Yesterday was an incredibly busy and satisfying day. Some hiking followed by some windsurfing and then finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy.



I woke up at 6:30 to get ready to climb Pedra da Gávea and then Joana picked me up at 7:30 along with Camila and Julia. (and her mom, whose name escapes me) At the base of the road we met up with João and Andrea and walked to Floresta Da Tijuca.


The trek up Pedra da Gávea takes around 2 hours of solid hiking up some pretty challenging terrain. If you look at the sign picture you can see that the trip to the top is nearly 2000 m and the change in altitude is 844 m. I wouldn't call the area sorrounding the trail "jungle" but it was definitely nature. We had to climb a rock face that I am pretty sure you normally need climbing equipment to do safely, but oh well, we all made it alright.



The view from the top of Pedra da Gávea is amazing. We were able to see most of Rio and even Cristo Redentor in the distance. It was odd and a little saddening to see Rocinha (The largest favela in the entire country of Brazil). I say odd because this large shanty town is nestled up right against a golf course reserved for the wealthy of Brazil. It's also neat to see hanggliders launching off of Pedra Bonita and then glide down to the beach.



On the way back down we stopped at a waterfall and stripped down to our bathing suits to cool off under the water. Also, to reaffirm the idea that the surrounding area was positively nature, we saw a little monkey.


As soon as I got back from the hike (around 3:30, so the entire trip lasted around 7 hours), I went with Cabelo to learn some windsurfing. He said I am picking it up quickly and I was sailing and tacking into the wind by the time it was getting dark. Rad.

Contrasting yesterday, today was very laid back. Took a walk on the beach and then went with Cau to Thiago's house for a barbecue this evening with some friends. Good times all around. I'm going windsurfing again tomorrow. Hopefully I'll have picture from that to show tomorrow.