Our journey began with a stay at a hotel on the famous Copacabana Beach , which turned out to be both a blessing and a curse . While the beach was stunning , we were there over the weekend of the ‘ Republic ’ national holiday , when hundreds of thousands of Brazilians crowd to the beaches of Rio to sun themselves and enjoy the sights . A city tour of Rio took me to stand at the feet of the 98-foot tall Christo Redentor ( Christ the Redeemer ) statue on top of the 2,100-foot tall Corcovado Mountain .
We walked along the Copacabana Beach , closed to traffic on this holiday , to see the sunbathers gathered on the beach where the Pope spoke during his July , 2013 visit to Brazil . It is reported that over one million people crowded the Copacabana Beach to see him on giant TV screens scattered over the beach . Another day was spent birding with a local guide at the beautiful Rio de Janeiro Botanical Gardens , which has a 2,250-foot walkway lined with 134 massive Royal Palms , ponds , sculptures and very old 150-foot tall massive tree specimens . It rivals some of the most beautiful botanical gardens in the world and the bird life was spectacular . The gardens adjoin the largest urban park in the world ( at 12.4 square miles ), the Tijuca National Forest , which connects all the mountain outcroppings throughout the city . Toucans , tanagers , flycatchers , hummingbirds and all sorts of fantastic birds can be seen in this area .
Another birding outing took us to the base of Sugarloaf Mountain where we found many more beautiful birds as well as tame tufted-ear marmosets eating from the hands of well-intentioned hikers .
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