8. Ascension of Pedra da Gavea

03/11/2014
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- We were seeking from a walking tour around Rio, a top of a mountain to climb, to find an extraordinary view... We got served!
- We left the hostel at 9am, by a bus which brought is directly to Gavea, at the bottom of the mount. "Pedra" means "rock" in Portuguese, and this is exactly what we found there: a rock, 850m high, close to the sea, on which an imprenetrable jungle is trying to climb the mauve cliffs.
- One bus transfert and several asked directions later, we reached, around 11am the bottom of the walking track. Paved at the very beginning, the way becomes a stair which steps are made by rocks, roots or wooden planks. We were walking on a coiling path, climbing severe sloaps in the jungle, and avoiding difficult accesses. We have seen along the way a dry waterfall and a source . The flow of the latter was ridiculous but its presence has been a good news for us as, sweating like a wild river, we were running out of water...
- The way that was drawing a trench in the yellow ochre ground after we left the jungle. Then it became a real dusty furnace. You can understand that we were pleased to reach the other slope of the mountain ! The most difficult part started here: an ascent by climbing 20 meters of rock without equipment. Quite easy for professional, but quite hard for common men like we are.
- After negociating this obstacle, there were still 200 meters of jungle to go through, which became high grasses and bushesreaching the top. The high top is actually a platform of 300m of length and 50m of width. A huge split stands in its center. On the left hand, a path leads to the very top. On the right hand, the rock finishes in a cliff above the emptiness. An incredible view of Rio appears here and especially of Vidigal, the favela we visited the day before. In front of us expands the biggest favela of Rio, very colorful thanks to the succession of messy multicolor balconies. In the background, the Cristo Redemptor looking through an ocean full of small islands. What a spectacular view!
- We decided to lunch here and after a well deserved nap, we climbed the real top where we discovered another amazing view. Below our feet, the cities of the West were standing between the sea and the river end. On the right, the national park Tijuca showing its primeval forests and its mountains which as curious shapes as the one on which we are standing. Finally, we eternalized this moment and left the mountain by the same path before the sunshine.

8. Ascension of Pedra da Gavea

03/11/2014

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