Rio

May 1st, Wednesday: Arrived in Buenos Aires that morning.  Got in a run before I met up with my colleagues to work for the rest of the day.  7.8 miles on the gravel/grass track that runs along the Ecological Reserve.  Did 3 laps of it.  I would've gone into the Reserve, but it was closed for the May Day holiday.  I could've possibly gone for a 4th lap, but I had to rush back to allow time to shower.  Estimated 8:36 pace.

Too busy the next 2 days to work out.

Then... flew out to Rio to spend the weekend there, in between days at the office in Buenos Aires, AR, and Sao Paulo, BR!!!  It would be my first time, and it had been a dream to go for a while.  I was psyched.

We arrived at 1am early Saturday morning, and as we made the 30 min drive into the city, I saw a small white figure among the darkness of the night, and I asked the driver if that was "Christo", and it was!  We drove along the Copacabana beach, which was very empty at that time, to our hotel.  It took me a while before I went to sleep, because I was busy planning out touring options for the next day.

I woke up at 5:45am later that morning to head out to watch the sunrise and get in a run before the day's adventures began.  It was stop-and-go due to picture-taking, but it was so fresh out there... "fresh" is the word I'd use.  I grew up only a couple of miles away from a beach, but this was unlike any other that I've seen. 



I headed down Copacabana, where the sand was a bit cambered, but ok.  As the waves came in, I had to sprint every now and then to avoid getting wet.  I ran into a bird who did the same.

I saw people pushing canoes out into the ocean.  I saw some cool sandcastles (I'll show a pic later).  I then went to Ipanema beach, where I explored a rocky outcropping that's supposed to be a good place to watch sunsets.  There, I saw stretchers/yogis.

 

Once I got back, I had breakfast with my travel buddies, and we met our driver, who'd take us to different sites during the day.

(Christ the Redeemer)

(view of the Favelas)

(Federal Soccer Stadium)

(Awesome, long staircase that had tiles from all over the world... this was one of my favorite parts of the tour)

(Cablecar ride up to Sugarloaf Mountain, which had a great view of the city)

Afterwards, we enjoyed the view from the beach below, with fresh coconuts.

That evening, we walked Copacabana again, to catch the sunset from the rocky outcropping that I had explored that morning.



The next morning, no time for a run, because I signed up to go Hang-gliding!

It was awesome to fly above the water, soar among the birds, and see the city in another way.

After I got back, I played in the water.

and just enjoyed chilling at the beach.  Rio is such a relaxing place, and it was a huge contrast to the non-stop workdays.

Afterwards, enjoyed a Caiprinha to cool off (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caipirinha).

Awesome weekend.... awesome.  It's a special place.