Checking off the Rio "must do's"

Woke up yesterday to an unexpected overcast sky, which changed our plans from a beach day on Ipanema.  Instead, we checked off a few more items on our Rio must do list.  Beth, Erin and Nancy went for a run around Lagoa Rodrigo de Freites (7.2 km - Beth's longest run ever).  I opted to hang out on our hotel rooftop instead, watching Christ the Redeemer go in and out of the clouds across the Lagoa.

The skies started clearing after their run, so we decided we should take advantage of the nicer weather by heading up Sugar Loaf mountain.  Erin conquered her fear of trams, and off we went for more amazing views of the city. Halfway up is another mountain peak you stop at, which happened to have a restaurant/bar showing the Mexico-Cameroon game.  We joined a ton of other soccer fans to watch the second half of that game, while enjoying food and delicious beer atop a craggy mountain peak above Copacabana beach.  As Erin said, sometimes we make good life choices.

Reveled in soccer madness the rest of the day, watching Spain get embarrassed by Netherlands and Chile beating Australia (we watched that match with several Socceroo fans, so they were bummed with the loss).  Less soccer is on our agenda today, with a trip to Ipanema Beach and then a jungle jeep tour planned instead.