Notes From Everywhere

We booked our tickets to Sugarloaf Mountain for mid-afternoon, hoping to see Rio from above in daylight and stay long enough to watch the sunset. It turned out to be a great decision.

Surprisingly, there were no lines when we arrived, and within minutes we were stepping into the cable car. As the gondola climbed higher, the city slowly disappeared beneath us. Streets gave way to mountains, the bay stretched farther into the distance, and Rio unfolded in every direction. The only disappointment? The windows were a little too dusty for photos—but the view more than made up for it.

The first cable car takes you to Morro da Urca, the smaller of the two peaks. We wandered around for a bit before spotting a tiny café overlooking the city.

It was the kind of place that deserved a moment of stillness. We ordered coffee and, of course, pão de queijo—our favorite Brazilian snack.

“We only have orders of six or twelve,” the man behind the counter said.

“I’ll take twelve.”

He smiled, looking just a little surprised. I had a feeling my husband would have been far more surprised if I had come back with only six.

The coffee was much stronger than I expected. After one sip, I quietly poured a little water into it, and suddenly it was perfect.

From the terrace, we could admire Rio in almost every direction. The view was spectacular.

As if the afternoon wasn’t already perfect, we suddenly heard music. A techno concert was taking place just a short walk away. We bought chocolate-covered peanuts from one of the vendors, and danced for a while. Completely unexpected—but somehow exactly the kind of surprise that makes a trip unforgettable.

Not far from the concert, we noticed a small helicopter booth.

“What if we did it?”

A few minutes later our names were on the waiting list. We only needed two more passengers for the flight to go ahead. As we waited, I watched a helicopter gracefully land on the platform. It already felt surreal. Then our names were called.

Before boarding, we watched a short safety video, and while waiting near the helipad we noticed tiny monkeys sitting on the fence, completely unfazed by the people around them.

I had never flown in a helicopter before.

As we lifted off, Rio spread out beneath us in a way I’d never seen before. We flew toward Christ the Redeemer and circled around it, then followed the coastline.

More than anything, I wanted one photograph with both Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain in the same frame, and I got it.

Somewhere over Rio, camera in hand, I caught myself smiling.

Wow… dreams really do come true.

Who would have imagined that one day I’d be flying over Rio de Janeiro in a helicopter?

Ten minutes later we were back on the ground, still trying to process what had just happened.

Only then did we continue to the second cable car, which carries visitors to the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain. The views from the top were every bit as spectacular as I’d imagined. We wandered slowly around the viewing platforms, admiring the mountains, the bay, and the city below.

In one of the gift shops I spotted a small magnet decorated with a dog and a butterfly resting on its nose. It immediately made me think of Chloe. Naturally, it came home with us.

As the sky slowly turned shades of orange and pink, we found a perfect spot near the cable cars. I love photographing cable cars against colorful skies—the dark silhouette creates such a beautiful contrast with the sunset.

We stayed until the sunset was over, while the sky was still glowing with shades of orange and pink, then boarded the gondola back down. Watching the last colors of the day from above was the perfect ending to an unforgettable afternoon.