Buzios & Corcovado

Poor Dan had to do the oil changes on one of the hottest days we have had, luckily the guys at the local service station let him use their bay so he was inside in the shade. The worst part as usual was to get the bash plate back on Lulu. Since she is so low it has been whacked by thousands of rocks and speed bumps and is warped. With two of us and a metal pry bar we managed to get the bolt into the worst bent area on the right rear.

Now we are ready for a Paulo day ride of 340 km to Buzios, with stops at Saquarema, Arrail do Cabo, and Cabo Frio. This was a long day and so we ended up riding the last hour home in the dark and the rain.

Once we got out of the city and east of Marica we rode along the coast.

We stopped first in Saquarema to check out the lagoon and the church on the hillside. Dan did a little “off road riding”.

On the way to Arrail do Cabo you pass at least 10 km of “salt farms” or salt mines. We stopped on the beach for a coco helado or fresh coconut to drink.

Cabo Frio is very picturesque and you can ride up along the cliffs.

Buzios is awesome and you could spend a few days here. We stopped at the beach for lunch of fresh sautéed squid and some shrimp pastels.

We then did a little driving around the hills and coastline. There are great beaches here, with diving, snorkeling, and surfing.

The town itself is very cute with lots of hotels, shops, and restaurants.

Paulo introduced us to this Brazilian treat, which is essentially shredded coconut and tapioca and is delicious.

We got up at 630 to drive over the Niteroi Bridge to beat the morning traffic and go 57 km to be at Corcovado when it opened at 8. The traffic was not too bad, but finding the unmarked road to the park from this side of town was a challenge even with the GPS. We missed the tiny road exiting the 4 lanes of traffic and we then got stuck in tunnel traffic trying to back track. Ultimately we found a bricked switchback road back over the hill and then to the bricked Paineras road up the mountain in the Tijuca Park to the “Paineras hotel” ruins, where the shuttle busses leave for the summit.

We wanted to see the view, but also the iconic 38 meter Statue of “Christ the Redeemer” at the top the peak. It is one of the “New” 7 wonders of the world. It is constructed of reinforced concrete and soapstone and was made between 1922 and 1931. It has been hit by lightening several times and suffered damage.

The most fun we had was watching all the people taking selfies!

This was our last view of the city at sunset.