Rio De Janeiro

Welcome to Rio, the next stop on our travel adventure! If you’re the party-loving type then this is the perfect place for you, after all, it is the home of Carnival. And it would be incredibly difficult to find a bigger party than that. Partying isn’t the only thing Rio has to offer though, there are amazing beaches, great food, beautiful sunsets, and countless adventures.

Story Time

In July of 2021, I had the opportunity to visit this beautiful city. So naturally I took it. I also had the opportunity to cross something off my bucket list, Hang Gliding. And let me tell you, that’s an adventure that’s not easily forgotten. It was also one of the reasons I chose to travel to Brazil over some other options. But anyway, I was about halfway through my trip when it was time for my Hang-gliding excursion. It was a quick taxi ride over to the base of Pedra Bonita where I met up with the pilot. He was a nice older guy, kind of on the weird side, but he seemed to know what he was doing so it was okay. His flight before me was successful, so I took that as a good sign.

After another quick drive to the peak of the mountain, the pilot unloaded everything while I stood awkwardly and watched. At the launch point, there is a large staging area just before the cliff that’s covered in turf, and just beyond that is a slanted wooden ramp that works as a runway. As the pilot assembled the hang glider (Yes I said assembled. They take it apart and reassemble it for every flight. It’s the only way to get it back up the mountain) I took the chance to wander to the edge. At this launch point, there was a combination of hang gliders and parasailors. Each of them would run down the ramp, jump, fall for a second, and then sail off into the distance. My stomach was full of butterflies at this point, but I had been skydiving before this on a different adventure, so hang gliding was no big deal.

The pilot called me back over and harnessed me into the Hang glider. Of course, it wouldn’t be nearly as enjoyable without being harnessed in, just ask that guy whose pilot didn’t hook the harness to the glider, so he had to hang on for 20 minutes before landing.

The pilot hooked us both to the glider (I double-checked this) and together we carried it to the edge of the platform. The green boards sloped down until the mountain fell out from under it. “Run as fast as you can, and don’t jump before I tell you to, or else we’re going to hit those trees,” the pilot said, feeling me with so much comfort. But I nodded. “Three, two, one.” We took off for the edge, running as fast as we could. “Jump!” He said. The ground swept out from under us, opening up to the green jungle below. My stomach hung in the air, but quickly the glider caught wind and just like that we were flying. The wind whistled across my face and below us, birds matched our flight path. The city sprawled for miles and the sea seemed to sparkle. The only scary part was when the pilot let me try controlling the glider, and I set us into a dive. It’s harder to control than it looks.

As we flew around, the pilot pointed out different landmarks before landing us safely on the beach in the nice warm sand. The only issue I had with the Hang gliding was that it wasn’t long enough.

Things to do in Rio

As mentioned above Rio has plenty to offer, whether you’re the party type, the kind who just wants to relax, or maybe you want adventure. Rio has something that everybody can enjoy, especially if you’re a foodie.

Carnival

No list of things to do in Rio would be complete without mentioning the Carnival. It is commonly referred to as the biggest party in the world, and for good reason. Officially the party starts the Friday before Ash Wednesday and officially goes for 5 days. I say officially for a reason because it is common for street parties to start a whole month before, and continue past the start of Lent. Most people don’t realize that Carnival is actually a Catholic festival. I don’t know about you, but this is probably the funnest Religious celebration.

Watch the Sunset

Rio is home to some of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen, and with the coastal location, and mountainous setting, it’s hard to find something better. Although, truth be told sunsets are pretty amazing anywhere, but here it’s warm enough that you can enjoy them year-round.

None of the pictures have filters or anything. They just show how amazing the sunsets can be here, and you will probably see better.

Hang Gliding

I think I covered this pretty well in the story, but here I would just like to include the link for the company I booked with. https://www.viator.com/tours/Rio-de-Janeiro/Hanggliding-and-Paragliding-Best-experience-in-Rio/d712-135187P1

They are super easy to work with and there are a ton of different adventures listed on their website.

Hiking

You can’t go wrong with a simple bit of hiking here. The humidity and heat are the only downsides to hiking. But like with the sunsets, you’ll be hard-pressed to find better scenery. And if you do a guided hike you can learn about the unique history of the Tijuca National Park. Did you know that six enslaved black people saved the rainforest from deforestation and are the biggest reasons that this area is so green today? Over a span of 13 years, they planted 100,000 trees. https://thegrio.com/2023/06/20/how-black-people-saved-rio-de-janeiros-tijuca-forest/

In conclusion

While I didn’t mention food, Brazil has some amazing food. I personally love the Brazilian-style steakhouses in which slabs of meat are carried around on sticks. But like I’ve mentioned before I’m not the right person to give food recommendations, so I don’t. But thank you for joining me on our trip to Brazil. I hope that I have shown you that Rio has something to offer everyone. Consider making Rio your next travel destination.