Rio 1: tickets, Cristo

What with Brazil having a certain association with futebol, one of the most important items on the agend in Rio de Janeiro is a visit to the world famous Maracanã temple of football. Sunday April 20 is the day of the final of the Taça Rio, the championship of the state Rio de Janeiro, to be contested between finalists Fluminense and Botafogo.

Tickets for this game only went on sale 6 days before the match, right after the conclusion of the semifinals. Our attempts to secure tickets led to my being introduced to the mutual repuations of Paulistas (people from São Paulo) and Cariocas (people from Rio). Oohh those Cariocas! Long story short: A Carioca friend who was supposed to get tickets for us is majorly flaking out on us, and a bunch of scalpers tried to push overpriced and most probably counterfeit tickets on us. Rumour has it that the box office will have more (real) tickets for sale tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Next we paid a visit to the even more world famous Cristo Redentor, the giant iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer doubling as air traffic control. Ascending Morro Dona Marta, the hill next to the Corcovaro (the Cristo mountain) we got a phenomenal panoramic view of all of Rio, including the entire Cristo mountain -- with the exception of Cristo himself, who was shrouded in clouds.

Flying oil tanker ship as seen from Morro Dona Marta.

Arriving at the statue itself we were greeted by dense fog and howling wind. We could barely see the statue even when actually touching it. Well no matter; it´s a unique experience. Anyone can see the Cristo on a clear day, after all.