Monday, 20 October 2014
Then we were to go jungle trekking to see a waterfall where people could swim in, and Joao gave us a choice whether to go by an easy trail or a more challenging trail. The ever adventurous Sebastian wanted to do the more challenging trail (so did I in secret) so we went this way. The trek itself was quite short, but there were 3 places where we had to climb over rocks, the first I could manage without any help, the second we had to hold a rope and climb down backwards (something which I cannot do don't ask me why, I need to always see where I am going) which I did half way and then needed help, and the third was the most difficult of all, it was a vertical climb up some roots of a tree, over a jutting out rock, walking along a small space by the side of the rock (if you slip here you will fall and probably break a leg if not die) and then it's done.
Going up was not as hard as I thought, coming down was difficult because at one point, you really couldn't see where your foot is to land, but luckily Joao was there to help place my foot on the (invisible) rock below. At the waterfall we refreshed ourselves for a bit. It was fun to go jungle trekking. I realise that no matter how many times I go jungle trekking, I will never get used to it, I am always so careful and slow when I trek. But I also realise that I love jungle trekking, it is something that I don't think I will ever get bored with. I am a jungle girl for sure, not a beach girl.
And then we were done at about 1.30 pm. I wanted to go downtown to check out some of the old buildings in the old part of town, buildings that were erected by the Portuguese. Sebastian said he would come with me. Today was a public holiday in Rio, and my previous guide on the city tour told me it is not safe to go downtown alone, especially on a holiday because there are not many people around, but both Joao and Sebastian said it was perfectly ok so we took the metro from General Osorio station to Uruguaiana station.
The heart of downtown is a place known as Praca XV. Portugal was actively trading with the British empire, and Napoleon was not happy about that and threatened to invade Portugal unless it stopped trading with the British. The king of Portugal, King Dom Joao VI and the royal family of Portugal then fled to Rio, under the protection of the British, bringing with them about 40 ships filled with all kinds of technology, books, produce; everything necessary to build a new city in Rio. Praca XV is where they first landed.
Our first stop was the Candelaria church. This church was originally built in the early 17th century by Spaniard Antonio Martins Palma and his wife Leonir Goncalves as thanks for being saved from a shipwreck. It fell into a state of disrepair, but over the years was renovated. There is a beautiful limestone dome which crowns the church, this was finished in 1887 and weighs 630 tons, silencing the doubters who said the structure of the church could not stand the weight of the dome. Like most churches in South America, this church was beautifully decorated with paintings, carvings and stained glass inside.
Next, the Sao Bento Monastery. This was one of the earliest churches ever built in Rio. It was built in the early 17th century, about 1617 to 1641, by Benedictine monks as a place of worship and study. The compound is huge, and it was not open to the public to enter the entire compound, we were only allowed into the church but there was not much to see as it was under heavy construction, probably some kind of restoration work. But from what little I saw, the interior was really beautiful, with wood carvings interlaced with gold and silver carvings. Beautiful designs of angels, cherubins and other Christian themed stuff. Apparently there are still some Benedictine monks on the premises but I didn't see any.
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