Hi all,
We are back in Rio, and today we hiked up a mountain called Pedra Bonita. The drive up went through a beautiful neighborhood and a winding, climbing road that looked over the blue ocean. Once we got to the trailhead, we set out through a nationally protected, inter-city forest that was re-planted after the coffee plantations in the area were closed. After a huge elevation climb, we broke out of the forest and underbrush to find ourselves at the top of a massive rock looking out over of all of Rio de Janeiro. We could see all of Rio de Janeiro and miles of the bordering ocean. The water was a beautiful turquoise-blue, broken by small, coastal islands.
After ascending this peak, we hiked back down a different trail to the hang-gliding platform where we watched two "gliders" launch off of the cliff and slowly wind their way down to the beach below. Unfortunatley we couldn't do this, but we were all wishing we could. After we arrived back, we had about 20 minutes to relax before we had to leave to the Sugarloaf. And that 20 minutes is now expired.
Tchau,
-Tom Crosby