Rainy, Yet Radiant Rio

With it being my fourth time coming to Brazil, I thought it would be nice to branch out of the northeast and see other parts of the country. I had seen and heard so much about the beauty of Rio de Janeiro, so we decided to stop there for a few days on the way. There was a minor hiccup that was quite challenging to communicate through in Portuguese when we arrived in Rio as one of each of our suitcases didn’t make it from Atlanta. Thankfully, Delta had them delivered to our Airbnb within 48 hours which was an absolute miracle. It also rained every single day which was a bummer as the famous views Rio is known for were covered by clouds, but we made the best of it anyways. I decided to make a little list of my favorite things we experienced in our time exploring the city.

1. We took a full day tour of the city where we saw all the famous sights, Christ the Redeemer, Sugarloaf Mountain, Maracanā stadium, and the Selarón steps. Our tour guide, Flavio, was so precious and gave us some recommendations of places to visit in the northeast while we are in Teresina. Though it rained the entire day, we made some travel buddies that made our day so special. That leads me into my next favorite thing….

2. Our bomb.com travel girls Brit and Madison. We got to meet up with them two other times to eat meals and explore the city together. We visited the Botanical gardens in Rio, ate at Leblon Sushi (which is known to be the best sushi in Rio), went out dancing, and just had such good, deep conversations. This is one of the reasons I love traveling so much because you meet people from different backgrounds and get to learn more about their experiences.

3. Surfing in Arpoador at one of the most famous surfing beaches in Rio. Due to the rainy weather, the waves were really good but not a lot of people were out which gave me plenty of room to wipe out and not mess anyone else up lol. I did a lesson with a Brazilian on the beach that provided the board and gear. He knew what he was doing and gave helpful instructions for what I could understand because his English was not great. This helped me get in the swing of understanding and speaking Portuguese though which was good practice.

4. The live music at the top of the Selarón steps. This couple was singing and playing guitar while Lauren and I danced and it was just one of those moments in which I felt so full of joy. I was reminded of the beautiful culture of this country that I fell in love with and felt so at ease with my decision to move here.

5. Sharing the main reason we decided to move to Brazil with these two little kids while sitting at a beach-side restaurant drinking a coconut. Lauren and I had on the bracelets we use to share the gospel here and gave them ours. It was the first time I told someone about Jesus by myself in Portuguese and was a pretty awesome moment.

6. The sauna at our Airbnb/hotel. It just felt so relaxing and was a nice break from the rain. We just laid listening to music in there; it was such a nice time to decompress and release some stress/process and talk through emotions we were having through the adjustment.

7. All the little cafes, açai shops, and restaurants we spent time in. Every single one had someone that would greet us with a sweet smile, as if they were genuinely happy and excited to meet and serve us. An added plus being that everything we consumed was so delicious. Here are a few of my favorites.

8. Going for a run on Copacabana beach. We went all the way up the beach to Copacabana Palace and it was probably the nicest view I have ever had while on a run. It also felt good to get the body moving after being on a plane for so long.

Overall, Rio was such an incredible experience and I can’t wait to go back some day. Hopefully the weather will cooperate a bit more next time! It is definitely important to be mindful of your surroundings but I couldn’t more highly recommend visiting this beautiful city full of beautiful people.

Tchau!