What they say you are

Jesus Christ Superstar, do you think you're what they say you are?

Jesus Christ Superstar

Rio de Janeiro

The following morning, having had breakfast while watching the early morning joggers jogging along Copacabana beach, I ventured out once again. The clouds of the previous day had cleared and the sun was shining. I took full advantage of the weather to finally go and see Christ up close. I used my piece of paper with the Portuguese phrase on it and added “Cristo Redentor” once again. The taxi driver said something in rapid Portuguese that completely passed me by. I figured it couldn’t be something about the weather this time round given the bright sunshine. I got the map out and pointed to where I wanted to go. The driver said some more things in Portuguese, pointing at the place I had pointed to and making a train noise, then pointing to another place and making a driving gesture.

Cristo Redentor

I pointed to the place where he had made the train noise, stopping myself from doing the noise too. I felt a little stupid resorting to such basics but it seemed to work fine as a form of communication. I guess the taxi driver must be used to it. We set off. It turned out that you can either get a train up from the base of the hill to go see Christ or have the taxi drop you off part way up and join the train for the last bit. I wanted to do the train the whole way. The taxi driver dropped me off, I did a few “obridgados” and waited to cross the road to get to the train station. I was offered a car ride up which I was told would only be a little more expensive but quicker. I declined saying I had plenty of time. In the end the wait for the train wasn’t too bad and was nowhere near as bad as the man offering the car rides had tried to make out.

As I queued to board the little train I checked out which side of the hill it looked like the track was on so that I could make sure I sat on the side that would have the views over Rio rather than the views of the side of the hill. The train was crammed to capacity and we set off up the hill. The great views on the way up when the trees parted were a taster of what was to come. Once we reached the top I was stunned by the views, not only of the statue of Christ that towered above me, bright white in the Rio sun but the views over Rio itself. I spent a while taking in the views, getting some photos of Dean with Christ and watching a monkey trying to steal a woman’s lunch before heading back down. By the time I had got back to the hotel I had a late lunch/early dinner and had a quiet night in.

Sugar Loaf Mountain

The next day I decided I would brave the subway so I put on my special anti-pickpocketing shorts. They don’t have a concealed inside pocket or anything fancy, they are just a bit on the tight side after three months of travelling which means even I struggle to get my wallet out of the pocket while wearing them. I figured I would go do something cultural so I headed to the Museum of Fine Arts. Having successfully bought a subway ticket and worked out which platform I needed to be on for the train I waited for the next train to arrive. The platform was pretty quiet, as was the train. I didn’t need to have worried about wearing my special shorts. I got off one stop too early because I misread the map, realised my mistake, waited for the next train and then got off at the right stop.

Do you think you're what they say you are?

Ipanema Beach

I made my way outside and found the museum. It turned out that the museum was closed because of a strike against government cuts. So much for being cultural. I headed back into the subway heading back down the way I had just come and carrying on to Ipanema at the end of the line. Once off the train I made my way to the beach and sat on the rocks for a while, watching the surfers as they waited for a good wave to carry them into the shore. I stayed for a couple of hours, watching the world go by and doing some writing before heading back to the hotel. After a small siesta I decided I would go hit the other big tourist attraction of Rio, Sugar Loaf Mountain. It wasn’t that far from where I was staying but I got a taxi there managing to ask to go there in Portuguese without having to resort to my piece of paper or pointing at the map.

The queue to get up Sugar Loaf was fairly short and I was soon in the first cable car heading to the top of the smaller peak. I had read that there was a path you could walk up to the top of the first peak but I hadn’t seen it and opted for the easy route. I was hoping to get a good view of the sunset but the evening was getting cloudy. After getting some photos I made my way up to the top of the higher peak. Despite the clouds I manage to get a good view of the city again. It was the sort of place that made me wish I was with someone so I could share the experience with them. I guess I could have got Dean out of my bag and talked to him but I had already got some looks when I had him out for photos so figured it probably wasn’t the best idea.

  

Sunset over Rio

After the sun had set I made my way back down to ground level and back to the hotel. It was Friday night so I figured I would attempt the local gay scene. I had done a bit of research and found the names and addresses of a couple of bars. I knew that they were unlikely to get going until fairly late at night so I grabbed a spot of dinner beforehand to pass some time. I headed out later and made my way to the area with the gay bars. They all seemed to be clustered in one small area so I figured I should be able to find them quite easily. I found my way to one of the places on my list. It looked fairly quiet and I hesitated at the door before turning back and walking on. I did a couple of circuits, passing the place a couple of times before my nerves got the best of me and I bottled out of going in. I went back to the hotel. I think it was the combination of not feeling totally comfortable in Rio at night, not knowing any Portuguese and being alone that made me not go in. It was my first failure of the trip and I chastised myself for being such a wuss.

“Jesus Christ Superstar, do you think you're what they say you are?” 
Lyrics from Superstar from the musical Jesus Christ Superstar