My visit to Rio de Janeiro was a short one, and I was rained out on the first day.

The next morning it was more or less dry. By bus, I went to the Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf). This is the most prominent hill in the landscape of Rio. You get to the top via two cable cars. There may have been 75 people inside and it was pretty busy. At the halfway stop I found the most beautiful: the views of the beaches and the Sugarloaf itself.

A day later the sun was shining again. So a quick taxi ride brought me to the Corcovado, the mountain with the well-known Christ statue. It is reached by a little train, a tourist attraction by itself in Rio. What I found striking was the number of people engaged in the train. It looked like an employment project for the local youth. The train ride took about 20 minutes, passing through the Atlantic rainforest of the Tijuca National Park. A beautiful ride. Up near the statue, there's a beautiful view of the city.

Back at the bottom again I visited the Museum of Naive Art. Definitely worth it, with paintings of Rio and the history of Brazil on show.