It was bitter-sweet, to leave Brazil yesterday. We really had a great time there. We were initially planning on just having a casual Sunday and gearing up for the flight home, while lounging around the hotel, or something. Instead, we ended up having an action packed last day. We initially set out to photograph some of the more historical parts of the center of Rio. But when we arrived there, it was pretty apparent that it was a sketchy time to be out. Even thought it was daylight, it was Sunday morning, and there weren’t a lot of people around, except for the really seedy ones. So we got back in the cab, and decided to checkout Sugarloaf, instead. It was very cool. I’m glad that we did it. Even the the second peak was totally covered by a cloud, when we were up there, the tram ride had some superb views.

^— Descending from the highest point.

^— Looking up, from the lower peak (timer shot).

^— Reagan, on the way up to the first peak. PS, I love this shot.

After Sugarloaf, we headed back over to the Lagoa, to kill some time. We did another bike ride, rode the paddle boats, and even did a little bit of skating. Hahahah. We were watching these kids skate this bowl, at the lagoa. I decided to ask them, if they minded if I borrowed a board and took a turn. The kid was totally cool about it. Reagan snapped a couple of pics. It was a lot of fun.

^— Me, in a 5.0 grind at RJ.

Follow this link for a few more shots from our last day in Rio.

We stared out the day with a bike ride around the lagoa, that sits about 6 blocks inland from Ipanema. It was a really fun ride. The outside perimeter of the lake is about 8 kilometers. It is great to see how many fitness minded Cariocas were out running and biking. Nike plus had a tent set up to stretch people out and distribute Gatorade. After the ride, we took a hike to the Rio Botanical Garden (which is the photo above, btw).

The Botanical Garden is right across the street from the stables of the horse track. There is a huge wall around the stables that is completely tagged up. It is amazing. I was ogling it, the whole way to the garden entrance. I almost tripped a few times, because I was staring across the street, instead of where I was walking. Below is a shot looking across the street from the front of the garden.

The garden itself was incredible. There was every type of tropical plant that you could imagine. It was also full of tropical birds and reptiles.

This little area with the columns, below, is the reason that Reagan wanted to see the gardens. There was a photo of it, in one of the little information books that she bought when we were planning the trip. It is pretty cool in real life, too.

Here for more photos from the bike ride and Botanical Garden.

I was resolved to wake up before dawn this morning, so that I could shoot the sunrise from the point between Copacabana and Ipanema. Reagan was a really good sport, and came along with me. Not even being dramatic, it was one of the most fantastic sunrises that I have seen. I’m totally glad that we did it.

After watching the sunrise, Reagan and I took a bus to the train that goes up to Corcovado, which is the huge statue of Christ, up on the hill.

It was kind of overcast, but for the most part the visibility was great. We were able to get the second train up. So it was only marginally crowded when we got up there. It was mostly just a bunch of European tourists that were on our same train. They were pretty irritating though.

We still got in some pretty good beach time in the afternoon. Even though it looked like it was going to rain, a couple of times, the clouds would break, quite ofter, for some extended periods of sunshine. We were able to sneak in an afternoon nap and still get some night swimming done.

^—Looking down on Fort Copacabana. Below, Reagan taking a dip in the hotel pool, while chatting with some Canadians we met at our hotel.

Tomorrow we are off to Buzios, bright and early. Reagan and I are pretty stoked. Reagan has told me repeatedly that she is most excited to see the Bridget Bardot (spelling) statue there. Apparently Reagan has been told on various occasions that she looks like Bridget did. Apparently Bridget kind of put Buzios on the map, as it was one of her preferred getaway locations. So they built a statue in her honor. Hahaha. I guess I’m excited to see the state too.

I uploaded a few more pics over here. Sorry that I got carried away with the sunrise shots.