Vacation with the. . .
The first week of October, we drove to Iguacu Falls and then flew to Rio de Janeiro to meet Kevin's brother, his wife Maggie and their three boys. We were so excited for vacation and to have family visit us here!
Emma was ecstatic to play on the beach. It didn't take her too long to warm up to her three cousins, Ben, Jakob and Noah. It had been almost 15 months since she had last played with them, but that didn't seem to bother her.
Here she is, jumping for joy on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro.
We checked into our apartment and then went out for an afternoon on the beach. One of my favorite sights was this sand castle. It's common to see amazing sand castles built by some of Rio's poorest residents. They build these incredible works of art and then tourists (like us) donate money to have our picture taken by the castle.
Sugar Loaf (Pao de Acucar)
The first full day we were in Rio, we went to visit Sugar Loaf, one of the most popular mountains in the city. Kevin and Steve hired a tour guide to hike with them to the top while Maggie and I opted for the cable car with the kids. Pretty sure our trip was way easier!
Brothers Jakob (10), Ben (5) and Noah (7)
After our short ride to the top, we wandered around taking pictures and searching for monkeys. We saw a few of the tiny creatures, but not as many as we were hoping for. I played, "Sandi Says," with the kids for over half an hour while we waited for the guys to finish their hike to the top. I was amazed at how easily entertained the boys were with my game! Finally, after over two hours, the sweaty, exhausted brothers made it to the top!
Above: Rio and Copacabana Beach behind us
Below: Steve and Kevin with their guide
Emma was so excited to see her daddy after his hike. This picture is from the first hill. There are two cable cars to get to the top, one to the first hill and then a different one to the top of Sugar Loaf. Steve and Kevin hiked all the way to the top of Sugar Loaf and then took a cable car back down to the first hill. There, they got off with Jakob and Noah and hiked the rest of the way down. Again, Maggie and I opted to ride the cable car down with Emma and Ben.
This fountain is located outside the entrance to the cable cars. There were tons of beautiful fish in the water so Emma and I sat on the grass and watched them while we waited for the boys to finish their hike to the bottom.
Later in the afternoon, we walked a few short blocks to Ipanema Beach. I'm not sure I've ever seen a beach so full of people! It reminded me of a scene from the movie "Rio" where the birds were trying to land on the beach, knocking over hundreds of umbrellas in the process. The kids played and the adults relaxed for several hours. I loved it! It's not very often I get to sink my feet into several inches of warm, soft sand while enjoying the beautiful view of the ocean!
