EC-Rider Travels

Today we picked up two adorable girls, Constance and Mattie Maloret, daughters of friends of Emma and Hugh Graham who joined us on our trip up Sugar-loaf Mountain and to Petropolis.

It is a cable-car ride to Sugar-loaf which is fun and the views are spectacular. The weather is sadly still not great so the view was not perfect but not bad all the same!

We then headed into the hills to Petropolis, about an hour north of Rio. A stunning drive through forested peaks and waterfalls. Petropolis was the mountain retreat of Dom Pedro II and soon became the same for members of his court and the wealthy Rio residents. There are many beautiful colonial houses, sadly now hotels, schools and other business buildings, though Analida tells me there are still some stunning private houses further out of town. In the centre, is Dom Pedro’s 19th century former residence, now an Imperial Museum displaying period furniture and art which was fun to see.

Nearby, is the São Pedro de Alcântara Cathedral. Built between 1884-1925 it is gothic in style with three beautiful, perfectly proportioned naves. It has lovely stained glass and an impressive organ. It was well preserved, far less ornate than the Baroque churches we had seen, and to me the most stunning of the lot. It houses the mausoleum of the Dom Pedro and his wife, daughter Isabel and several other members of the Imperial family who were returned there in 1921 when the decree banning the Brazilian Imperial Family was annulled. The stained glass windows of their chapel includes poems written by Pedro II in exile, telling of his longing to return to his beloved Brazil.

One of the two girls with us, is living in Brazil and working as a journalist. It was so interesting hearing her take on things and the work she has been doing particularly in the favelas. There really is a fear of these areas. She was telling me that even more scary than the drug barons running them are a relatively new group known as the Milicia who, over the last 16 years, have gown exponentially. They are now the largest criminal group with over 4.5m living in areas under their control. They started as para-military and were mainly former police officers, initially seen as a good thing, however they now have a frightening level of power, are totally corrupt and often aided by the even more corrupt authorities. I find it all so intriguing and long to visit, but fear that is not possible.

We finished our day at the most amazing restaurant which Analida once again treated the girls (and me to) – she is impossible, her generosity seems to know no bounds! Over looking the lagoon, we were offered all different cuts of grilled/bbq meat, the likes of which I have never tasted before.