Oh Rio

January river, Rio de janeiro, City of God, Marvelous City, or just plain RIO is the most visited city in the Southern Hemisphere, and I finally decided to get my Brazilian visa, ignore the language issue and head to Rio over spring break. I always thought of Rio as a city of buildings and that the beaches would be a day trip from the city, but I was mistaken. Copacabana and Ipanema are RIGHT there, within the "cove" of the city, and the beaches combined with the mountains combined with the city is what makes Rio amazing. There's just something to be said about being able to get up on a "hill" and see a bird's eye view. The special thing about Rio is that it lets you do that from multiple angles, and that there is a lot to see.

The first image that pops into my head when someone mentions Rio is the Jesus statue on the hill. Well, technically the hill is called Corvacodo, and the statue is referred to as Christ the Redeemer.

Jesus himself measures 130 feet tall but then you have to add the 31 foot pedestal. Construction began on the statue in 1922 and was completed in 1931. Of course the movement to build a statue of Jesus on a hill was driven by Brazilian Catholics and after some deciding on the "pose" of the statue, the open arms Jesus was chosen.

Apparently there are small spikes on the statue so that birds don't land on it. I wish I'd have known that before I went, because I would have looked for them. I did wonder how they kept the statue so clean. It is constructed from a mixture of concrete and soapstone and was under renovation in 2008 after it was struck by lightening. 

Now, what about Corcovado hill? Well this granite hill is over 2,000 feet tall and  looms above the sea in Rio. What a fantastic place to build a statue to look over the city.

View of Corcovado and Christ the Redeemer from another hill in the city.

As a New Seven Wonder of the World, this place is worth a visit, just be prepared to empty your wallet.