So today we decided to see big ol' J.C the hard way. I did some research online and after reading a review about 6 people getting robbed at gun point and held hostage for an hour, we set off on our journey. Navigated our way to the park with a few notes I had written on paper. Totally and accidentally found the entrance to the park after jumping off the bus at a random spot...and the written directions lead us straight to the trail head. It starts as a leisurely stroll through a rainforest of trees...then J.C makes youu work for his honor. At many stages we were crawling up the mountain, especially up a large rock with chain to held you up. A little sketchy but otherwise fun. After 2 hours we reached the top (great view btw!) and found that it's cheaper if you climb....but it doesn't include the van down or the train - we walked down too. After belly sliding down the rock face with chain I got pretty grubby. We saw plenty of monkeys and thankfully no gunmen. Just when Mike wanted to go home I thought I'd challenge us once more and navigate our way through buses to Ipanema beach...I needed a swim. Glad we did, water was beautiful and it's a real pretty beach with the surrounding cliffs. While I write this tonight Mike is cleaning out his bag because he discovered some bites on his leg. Could have been bugs in his sleeping bag...hey, I told him to douse it with alchohol, mine was smelling fine :)
