Go back to Brazil.
Go back to Pedra da Gavea.
Hike up Dois Irmãos.
Though we had one more climb on the menu, there was no way in hell I was getting back into my rock shoes. Instead, Duda and Didi took us on another quick city tour. This time we went up the larger Twin Brother (Dois Irmãos) via a nice hike that originated from inside the Vidigal Favela. Our experience with Rio thus far had been that it reminded us of New York City that we knew from the 90s: safe enough overall with some neighborhoods that you wouldn’t want to be walking around and displaying your large SLR camera in. The favelas were a separate country in a way. The law of Brazil stopped at the heavily armed police perimeters at their borders. Inside the favelas, the law was dictated by a given gang. The Vidigal was apparently the one favela where taking tourists had been okayed; a “posh favela”. Walking through it we noticed that most people were just normal and seemed to be going about their business. There were only a few characters that raised internal alarms and we were trying not to make eye contact with. And we were asked not to take photos (sorry). Above the favela, the hike itself was spectacular and offered yet another set of urban vistas. We burnt our final half day in Rio at the beach double fisting caipirinhas and nursing our beat up bodies. We saw our second rainy spell in Brazil as we were taking off for home. We’ll be back.
Photos
Hiking towards the Vidigal Favela with Didi and Duda (May 2019).
Dois Irmãos formation above the Vidigal Favela (May 2019).
Didi, Shirley, and Duda (May 2019).
The Sheraton and the favela (May 2019).
Rocinha Favela (not to be confused with the posh Vidigal Favela we hiked through to get here) as seen from the trail up the taller of the Dois Irmaos (May 2019).
Close up of the Rocinha Favela (May 2019).
More favela voyeurism (May 2019).
Pedra da Gavea from the trail up Dois Irmãos (May 2019).
A close up of Pedra da Gavea (our climb from the previous day; May 2019).
Duda and Rocinha Favela (May 2019).
Duda and Shirley high on the Dois Irmãos trail (May 2019).
On the summit of the upper Twin Brother (May 2019).
A highly zoomed in shot of Jesus The Redeemer from the summit of Dois Irmãos (May 2019).
The summit came equipped with those two plastic lawn chairs (May 2019).
Views down towards Leblon and Ipanema (May 2019).
One more of the cool looking Pedra da Gavea (May 2019).
The Vidigal Favela (May 2019).
Hiking down (May 2019).
Meeting a local of the mountain (May 2019).
He was OK with having his portrait taken (May 2019).
Shirley on the hike down (May 2019).
Tight (May 2019).
Downtown Rio (May 2019).
On the way to a famous sardine restaurant in downtown Rio (May 2019).
Pretty fantastic and our second favorite culinary experience of Rio (May 2019).
More downtown Rio (May 2019).
Classic climbs of the state of Rio de Janeiro (May 2019).
Ipanema Beach (May 2019).
Shirley about to enjoy a well-deserved, caipirinha-fueled rest day at Ipanema Beach (May 2019).
Ipanema Beach with Dois Irmãos formation in the background (May 2019).
Leaving Rio de Janeiro. This is the second time we saw rain in Brazil (first one was on our arrival day; June 2019).
Go back to Brazil.