Touchdown at the Christ

If I could pick a symbol of our time in Rio it would be Christ the Redeemer (CtR). I know what you are thinking – huge surprise there - it is the symbol of Rio. But for Leila and me…it was part of our everyday. We were fortunate enough to find a room at a bed and breakfast that CtR looked into. Every morning he was watching us – and all night too. We choose our clothing for the day based on if we could see CtR – not visible…cloudy and chilly but smiling down on us…warm and sunny. It was definitely one of the best views I have ever had to fall asleep to.

Having CtR watch me sleep was one thing…I wanted to see this 130 ft tall statue that was officially named one of the Seven Wonders of the World up close. So we boarded this little tram that snaked us up Corcovado Mountain, through the Tijuca Forest National Park to the base of CtR.

Now here is where the crazy all started. I shouldn’t be surprised at all…but the hoards of people coming to pay their respects to this goliath religious figure were pushy, inconsiderate and most likely not destined for heaven. Thousands, upon thousands of people ascended the mountain in the short time that I was there for a chance to stand in front of the Christ statue with their arms held out.

And this is where it became super annoying…maybe the heat was getting to me…maybe it was the ever-present moron taking photos with their giant iPad (I agree Guis! If you can afford and iPad and a trip to Brazil, you can afford a camera – a small price to pay to avoid looking as asinine as you do)…but what really set me off was the people who were posing incorrectly. Christ is standing with open, outstretched arms as a symbol of peace. You are standing with your arms straight up – the symbol for a touchdown in American Football.

So while I still had a thin veil of sanity left, I descended down from the mountain to enjoy the majesty of CtR – from the comfort of my own bed.

I decided to give CtR a 'high five'...