Two Brothers, Morro Dos Irmaos, A Hike

07.29

We went on an amazing hike today. The mountain was called: Two Brothers or Murro dos Irmaos. There are two mountains right next to each other, one bigger than the other. We climbed up the larger one. So it started with the walk to the metro, on the way to the metro, as we were walking past the thrift store I spotted a cat dress from a mile away. There was a strong feeling inside of me that this dress and I were soulmates, I was its person. So I bought the dress without even trying it on and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my life. It fit perfectly and I think I will wear it everyday for the rest of my life, I am even wearing it right now. So, anyway, the dress was a good sign – letting us know that the rest of the day was going to be great. We met up with Tiago, the guy who works the night shift at the hostel, and our 4 American friends who we met on the beach: BJ, Sammy, Juan, and Marcos. We met them at postal 11 along the beach in Copacabana. Got a coconut and was ready to go. We walked to the entrance of the favela Vidigal. We bought some water and Tiago took us over to the motor taxis – motorcycle taxis. One of the drivers called for me, I looked at Tiago, he nodded, and I hopped on the back of this guys motorcycle leaving everyone else behind. Little did Tiago know that I had been waiting to ride a motorcycle this entire trip and my dream was finally coming true. The motor taxi had no fear. He zipped and zoomed around cars and other motor taxis on skinny, winding roads filled with people. We climbed up steep, curvy hills, hit bumps and pot holes. It was amazing. Imagine riding around on a motorcycle on the hills of San Francisco and that is what is was like. So anyway we get to the top of the favela and the driver asked me for 5 reals, I gave him 10 because he just made my trip. The others follow shortly behind me and we walk up to the start of the hike. It was about an hour hike on very steep and sandy terrain. The boys were making fun of me because I was wearing sandals, but they were hiking sandals and their basketball shoes did not stand a chance. I ended up getting to the top of the mountain about 10 minutes ahead of everyone else. Haha. Anyway, so the views were beautiful. You can see the entire city. The entire coast line on one side, the favelas on the other side. I can’t describe it with well words so I will show you with pictures. We hung out on top of the mountain for a while – taking everything in, drinking water, and taking photos. It was going to get dark so we headed down the mountain – temple run style. Because it was so steep, it was much easier to run down the mountain, so we let gravity take us and moved our feet as necessary, grabbing trees, and hoping over rocks and branches along the way. Feeling like Indiana Jones. When we got to the start of the hike we took a van to the bottom of the favela. We hung out there for a while. I got fresh sugar can juice – they juiced the sugar cane right in front of you – it was such a great reward after an intense hike. We sat, drank, ate, and talked for a while. We ended the hike with a walk a long the beach. It was a beautiful day.

Street Art on the walk to the favela –