Gardens

On Saturday Ben and I took to the city once again, this time exploring a few "gardens": Parque Lage and Jardim Botanico. Unlike the delicate names imply, these parks proved to be less about manicured rose bushes and trimmed hedges and instead more about exotic vines and towering palm trees. But here in Rio, I'm learning not to ever expect less than extraordinary.

We started at the Jardim Botanico, in the Rio neighborhood of the same name. It was only R$5 to get in (about $3.50 US), but opened up a world of winding paths through 5,000 species of flora and fauna. Right away we were greeted by a pond of turtles. They looked like the pet turtles I had growing up, but these must have eaten a Mario mushroom or something because they were seriously double the size. A few steps inside the park, we found a gorgeous natural waterfall cutting its way through surrounding bushes, trees, vines and flowers. All this within only a few feet of the entrance.

It took us a few hours to trek the entire park, not only because of its size, but because there was so much that made us stop and stare. A stone mill from the 1500s, an orchid greenhouse, strange hanging flowers, thorny plants and lilie pads so big I could have literally sat upon them (seriously, I was temped to try), were all part of the park. The highlight was a long pathway lined with 200-year-old palm trees, planted in 1808. These trees didn't show their age, with beautiful fronds high overhead. They must have been at least 100 feet tall, no joke. And each one lined the way to a huge antique fountain in the center of the park. If Europe and the jungle had a baby, it would look like that.

Along our travels through Jardim Botanico, a few people we met (all of whom were Brazilian but spoke awesome English) pointed us toward the Parque Lage -- a nearby garden that was much more "rustic" than this one. More rustic? We had to check it out. After an hour-long trek up the avenue (yes, we were too cheap to take the bus), we reached the unimpressive gates of the park. It had a long cobblestone driveway without much fanfare, all leading to an old pink house. Nice, but not what we were expecting. It wasn't until we sat down to catch our breath that we spotted a few pathways leading off into the surrounding trees. We picked one and just started walking.

To describe the park as "rustic" is an understatement. It was pretty much just an untouched jungle with narrow paths snaking through. Oh, and the previous owners (it was a mansion and estate for a century or so before being donated to the city), decided to have some fun with the place and created all these hidden forts and stone caves along the way. We seriously felt like children frolicking around the moss-covered stones and swinging on vines hanging from the trees.

The labyrinth of trails turned more treacherous as we started hiking up a mountain. We later realized this was Corcovado mountain, and just above the layer of clouds was Christo himself (the giant Jesus statue) sitting on top. Wearing a dress and flip flops, I decided not to attempt the trail that day -- although Ben and I have definite plans to give it a go soon. Instead we sat by waterfalls, chased a butterfly that was as big as a record and watched dozens of monkeys jump from tree to tree. The entire time we couldn't stop saying "This is the coolest place EVER!". We're definitely gong back soon.