While my anticipation mounted as we neared Cristo Redentor, my recognition of the darkness that was rapidly seeping into the sky followed suit. As the sky turned a resigned violet hue, I realized that we had started too late. Alas, we had missed the sunset on the peak of Corcovado! Although I was vaguely disappointing for a few seconds, it quickly passed. Regardless of the time of day we reached its fantastic summit, Cristo Redentor would stun.
I looked out the window once more, to find that we were rapidly nearing a large pavilion in which numerous cars were parked. Evandro neatly drew into a space, before informing us that we were to purchase tickets at the main counter. From there, we would be transported by official vans to the actual summit of Corcovado, where we would take a short walk to the monument itself. I sighed. Even though we stood at the base of that very wonder, I still felt so far away.
Evandro quickly tipped his head as if signaling for us to continue to the peak. I realized that he was right. Not only could we manage to see the last glimpses of daylight of all of Rio de Janiero from up there, but also the brilliant face of Cristo Redentor at night. Not to mention that after this, we would be seeing the famed Maracana. As I began to think of all of the places I'd been in one day, my head began to spin. But no more of that, we had to get going.
We quickly thanked Evandro as we left him in that dimly lit parking lot. Being fully experienced in the art of obtaining tickets, we quickly found ourselves in an enormous, official, white van, nearly the size of a bus, but much chunkier. We must have been the last round of the day, for it was mostly empty, except for a few tourists here or there. As we sped to the top of Corcovado, I was filled with the utmost excitement. Were my eyes simply playing tricks on me, or I was a seeing the once distant silhouette of Cristo Redentor solidifying before me?
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