in order to order an Uber taxi. On the way down, we found the Mirante Dona Marta viewpoint. From here, we had the breathtaking view we had been looking for all this time (for free!).

Summary: the Christ statue offers a wonderful view, but is mainly about making money and being a tourist attraction. If you want to enjoy an incredible view of Rio from all sides without spending a lot of money or being dependent on a tourist company: simply take an Uber taxi to this viewpoint and enjoy the day!

At the end of the day, back at the hostel, we made ourselves something to eat, watched a movie, and went to sleep.