Pedra da Gavea!

Here is, as promised, my post about Pedra da Gavea. Pedra da Gavea is one of the several iconic monoliths that make Rio's skyline famous. At 842 meters above sea level (thanks Wikipedia!) it is a challenging hike that my pictures really don't do justice, but let's just say it was the most exhilarating hike I've ever done and the feeling of accomplishment when I got to the top, plopping down to eat a banana on a rock above the clouds, was unlike anything I've ever felt before.

Having a moment with nature above the clouds at the top of Pedra da Gavea 

When my friend Alodie called me at 9 am that Saturday morning to invite me to go hiking with her I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Turns out the level of difficulty for the Pedra da Gavea is high, and I was finally able to gauge that as I made my way up with my dinky little converse and pristine (not for long) white canvas bag and everyone coming down seemed to be an extremely fit, male MMA fighter, carrying carabiners and ropes and covered in mud. Some of the people making their way down were also covered in cuts and blood, and we even passed a pile of vomit, probably the result of someone getting a little too much heat and feeling dehydrated as a result.

Before it got steep (and before we got all muddy!)

There were several portions of the hike that were so steep that no dirt trail could be built so we were literally scaling rocks that were practically vertical with our bare hands and no equipment. Sometimes there were sketchy metal wires coming out of the rock that we could cling onto, but most of the time we had to find grooves in the rock or rely on the good ole' tree-root/branch grabbing technique (and hope they don't snap haha). There was one stretch in particular near the top of the mountain where there was a huge bottleneck because you literally could not climb the rock without some sort of mountain climbing gear that I, of course, did not have.

The steepness begins! The hike felt like one long obstacle course---so fun!

At this point many of the more nervous hikers (aka women) dropped out. A friendly Brazilian guide lent me and Alodie a rope so we could make it up this steepest part of the climb. Once we made it past, we were truly at the point of no return. Tired and hungry (the hike takes at least 2 hours each way), we pushed forward and perhaps 400 meters later we ended up in a grassy clearing at the top of the mountain right as the sun began to come out. Our timing could not have been better. We avoided the heat during the excruciating climb up (and still managed to arrive completely dripping in sweat) and were greeted by an amazing view of Rio only just  beginning to unveil itself as we sat down for a mid-day snack. It was so relaxing to just gaze out into the lush abyss below me of the Tijuca forest. Also I had fun watching several hang-gliders soaring around me, as Pedra da Gavea is the typical launching spot in Rio for that activity. Although I think that in terms of view, Dois Irmaos is more picture-perfect because you can see the entire Zona Sul close-up, Pedra da Gavea is a more rewarding hike overall because it is so much higher. It also has a view of Barra da Tijuca, the newest part of Rio that is often compared to Miami for its luxury high-rises and huge, American-style streets.

Made it just in time for the clouds to lift aka time for some tanning! #winning

We tried to spend as much time at the top as possible, knowing that the descent would be just as hard (and slippery, woohoo!) as going up. After saying a farewell for now to the total calm at the top of Pedra da Gavea, we tried to make our way down as quickly as possible before the sun went down. However, our trusts Brazilian friend with the rope was nowhere to be found when we go to the steepest portion, and there was a huge back-up as one woman was having a nervous breakdown on her way down, virtually paralyzed mid-descent. At this point, it was time to get creative. What did I do? I decided to wedge in between two of the huge rock facades and then when I got to the five foot drop to get back on the trail I used a Brazilian man's shoulder as a stepping stone! Now that's what I call jeitinho brasileiro! Haha! For those who don't know, the jeitinho is the expression for Brazilians' particular knack for finding a creative solution to whatever problem they may have.

I pretty much slid down the rest of the mountain (OK so not really, but kinda....mud+extremely flat shoes=moments of sheer terror/awesomeness due to spontaneous "skiing" down steep rocks) and let me tell you my thighs were FEELING it the next day!

My Brazilian friend Thiago told me that every year people get seriously injured climbing Pedra da Gavea and sometimes there are even deaths. The very next day after I climbed it, I was watching the news and saw that a group of bandits mugged 40  hikers at the top of the mountain. They stole money, cameras, iPhones, and even tennis shoes....yikes!! Pedra da Gavea is hard enough as it is! Talk about bad luck...and dedicated muggers... I definitely feel very lucky I didn't hike a day later, and the incident was a wake-up call reminding me that it may be extremely beautiful, but it's still Rio and I need to be careful EVERYWHERE in this city!!

Thanks for reading!!
Beijos,
Marie

Hikes in Rio and more

Hi everyone!

So I am sad to say that my trusty HP laptop that I've had since freshman year at UCSB has finally decided to call it quits...which has made updating my blog even harder than it already is considering I always forget or feel too lazy to update it. Honestly I believe it is just a matter of replacing the battery, but the problem is finding the battery I need in Rio. I have e-mailed various computer stores in the city and they have all told me to go to the HP store to solve my problem. The only thing is that the only HP store in the city is all the way in Barra, the newest part of the city that is an hour and a half by bus from where I live, and also happens to be the location of Brazil's biggest music festival, Rock in Rio, that started Friday night. All of this is to say that my computer will be out of commission for a little while longer at the least, because there is no way I am going anywhere near the Rock in Rio festivities and the inevitable traffic and crowds they generate. As I am typing this, my housemate Blair is at Rock in Rio to see Kimbra, Alicia Keys and Justin Timberlake. I am EXTREMELY jealous, but at the same time, the crowds there are insanely big (which I am not a fan of), and I am getting over a cold so I really should just stay home and blog....on his laptop haha!

How I spent my saturday :) I still can't believe I get to live here...

So laptop and sickness issues aside, I have been dealing with other highs and lows of study abroad. But, I must say, that at the end of the day I do love it here in Rio and I feel extremely grateful to study in this amazing city.  One of my favorite things about Rio is the abundance of hiking there is to do within the city itself. Since school has started I have done two hikes in Rio: Pedra da Gavea and Dois Irmaos. Yesterday was a perfect day in Rio, and I think I truly fell in love with the city as I gazed out from the peak of Dois Irmaos, the iconic mountains on the western edge of Ipanema and Leblon beaches. I hiked Dois Irmaos with three friends: Louie, also a fifth-year Cal student, Andrea, a UCSC student, and Diana from Bogota, Colombia. 

To get up to Dois Irmaos is quite the adventure. First you have to go to Vidigal, a pacified favela sandwiched in between the very chic neighborhoods of Leblon and Sao Conrado. The favela is actually getting quite gentrified and I know various exchange students who have even moved there. From the entrance of Vidigal you have to take a mototaxi up to the tippy top of the favela. From there, you are dropped off to a small staircase that looks like it leads up to someone's backyard and then you have to walk along the yard on a sketchy cement wall up to a small trail (with no sign) and then from there you just follow the trail (and hope you're going the right way when there's a fork in the road haha!!). The first lookout from there is a view of Pedra da Gavea, Sao Conrado, and Rocinha, one of the largest slums in Latin America. 

If you feel like you're trespassing, that means you're going the right way! We had to climb onto this wall and continue walking up it until we reached the unmarked trailhead.

Me and Louie at the first clearing with Pedra da Gavea behind us and Rocinha on our right

Rocinha is a sight to behold. It extends much further than what you can see in the above picture and although I have yet to go there myself, I have heard it is a city in itself (due to its sheer size) complete with banks, grocery stores and even sushi restaurants with flat screen TVs! The favela was in the news quite a bit when I first arrived to Rio as one of its inhabitants, a man named Amarildo, disappeared in July and the pacifying police units' cameras that monitor the entrances to the favela were mysteriously broken the day he went missing. Riots ensued for several days in front of the entrance as residents demanded information from corrupt authorities about where he was. Many groups from around the country also protested in front of their local governments in solidarity. I remember seeing banners that said "Onde está o Amarildo?" (Where is Amarildo?) even in Salvador during my trip there. Yet as of yesterday, his wife is still searching for answers. See the article below (in Portuguese) for more on the Amarildo case

http://www.bbc.co.uk/portuguese/noticias/2013/09/130914_amarildo_2meses_jd_dg.shtml 

Rocinha. Just to the right of this is the neighborhood of Gavea and PUC (my school)

After looking out at the vastness of Rocinha, we continued up to the top of Dois Irmaos, where we were greeted with one of the best views I have ever seen (see the first picture in this post)! I could see the entire Zona Sul of Rio with Christ the Redeemer and Botafogo on my left, the Lagoa and Gavea Jockey Club in the middle, and Leblon, Ipanema, and Copacabana and their respective beaches on the right. We hung out there in the relative peace above the city for a good hour before hiking back down for some well-deserved açaí from a small store right next to the trailhead which was highly recommended to me by two friends for being the best in Rio. I don't know if it was because I was so hot from hiking but it was definitely the most refreshing açaí I've had and the best part was how cheap it was (less than two dollars for 400 mL and toppings!). When I told the woman at the store that i had heard her açaí was the best in Rio she blushed and giggled that everyone told her that! After the açaí break we took a kombi down to the lower portion of Vidigal where I stopped by my friends' new apartment. Vidigal is known to have some of the best views in Rio and my friend Chloe's apartment was no exception! The only catch was that on the rooftop balcony area her neighbors' dogs, who were clearly being raised to fight (a chewed up mannequin on the ground was one of their "toys"), were barking up a storm and killing the mood!

The legend Dona Ana herself serving up some delicious and filling açaí. I had mine with granola and paçoca (powdered peanuts) on top. Yum!

The view from Chloe's roof! Totally charming minus the extremely aggressive and barking rottweilers kept away by a flimsy-looking fence :/

So I still want to talk about my previous hike up Pedra da Gavea which was much more intense than the Dois Irmaos hike but this blogpost has already been so long and I don't want to bore you all to tears! I will save my Pedra da Gavea post for later =) In the meantime I wish you all a wonderful week and as always thank you for reading!

Beijos

Marie