Rio de Janeiro I

"Cidade de deus" - the city of god. Rio de Janeiro, the final stop of our long trip through latin america, and boy, was it a good one. Rio has it all: fabulous beaches, probably the world's most spectacular bay views, incredible soccer enthusiasm for admittedly marvellous teams, artisanian small quarters, amazing nightlife.. the list goes on and on.

We did all we could to enjoy our last days and we may as well say, we were on our way to become real "Coriocas" - Rio locals.

Being soccer maniacs we visited legendary Maracana stadium on the very first day and took a tour there.

For those of you who don't know, this is maybe the world's most famous football stadium, where once the greatest crowd ever (200.000 people!!) witnessed the magic of such legends as Pelé, Garrincha, Sokrates, Zico, and many more. 

This is the famous Rio icon, "Cristo Redentor", Christ the Redeemer on top of Corcovado, more than 700m above the city, his hands widely extended to bless all those wonderful Coriocas..

The view from Cristo Redentor is deservedly one of the world's most famous..

(Here a little misty..)

Here a night view of Rio: