Pao de Acucar (Sugar Loaf)

What a weekend this was turning out to be! After two weeks of academy life, this well earned and much needed respite was turning into much more than we expected, and Pao de Acucar (Sugar Loaf) was no exception. It’s not every day we get to experience national icons up close and personal; however, it is some days.

We left the house around 2 o clock (the night before wasn’t quite so late this time so we actually got up after a nice amount of sleep. Fantastico), “we” being os tres americanos, our friend Moura, his twin brother, and his twin brother’s girlfriend (namorada) After a bus trip, a short foray into a nearby mall to find an ATM (caixa electronica), and a hop, skip, and shuffle, we were at the base of the hill. While I’m still trying to figure out how to get pictures up here, they are all on Facebook, or you can simply google search “Pao de Acucar” while I make an attempt at a poor explanation of its shape. It’s fairly simple: two hills. The first is large (as in surface area and base area), quite round, and very forested. There’s a tram at the bottom that will take you to the first hill, on top of which are small shops, a small tram museum and historical site, and a helicopter tour booth that will take you on aerial trips of Rio de Janeiro (From Pao de Acucar to Corcovado (read: gigantic statue of Jesus. No pictures yet, hopefully soon!) and back which is roughly a 6 minute flight, it costs 180 Reals ($120 USD) Not a fan) The second hill, is more of a graduated cliff, with a much smaller base, extremely steep sides, little forestation, and only 4 structures on the top; a tourist shop (75 Reals for a t-shirt, no thank you!), a bar (yes. just yes), the actual tram building itself, and a store that sold what I can only describe as statues of birds carved from precious stones (“gemmy material” said the sign in English but the universal language of money told me much more clearly  that for 25,000 Reals a pop, I had no business being in here) 

We lucked out with our timing because rather than take the tram we took what could only be described as a goat path up the back of the first hill which only took “10 minutes” as Moura said (read: 45 minutes. It was an endeavor. I almost died twice) and then experienced late afternoon on the first mountain (breathtaking views. Rio is a beautiful city and being higher up in the air with unprecedented views of Flamengo, Botafogo, Copacabana, Apoador, and Ipanema beaches doesn’t really change that) As we bought our tickets for the second lift, it began to get darker and by the time we got to the top, the sun had just dipped behind the mountains and the entire city (now, truly the Cidade Maravilhosa) was lit up. I took pictures but offer my deepest apologies to everyone that’s never been. Go. Just go.

Afterwards, we headed back to what we’ve deemed, “Casa de Moura” and prepped for the night out. Collared shirt, my “good butt” jeans, and some fly white kicks. Good times. Off to Lapa. Lapa is an area of Rio (pretty much an intersection of 4 streets where traffic is closed down, the stores close, and the bars open. Stands open up in the street and the whole neighborhood fills with people just trying to party. And this happens every Friday and Saturday. We headed out there, stopping to grab a caipirinha (essentially the national drink of Brazil, caipirinha’s contain sugar, lime, and either sugar cane rum called cachaca or vodka) and heading to the open street party. A orchestral street performance by an elite musical school was positioned next to what looked like an 11 year old girl dressed and performing (quite well if you ask me, pictures on Facebook for those of you wanting to see it for yourself) as a tiny Michael Jackson.

After watching little michael for a while, we ended up in a samba bar called Democraticos. Realizing that many of us hadn’t had quite enough to drink to actually try Samba, we ended up sitting around drinking beer out of a garrafa (In Brazil, people generally don’t get cans or bottles when drinking in groups. They’ll get a large bottle or “garrafa” (sometimes a few, generally in an ice bucket or koozie) and several small cups for the group. Once the person who has purchased the beer has filled his cup, the group joins in and everyone continues to fill their cup until the beer is gone or until the waiter brings more. A thoroughly enjoyable method of drinking, I believe) and eventually worked our way over to the next bar, Rio Scenarium. Rio Scenarium is a 3 floor bar split between two buildings (you might need a protractor for this explanation, hang tight) The first building was originally an antique store so many of the following descriptions generally include glass cases of old stuff all over the walls (to include clothing, cameras, paintings, home affects, and even a motorcycle mounted on the wall) The first floor contains the main bar (which has an old telephone booth with a working phone in it. Far out!), a stage for Forro bands, a large dance floor, and some stools near the walls. The second floor contained a few small tables, a bar with small kitchen (fries and the like. Brazilians love French fries) and a small dance club on the second floor of the second building, accessible only by hallway that was constructed between the two. The third floor had large benches, tables, and areas for relaxation. Good times. We spent from about 1230 to about 500 am walking around this bar, dancing and having a blast.

We eventually crawled our way back to Moura’s house and passed out. A good day and a fantastic night. Portuguese for today is “Real” (pronounced “hey-al”, @ Alex Cattley for finishing Beast) which means, “Real” in English. Nifty.

Tchau for now!