Christ

Guess were we went today? Good guess. Yes we visited the overlooker of Rio De Janeiro himself, Christ the Redeemer. We got up early and bused over there. Earliness was the key as, especially around the holidays, it gets a lot of tourists. We waited in line for only about 20 minutes or so then got our tickets and were then on another bus up the mountain.

It was fairly magnificent for a man made statue but it was the kind of thing where you take your photo, look at it for a bit, then think 'well I suppose that's it then, one of the wonders of the world crossed off.' The view was also worth a mention as it showcased the beautiful and diverse city below. The amount of tourists up near Christ was insane, especially as a lot of them where lying down trying to take photos of their friends in the redeemer pose with the statue behind them.

We headed down the mountain again to find the line we had been in had grown dramatically, and later found out from the newspapers that those people waited up to three hours to go see Christ! The benefit of getting up early is now clear. Our guide took us to a few other spots in the city for some sight seeing, including the Escadaria Selarón, a simple stairway that has been adorned with mosaics thanks to the artist Jorge Selarón. These easily would have been worth a blip, as it was truly impressive, had I not visited Christ the Redeemer in the morning.

Back at the hotel we got some food, had a nap, swam in the pool and the usual assortment of holiday things...all under Christ's watchful eye.

- Damian