Jacked in my job to go to the World Cup in Brazil

and other places

[garethjarnold]

Corcovado Hostel on the morning after the final

[garethjarnold]

The morning after the final

The morning after the final I went for a swim in the hostel pool while admiring the view of “Cristo”.

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Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) and the final Part 4

We took a bus and then the metro to Cardeal Arcoverde. On the walk towards the beach we picked up some beers and struggled to move very far because of the number of people (including the media) who wanted photos or to film the boys who were dressed up.

The beers were flowing and we finally found a spot to stop and watch the game on the big screen through some palm trees.

It was a perfect end to the most amazing month of football fun - singing England and West Ham songs with a bunch of fellow England fans!

[garethjarnold]

Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) and the final Part 3

Aware that time was getting on, I headed back down and back to the hostel to prepare for watching the final. I arrived back at the hostel to find some England fans dressed in England shirts, hats and flags having their faces painted (with the St. George's Cross). It turned out two of the boys were from Yorkshire and another two from Essex (one of which's brother's went to Coopers and was an Iron). This was perfect, I threw my West Ham shirt on (if you remember, I swapped my England one for a Costa Rica shirt) and headed to Copacabana with the boys!

[garethjarnold]

Someone taking a photo on Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) and the view of Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain) from the statue

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Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) and the final Part 2

Being the morning of the final it was obviously rather busy at “Cristo”, but I tried my best to soak up the view and make the most of photo opportunities.

One of the things I’d always wondered about the monument was whether you could actually walk on it, on his arms for example…I had this question answered when I saw someone having their photo taken on one of the arms, I didn’t fancy it!

Something I didn’t know was there is a chapel inside of the statue.

[garethjarnold]

Me with the Maracanã in the background and Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) on the morning of the final

[garethjarnold]

Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) and the final Part 1

Sunday was the day of the final and I was moving again…I was up early and had breakfast at Refúgio and then jumped in a taxi to Corcovado Hostel.

The hostel was beautiful with a pool outside and a view of Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer). As I had arrived early, I left my bags and took the opportunity to visit “Cristo” before heading to Copacabana to watch the final on the beach.

[garethjarnold]

One night in Flamengo and the third place playoff

After I'd finished up at the white arches and grabbed some lunch, it was back to the hostel to pick up my things and move to another hostel in Flamengo for one night. Refúgio Hostel was very pleasant and a bit more chilled out than the craziness of Lapa. I met some great guys who I was sharing a room with and we headed to a restaurant near the hostel to watch the game and get some dinner. The buffet was fantastic! The football from Brazil not so much, and there was no way you could see them getting anything from the game.

[garethjarnold]

Selfies at Escadaria Selarón (Selarón's Steps) and Arcos da Lapa (Carioca Aqueduct)

[garethjarnold]

The afternoon after - Escadaria Selarón (Selarón's Steps) and Arcos da Lapa (Carioca Aqueduct)

On Saturday, before moving hostel, I visited Escadaria Selarón (Selarón's Steps), also known as the Snoop Dogg steps as they feature in the video for Beautiful by Snoop Dogg featuring Pharrell Williams & Uncle Charlie Wilson. I also stopped to check out the Arcos da Lapa (Carioca Aqueduct).

[garethjarnold]

Birthday cards from the family on my bed at Manga Hostel, Lapa

[garethjarnold]

Happy Birthday to me!

Friday was my birthday; I had a rather lazy morning at Manga Hostel and then ventured out around Lapa in the afternoon.

The evening would see me enjoying caipirinhas and beers with lots of people at Manga before heading to Rio Scenarium for live samba music and dancing…the fact the club used to be an antiques store makes for some fascinating décor! We met lots of people including some guys from Rayleigh!!

A great night was had by all topped off with a final caipirinha and some munchies in the packed street.

[garethjarnold]

Waiting for the rain to ease off at the bottom of the second cable car

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Woodland near the peak of Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain)

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View from the top of the first cable car and the second cable car heading into the rain cloud

[garethjarnold]

Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain)

On Thursday I was determined to head up Sugarloaf Mountain despite the terrible weather.

I took a taxi to where the first cable car leaves from.

Although the sky was rather grey, the view from the top of the first cable car was great. However, the peak of the mountain was completely engulfed in a rain cloud and at the top of the second cable car you couldn’t see anything…surprisingly this made for some interesting photos of the woodland.

I came back down to where the second cable car leaves from and sat down to grab some food and a few beers while waiting for the rain to ease off…I was there a while!