A Walk in Paradise
As often as possible, I try to go for a walk when I am in Rio. I like to walk a lot, and the weather is almost always accomodating. The day I took these pictures, it was a little cloudy. My walk always starts out with a look of Christo standing on top of the mountain.
I live in an area of Rio called Lagoa which means lake in Portugese. The lake is about 7400 meters around, and there is a bike and walking path around the entire lake. There are also many kiosks, stretching stations, and playgrounds along the way. Plus lots of bicyclists, runners, and walkers of all ages and nationalites.
On this day, I took a right on the path, which means that I was walking away from the city of Ipanema. Ipanema is also considered one of the other more exclusive areas of Rio. I turned around and clicked this shot.
The lake is really spectacular particularly at night. There is also quite a few birds, and people walking their dogs on the path. I usually walk for at least an hour, and I can make it over 1/2 way around the lake.
About 20 minutes into the walk, and I can look back and see my apartment building. It is the small rose colored building in the center of the picture. There are only 5 stories in my building and 2 apartmetns per story, which makes it very nice and very private as well. I live on the first floor facing the lake.
This is right around my turnaround point. I have been walking for about 30 minutes at this point. In the distance again is Ipanema, home of the famous restaurant, Garota de Ipanema, where the famous jazz song was written.