Downtown and around Rio

To the left is the Rio de Janeiro most people know. Hotel lined beaches. However, there is also a historical city that is filled with beautiful buildings built as far back as the 1700's.

Brazil was established essentially in the early 1500's. Rio was, after Salvador, the capital of Brazil. Because of that there are many important building and monuments in Rio.

 
Here is a perfect example of the old mixed in with the new in the downtown area. Often you see building that co-exist with ones from another era. Rio, unlike Brasilia, is not a highly planned city.
 
The municipal theather in the Cinelandia area of Rio - an area dedicated to the arts, such as movies. 

Many of the buildings are in need of attention since they show significant lack of care and maintenance.

 
Here we have a view of the public library just to the right of the municipal theater as dusk approaches.
 
Just next to downtown on the way to the Corcovado, the large Christ statue, spectacular views of the city just pop out - like this one of Sugar Loaf Mountain or Pao de Acucar.
 
On the way up the Corcovado we saw a sloth lumbering around on a tree. The animal is about the size of a large dog and has huge nails. It was right next to the road. Tiffaby got out to get a better look. Amazing to see such things in the mountains that are surrounded by the city.
 
More Photos  - Corcovado
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