When you look up from my apartment building, you can’t ignore the humungous statue poking out of the mountain above us. Indeed, this is Cristo Redento (Christ the Redeemer), one of the Seven New Wonders of the World. Although I’ve always known he was right in my backyard, I didn’t know it was possible to hike straight up the mountain on a trail through the garden that neighbors my apartment. Exploring this trail was one of my favorite things done so far in Brazil. Although it was surprisingly exhausting (admittedly: we shouldn’t have been surprised, we were going straight up to the top of a mountain!), going with friends ensured a fun time.
I can’t help but be in constant awe that I am here. I remember blogging earlier about wondering if that feeling of excitement would fade. And while the pace of daily activities has slowed down into a more-manageable routine, I am still excited every morning to wake up and live in this city; that feeling of excitement is still alive and well!!
Have I mentioned yet that I recommend studying abroad? : )
Parque Lage (the parque and art museum next to my host family’s apartment). You can see the Cristo Redento statue way at the top of the peak!
2 of the very few pictures I got on the hike. I was too preoccupied with the hike to take more pictures! But these 2 are representative of what the entire trail looked like…
I can’t emphasize enough that we were hiking straight UP the mountain…
Oh, and along the way, we met some monkeys!
(I was more excited to have a second to catch my breath and drink water, I was shaking during most of the monkey pictures!)
We stopped for a rest on this cement block…
We were encouraged by the passengers on the train up the Cristo Redento statue: they were waving and cheering us on!
Relaxing and waiting for the clouds to clear up. We were proud of each other for making it almost to the top!
This view of Rio was from about 3/4 of the way up… and it was already worth the hike.
YAY!!! We made it! Hey, Cristo. (I feel like we’re on a first-name-basis after that grueling hike…)
Many people were trying to catch a glimpse of the city in between the clouds…
Very very happy to be able to have these friends and to be able to call this place my home : )
Danni Askew
<p><span style="color: rgb(29, 29, 29); font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: normal; background-color: rgb(237, 237, 237);">I am a junior studying sociology, public health, mathematics, and leadership at the University of Minnesota. I'm passionate about music and express that passion through an all-female a cappella choir on campus. In my free time, I enjoy playing classical guitar, percussion, piano, and writing music. During every summer, I work at a summer camp in northern North Dakota; I love outdoor adventures and working with kids.</span></p>
