Today we went off in search of the ultimate Brazilian memento...a brash, crass bikini. Julia was on strict instructions to find the most offensive piece of swimwear possible for a friend, and the once-weekly Ipanema hippie market was an obvious place to start our search.
Having navigated the bus successfully (second time lucky), we spent a good hour wandering around the market and came out with the most ugly two-piece of all time. Kimberley, as we've named her, is crochet. White crochet. She's a petite thing, and best of all, she's adorned with wonderful shimmering fake pearls. I wish I had a photo to share, she really is something special.
My first Brazilian coffee (a nutmeg and cinnamon concoction...not my favourite!) and a brief sojourn searching for a bank later, we decided to tick off one of our Rio top 5 - Sugarloaf Mountain.
At 3,100ft above sea level it's pretty obvious the views from the top of Sugarloaf are going to be spectacular.The mountain earned its moniker from Portuguese settlers, who compared it to mounds of sugar. The journey to the top is done in two parts, and the wiring was originally created by people simply scaling the precipice a small distance at a time. Brilliantly, the first person credited with climbing it was a British nanny in 1817.
By the time we reached the top, concerns about weather abated, as the storms we'd seen forecast didn't come. The very top of the mountain has a great 'woodland walk', which looks more jungle than woodland. We spotted a little monkey family along the way, including a baby monkey who was super cute. The hostel owner here says they often have them popping down to say hi from the trees above the courtyard - she says monkeys here as as about as ubiquitous as pigeons at home.
Fun fact of the day: Coca Cola marketing here is on fire, cans are emblazoned with a selection of popular Brazilian names. Apparently they don't do Lisa. Yesterday I was Carlos, today Joyce.
Tonight's plan is a little up in the air, but tomorrow we're getting up early and ticking off two more Rio hotspots: Christ the Redeemer and the Botanic Gardens.
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