Time to pick some new dream travel destinations!

A phenomenal city skyline

We have a few travel maps in our house, you can kind of say we like to travel. We used to have one up that included pins for "dream travel destinations." Two of those dream travel destinations were Machu Picchu and Rio de Janeiro... lucky for us, we got to check not just one but both of those off our list last June during our trip to South America.

After our first two stops in the interior of South America we were looking forward to finding our way to the beaches in Rio! Following a very easy 1.5 hour flight from Foz do Iguacu we found ourselves in a 1 hour taxi ride thru rush hour (which included our first introduction to the entrepreneurial Brazilians - men that walk between lanes on the highway selling bags of chips to people in cars as they wait in traffic) to arrive at our hotel right on one of the world's most famous beaches, Copacabana!

Once again we were lucky enough to utilize Steve's frequent work travels to our advantage and stayed at a gorgeous JW Marriott. I felt like royalty and Emma certainly got treated that way too as she was given not one, but two sets of sand toys! So without question the first thing we did after checking in late in the afternoon on an overcast day was to run out to the beach to get some quick play time in.

Right to work!

Even without getting into the water, Emma had clearly found her favorite place on the trip thus far. And as the trend continued we made friends with a local girl close in age to Emma and shared her toys for a few minutes together.

Get that sand in my toes!

While we thought we had found Emma's favorite spot on the trip, as we headed back to the hotel and made our way to the terrace on the top floor we found another spot competing for the top of Emma's list - a hotel pool that was finally warm enough to swim in!

                                    

So with an evening of beach and pool time we decided to take it easy and made the most of the complimentary lounge (thank you Steve for your platinum access) for dinner and a few caipirinhas (a popular Brazilian rum based drink) before retiring early to make plans for the next day.

After such an early evening we were all awake early and ready to go Friday morning. Beautiful views from our room and breakfast over the beach all the way down to Sugarloaf mountain made it easy to get up!

This is where I found them when I got out of the shower...

Clearly not at all excited by what was outside the window!

We were looking forward to once again meeting up with our friend of a friend, Pedro. We were introduced to Pedro by a mutual friend when we visited Portugal a few years earlier. At the time he lived in Lisbon and was able to provide us with a great tour of the city that only a local could do. Lucky for us, as a native Brazilian, now living back in Rio, we were once again able to get a tour from a local!

Pedro had so much fun showing Emma how to feed the friendly squirrel like monkey!

We chose to meet Pedro at Sugarloaf on Friday morning. While Rio has a decent amount of public transportation - the bus routes are quite confusing and the metro only covers a small portion of the city - so cabs were our method of choice most days to get around. We met Pedro at the base of the mountain for the ride up a funicular and cable car to the top of the mountain for stunning views over Rio before it got too crowded or hazy later in the day.

Cable car making its way to the top

It was nice to gain some of the local insight as we learned about all the different neighborhoods (favelas) in the city from Pedro and heard how most of the locals were not excited about the upcoming World Cup and Olympics. Continuing what seems to be a sad trend for many host cities of large sporting events it sounded like many more new soccer stadiums had been built than necessary. Additionally, while infrastructure for the city will be improved for the Olympics there will still be many areas that money will be spent and likely never used again and already there was the sign of broken promises (initial plans included a massive effort to clean heavily polluted Guanabara Bay, but the city had already made the announcement more than two years out that they had fallen behind and would be unable to complete the project).

Beautiful views all across the city

Just taking it all in!

Such an incredible view

After enjoying the majority of the morning soaking in the views we headed back down to one particularly beautiful park in the city where Emma enjoyed the playground and watching the huge Koi in a pond. Meanwhile, we tried to safely meander our way along the paths without attracting too much attention from the largest native monkeys we had seen thus far on the trip, who literally came out from the depths of the trees at the slightest crinkling of paper (i.e. - Emma's snack size cracker bag was not the best choice we made that day!).

I loved these old buildings in the park.

A wood slide, luckily there were no splinters!

He heard us! And brought his friends...

With the weather quickly warming up and the sun shining we only had two things on our agenda for the rest of the day- find a good lunch and then find our way to the beach! After checking lunch off the list at a nearby bistro with some great pasta we headed to the beach. Taking into consideration that all of Copacabana beach is open to the public it is surprisingly clean with good sand natural sand. We enjoyed once again witnessing the "entrepreneurs of Brazil" as we liked to call them back at work. While it might seem a bit annoying, some Brazilians will tell you it's a pretty great concept that when you go to the beach in Brazil you literally never have to leave all day to get anything you need. People were constantly walking up and down the beach selling everything imaginable from hot dogs & soda to crab legs & barrels of "mystery punch" to jewelry, toys, and even a mobile tattoo artist! The only thing I didn't see was someone carrying a port-a-potty on their back trudging up and down the beach!

Daddy, daughter and the birds...

Emma and her turtles

                                
                              Someone seemed to have an obsession with rolling in the sand...

Just a girl and her beach...

Unfortunately, the ocean waves proved to be a little too large for Emma and the water a little cold to enjoy much swimming (it was after all winter time while we were there), but luckily Emma had the hotel pool for back-up so we were able to enjoy plenty of time swimming to round out our day again!

Daddy daughter swim time!

We started our day Saturday early with a beautiful sunrise and plans to take in another one of many fabulous vantage points in Rio (this city seriously has the most stunning natural skyline I have ever seen) with a visit to Corcovado, which is a small mountain (about 2,400 feet) that Christ the Redeemer was built on. In the months preceding the trip we had endearingly named it "the big Jesus" to get Emma prepped for the visit. We took a shuttle van up the mountain (on the way passing many aggressive mountain bikers getting really good workouts in) to see Christ the Redeemer up close. The statue was impressive and provided unmatched views back over the entire bay area and Sugarloaf mountain. I love the way they selected the location for the statue and chose to construct it so that it was truly watching over the city. You can see it from nearly all over this massive city - a true reminder to these people that God is always watching over us.

Sunrise over Copacabana

Our first look at Christ the Redeemer... still in shock that they had escalators at the top!

                                   
                                                                    What a stunning view!

Quite the photo takers!

We told her to pose like the "Big Jesus!"

Happy faces in a beautiful place!

You can't help but to need to just take a step back and take it all in...

Still can't help thinking that scenery is fake

Look mom! There's sugarloaf mountain!

One of my favorite discoveries was the tiny chapel that was built into the base pedestal of the statue. While we were on the terraces surrounding Christ the Redeemer there was a small service going on with beautiful hymns and prayer pouring out from the base of the statue. Take a listen...

                                  

After soaking in the views, feeling the presence of someone much greater than ourselves, and realizing the effort of the many devout Catholics it took to fundraise the money needed to build the statue we headed back down the mountainside. With clear skies once again (every day it seemed the forecast was a bit iffy), Steve decided that I could not pass up the opportunity to take a helicopter ride in such an amazing place. A few years back in Hawaii we both took a helicopter tour and he decided they weren't for them, but I on the other hand loved it. So, I didn't say no to the belated gift and felt lucky to find an available ride for that afternoon. While it was relatively short at only about 10 minutes, it was spectacular. We didn't have to fly far to hit most of the highlights including flying around Corcovado and over Copacabana beach!

Truly breathtaking views...

                                

Views over Ipanema Beach from the sky...

Emma didn't want to leave once I was done as she was having so much fun watching the helicopters take off and land - it was fun to hear her say "mommy fly in helicopter!" Somehow we managed to drag her away from it all at the mention of a beach and pool for the afternoon again...

After spending Saturday afternoon again at Copacabana beach we decided to start Sunday morning by visiting a new beach, so we took the 30 minute walk down Copacabana beach to the next beach to the south, Ipanema. Along our walk we enjoyed seeing all of the elaborate, semi-professional sand castles, many built with World Cup themes. We were happy with our decision for a change of scenery as well as Ipanema Beach has a small sand bar 20 or 30 feet out from the shore, which prevented the waves from striking as hard and made for a much nicer swimming beach for Emma. There also did not seem to be the ridiculous amount of "Brazilian entrepreneurs" along this beach, but perhaps this was just because it was still somewhat early on a Sunday morning.

Ipanema Beach from the ground...

Having enjoyed ample morning beach time we headed back to the hotel and made plans for our big meal of the day at a churrascaria, or better known to us as a Brazilian steakhouse! It certainly did not disappoint with a huge salad bar, fresh seafood, and load and loads of skewered meat being brought from table to table.

So with our stomachs stuffed we made our way over to the botanical gardens for the rest of the afternoon. We got to see the world's largest lilypads (native to the Amazon) and many other beautiful orchids and flowers. We were glad we had enjoyed the beach that morning as the clouds and a little rain encroached on us later in the afternoon. We still managed a quick stop at a local hippy market. Markets are always one of my favorite stops on our trips (especially ones that locals actually frequent) and this one was pretty legit filled with a wide variety of items.

Emma, her tongue, and the world's largest lilypads!

That's some bamboo!

As the end of the day approached we were all sad to know it was our last full day in South America. While we still had a good portion of Monday to enjoy the city before heading to the airport it went quickly. We made the most of it with a little more time at the rooftop pool followed by a visit to downtown. It was the first and only time we used the metro system our whole visit. We enjoyed a lunch in an open cafe, saw many older more European style buildings than we expected to find, and explored Praca XV and Mosteiro de Sao Bento (an old Baroque church & Abbey). And of course, we could not leave without a stop at the most famous pastry and coffee shop at Confeitaria Colombo where we enjoyed some massive desserts!

Every country has its unique signs - this depiction of the pregnant woman on a sign in the Metro was still a first for me...

Beautiful architecture!

Gates at the Baroque Church...

With that it was off to the airport and a surprisingly small international departure wing. We greatly enjoyed the news that our 10 hour flight to North Carolina was only about 25% full. Needless to say it was a much more enjoyable flight than the one that we started our trip with where we hardly slept...

This is always our luck. Flight attendant had already said we could move and sit anywhere, yet the guy in front of Steve cranks his seat back immediately. Meanwhile Emma sleeps in the most awkward position ever. Rightfully so Steve relocated seats immediately after taking this photo!

We all certainly needed the sleep on the way home. It was 12 days of busy travels with our traveling toddler, but I wouldn't change it for anything. We visited some amazing places that honestly I never thought I would visit in my life and we did it with our almost two year old in tow. Yes, the first text message we may have received once we turned our cell phones back on stateside was in fact one telling us that our credit card was compromised on our last day in Rio, but so it goes. It's all part of the adventure and the fun. If you can ride out a few bumps and hitches along the way, you can be guaranteed to be richly rewarded with the experiences of God's creation.

View from Sugarloaf with Corcovado in the distance

One of the Seven Wonders...

A few months late, here's a look back at stop #2 on our trip to South America in May... 

After a whirlwind four and a half days in Peru we headed to Foz do Iguaçu bright and early after our late night return from Machu Picchu. We had only a few hours of sleep under our belts, but nonetheless we were excited as we headed out for the Cusco airport at 5:30 am!

Emma may have looked grumpy but she loved the Iguaçu Falls! 

We spent about five and half hours of flying with a connection through Lima to eventually find our way to the southeastern corner of Brazil. With a two hour time change it was 7 pm by the time we arrived and we were all exhausted and eager to get a taxi to get to our home base for the next three nights, the Iguassu Resort. The area was very different from the bustling pedestrian and vehicle busy city of Cusco we had just left. We chose to stay outside any of the three border cities of Foz do Iguaçu (Brasil), Puerto Iguazu (Argentina), or Ciudad del Este (Paraguay) and instead found a family friendly resort that was located close to the entrance of the famous Iguaçu Falls, which was the purpose of our stop in this region. 

Most of these photos don't need words... amazing!

If you're not familiar with the Igassu Falls, it's ok (Emma's favorite saying as of late), we weren't originally either. The falls sit on the border of Brazil and Argentina (with Paraguay nearby). They consist of over 250 individual falls that stretch over 1.5 miles and is considered one of the New Natural Seven Wonders of the World. It also is regularly ranked as one of the top few waterfalls in the world. We felt spoiled considering we visited several spectacular waterfalls in Iceland last year, but we quickly realized that this one topped them all. 

After our long day of travel the day before we started a little slow on Tuesday morning before heading out to explore the Brazilian side of the falls. Our resort was on the Brazilian side and only a short cab ride from the falls. Over 80% of the falls actually "drop" or originate on the Argentinean side, so from Brazil we were able to get a better view of the majority of the actual falls.

First view from Brazil looking at the Argentinean side

Pesky coatis...

... that were everywhere and didn't leave you alone, especially if you have food!

                              

My first sight of the falls was beautiful but I wasn't overwhelmed (perhaps it was a result of how spoiled we got on our trip to Iceland last year). I also couldn't help thinking about how muddy the water was, the unfortunate result of deforestation over the last 40 years in the area. However, as we started our mile long trek along the side of the river I started to become increasingly impressed. It became clear just how far the falls stretched. Depending on the season you visit, they say the actual number of falls ranges anywhere from 200 to 300 based on the amount of recent rains. 

Fun family photos!

As a result of the length and size of the falls, there is no one point vantage point where you can actually see the entire falls at once - the only way possible is from the air. However at the end of our one mile trek we came to several viewing platforms where we were able to see a large majority of the falls and literally walk right across the water. It was certainly one of the best experiences of the trip, but I didn't like to think about the logistics of the construction of the platform and the rushing water underneath me. Nonetheless it provided for some amazing views and Emma thought it was hilarious when we got quite wet from all the blowing water around us.

Waterproofed and ready for the trek over the water!

That view was worth getting a little wet...

Emma thought it was hilarious!

All the excitement eventually wore someone out!

I felt like I was a National Geographic photographer!

It was an incredible day enjoying the falls, the photos show proof. When we returned to the resort late that afternoon we had hoped it would be warm enough to enjoy one of the many outdoor pools for Emma, but it was not. Luckily for her we discovered that the resort had an awesome kids club and playground too.

Come Wednesday morning we were all excited for our day trip to Argentina! I know it sounds strange just taking a day trip to Argentina but that's exactly what we did as we were just a few miles from the border. With proof that we paid our Argentinean reciprocity fees prior to our trip in hand, (While Brazil has visitor visas you have to apply for ahead of time, Argentina just has a fee you have to pay online - talk about a good, easy way to earn a few extra dollars from tourists, especially at $160 per person! However, I reasoned it out by saying we simply have to go back to Argentina in the next 10 years) it was a short 15 minute drive to the border crossing and another 20 minutes onto the Argentinean side of the Iguaçu Falls. 

The weather was overcast and misting, but we hardly noticed as we made our way to the top of the waterfalls and the wind was blowing plenty of water from the falls on us as well. Unfortunately all of the mist and wind obscured our view a bit. One thing that we didn't miss was the strength of the falls and the mass amount of water gushing over the side. And even Emma made sure to notice and tell us how muddy the water was and repeatedly would point and tell us "muddy, muddy, muddy" over and over again. 

Falls over Argentina on a misty day

                                        

The highlight of the Argentinean side was without a doubt the 20 minute one way walk over the falls to Garganta del Diablo or "Devil's Throat." The exact border between Brazil and Argentina runs between this long and narrow gorge where approximately half of the fall's water flows through making for an extremely powerful fall. Not only was the walk over the vast stretches of water unreal but so was the up close look at Devil's Throat. Let's just say I was glad we made the walk, but I was really glad to be back on solid ground as well. 

Starting the walk... it almost seemed like we were walking over a flood plain, all we could see was water!

                                  

There were beautiful birds all around!

First look at "Devil's Throat"

The water just fell into an abyss...

By mid-afternoon we felt content with our experience on both sides of the falls and we had a late lunch of empanadas before heading to the Guira Oga Animal Reserve. At the animal rescue we enjoyed a 90 minute tour of the rescued and rehabilitated animals from the region. It was an especially fun stop for Emma, even if the whole tour was in Spanish! At least Steve understood most of it...

My favorite animals in the Reserve... listen closely!

That evening we indulged in more local food at the resort and Emma made some more Brazilian friends at the resort's playground. By the next morning we were ready to catch our flight to our last stop of the trip, Rio de Janeiro.

One last view of amazing...