Sept 10

YAY SUN! Today was absolutely gorgeous and couldn’t have asked for a better day to be in jeeps. The 4x4 jeeps picked us up at the hotel at 9 am and we had a great tour guide (I forget his name). Very informative about the structure and history of the buildings in Rio. Gave us a lot of history of the Portuguese royal family and the slaves. We made our way over to Corcovado where the famous giant statue of Jesus over looks the city. Stopped at a half way point at a helicopter pad  and saw the entire city. Words can not express how beautiful the view was. You could see miles out in every direction. All the mountains, islands, buildings were amazing. Snapped a big group photo. From there went to the statue tour center to take their busses up to Jesus! The statue is made of pure concrete and weights around 2,000 tons! ( as apposed to our Stature of Liberty that only weights a little over 200 tons) Very details down to the holes in his hands from being hung on the cross and has a heart on his chest. We were so high up with an even better view than before. Absolutely remarkable. Took tons and tons of pictures. Have seen the pictures of the statue so many times and it was just surreal to actually be there. Definitely took time to myself to absorb the moment and scenery. After we enjoyed our ride down through the rain forest covered road and made our way to a much nicer favela than yesterday. The middle to upper class homes are definitely nicer and more European with cobblestone roads. Enjoyed a nice walk around the streets and took some pictures. Had the rest of the afternoon to fool around. People went to the beach but Jamie and I ventured to Ipanema for shopping. Didn’t find what we were looking for but had a good time seeing all ht expensive shops. Had to catch the bus at 330 to the airport. Now on a plane back to Salvador. Have an FDP tomorrow (teacher run trip for a class). Excited to be back on the ship and sleep in my own bed!