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SUGAR LOAF MOUNTAIN
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Iguassu Falls |
BACK TO DAY 8 - IPANEMA HIPPIE MARKET & VINICIUS JAZZ CLUB We eat a typical Swedish breakfast on our balcony, taking note of the heavily overcast skies - a drastic departure from the bright sunshine we'd experienced the previous day. At 9:00AM, we meet our guide for the week, Marcelo Esteves. Bertil and Kicki had taken a tour already before we arrived, with a different guide (also booked through Luiz Amaral), to Petropolis, the former home of King Pedro II. They couldn't stop raving about the guide and the tour - they had a great time. Marcelo is very friendly and outgoing, full of information about the city of Rio de Janeiro. He escorts us in his own Citroen, comfortable for the five of us, to Sugar Loaf Mountain, after courtesy stops at Citibank for us to take out cash, and at Rio Apartments for Bertil to charge his phone (it was 220V, so it didn't work at the apartment). At Sugar Loaf Mountain, we board the famous cable car that will take us up to the first of two mountains (after a $35BR per person Entry Fee). As we arrive at the top of the first mountain, the clouds obscure almost the entire view, which we can tell would have been tremendous. Marcelo informs us of the history of Sugar Loaf and describes what views we have as we board the second cable car to the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain. The view from the cable car must be fantastic, though ours is very limited due to the clouds below us. Occasionally they split, giving us panoramic views of all of Rio de Janeiro, far below us, only to form again and take it away. At the top, after enjoying what views the clouds allow us to have, we take a little nature walk along a paved trail through the surrounding jungle. We see beautiful banana trees and other tropical foliage, and we find a group of Marmosets (small monkeys with long ringed tails and really big eyes), in a tree as we walk back up. There are six or seven of them within six feet of us, and we enjoy watching them for a while before heading back to the top. After exploring the overpriced gift shop (Marcelo tells us where we can find the same items at better prices, and later shows us where they were - the difference was quite astounding), we have espresso and then head down to the bottom, where we begin our tour of Historical Rio de Janeiro.
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