Post 30: Christ, Sugar and Red Sand

Today was unbelievable. We started the day off with a tram car ride up to Christ the Redeemer, which in itself alone was cool and had its own beautiful views. The ride was very steep and it almost felt as if we were going to fall out of our seats and stand on the back wall at some points.

Christ the Redeemer was amazing to see, although incredibly touristy. It reminded me a bit of when I saw the Mona Lisa and everyone was crowded around it. Everywhere you looked someone was doing the iconic pose of Christ. It was cool to see so many different people of different cultures experiencing it. The views from the top of this hill were incredible.

Next, we took the tram car back down, hopped on the bus and rode to Escadaria Selaron, or in English, "The Selaron Steps", the work of a famous Chilean artist named Jorge Selaron. Everything was super colorful and although again this was toursity, it was still really cool to see. 

We went to get lunch next, at this market with live music right next to the beach. Jennifer and I got these amazing burgers, mine with a red pimento bun which was interesting. And we also got rolled ice cream which was fantastic.

I wandered over to the beach after lunch.

This beach was one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been to in my life, if not the most. The sand is called "red sand" because it has a reddish tint to it. It was also very, very soft and felt like quick sand. If you put your feet in the water for awhile, you could sink pretty far up your leg. The water was a clear turquoise blue, and these pictures really do not do it justice.

Also these three photos may be a few of my favorite photos I have ever taken, ever. I just loved how they turned out, focusing on Aika yet still showing the incredible views of the hills and islands behind the water. I love the colors brought out in them, and I especially love how the last one shows the fluid movement of the water. I also feel like these photos captured the moment perfectly. Aika and I both felt that this beach was one of the most beautiful places we had been to in our lives, and we shared this reflective moment together. AH I'm just so happy with how they turned out. Okay, photography geeking-out moment is over now, I promise. 

Our next destination was Pao de Ascucar, or in English, "Sugarloaf." This massive hill looks like a
loaf of sugar, which apparently looks something like this according to wikipedia. I'll put my picture up for comparison.

We took a cable car up to a smaller hill first, where we checked out the views, and then we took another cable car up to the top of Sugarloaf to watch the sunset. It was another incredible view that I couldn't believe was real.