Cristo Redentor

Today Ambar and I woke up at 7 so that we could go see Cristo Redentor, and also so that we could be back in time (before 1) to move our stuff into our private room. The only thing I would say that's better about this hostel than Baron Garden, is that they serve us breakfast (which I greatly appreciate so that we don't have to spend even more money on another meal). It was pretty good too, actually. I had 2 fresh, mini loaves of bread (with butter and some great strawberry and guava jams), a few slices of cheese (from a cheese brick, which was awesome and creamy tasting) and some fresh pineapple juice (which was great because it was light and not overly sweet). There were also mini bananas, slices of papaya, some chocolate-looking cake, slices of ham, coffee, and tea. Overall I think I'm going to be pretty satisfied with our breakfasts, which is a definite plus.
While we were eating, we also met the first actual amicable person in this hostel since we've been here. She actually introduced herself to us (since I've already turned my New Yorker mode back on and it's on full blast, I haven't been going out of my way to introduce myself, etc.), which was really nice of her. Her name is Rachel and she's from Ireland and just arrived in Rio from Argentina last night. She was really nice and seemed genuinely excited about being in Brasil. She even asked us where she could go around the hostel to get some Havaianas. I guess I am really a Carioca now--giving directions/recommendations and the whole 9 ;).
We finished up breakfast and then took the bus to Corcovado to take the train up to Cristo.
We got there at around 9:30 and pretty much just had time to buy our tickets before the train came. It was really cool and a nice ride, especially since the first time I went to Cristo when I first came to Rio, we had a private jeep take us all up to the top. So this was a cool first-time experience for me too :). I had almost forgotten how spectacular the view is from the top of Corcovado. I do remember it being one of my favorite things I did while I was in Rio that year, though. It's absolutely amazing, and no words can accurately describe how breathtaking it is. I think it might be the highest point from which you can see the city in all of Rio. Seeing that really makes you understand why they call Rio the "Cidade Maravilhosa." It's literally one of the most incredible things I've ever seen and I think that everyone should try to make it a point to see it before they die. I'd love to bring my mom sometime. She'd absolutely love it.
Needless to say, we took tons of pictures of the view, of Cristo and us posing, lol. It was awesome and I'm glad we went so early in the day. I can't wait to post all my pictures ;). On the train on the way back down, we met this Cuban guy (born in Puerto Rico) who asked us where we were from, named Rob. He's actually a Harvard med student and has been living in Salvador (which I'm dying to go to! Next trip to Brasil! ;) for the past 6 months doing research. He was pretty chill. He also lived in NY he said for a year working in a medical center in Harlem. He said he has one more month left in Salvador, and that we should definitely go there the next time we come to Brasil (which I intend to!). He was explaining to us how the vibe is so different from Rio, and how great the people are there. I guess today was our day for meeting nice people ;).
Afterwards, we caught the bus back to the Mango Tree (after some slight confusion as to which bus we were supposed to take) and finally switched into our private room! It's worlds better than the ridiculous room we stayed in last night. It has a double bed and a full-size bed (Ambar and I flipped a coin to see who would get the full-size bed; I won! ;), and we have our own private bathroom. There's also a really cool painting on the wall above one of the beds (I think we need to chill with the buying paintings thing, though ;). I'm definitely a lot happier, and I look forward to not having to climb (since we've been sleeping in bunkbeds on the top bunks for the past 2 weeks) a ladder to get into bed anymore ;).
The rest of our afternoon/evening is pretty open. I'm not really sure what we're doing, but I think we'll mostly just enjoy our room (!!) and get some dinner somewhere [cheap!] later tonight. It's nice to have time to chill out and relax :). We especially have to build up our strength/energy for souvenir shopping at the Hippie Fair tomorrow (which is just a few blocks from our hostel) and a long, hard day at the beach ;), lol. Updates soon! Beijos!