Rio: Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas

 Otherwise known to our family as Leblon Lake.  Its this gorgeous lake only blocks from the ocean.  Rowing in the 2016 Olympics will take place here!  And if you look way up on top of the mountain there, you can see the Cristo Redentor.  Yes, it's that high up!  

 So we decided we needed to take a stroll around Leblon Lake in the morning and hope that the clouds would lift in the afternoon, so we could go up and see the Cristo.   It was hot already.  We passed a few of these little coconut stands and knew that we would be stopping at one of them eventually when the kids really started to struggle.

 As we strolled along we came upon a queen ant and her subjects.  Jake, having done an ant presentation in school just a few months prior, was ecstatic, and told us all about what was happening here.  I think this was my first time actually seeing the mother ant in real life!  She was HUGE. 

 We initially wanted to ride bikes around the entire lake.  Because we didn't have a car, we weren't sure exactly where the bike rentals were on the lake.  So, we decided to walk until we found them.  We walked for a while :)

 The humidity was thick.  It was really hot.  So when we saw this guy, we knew it was time to stop and seek out a little relief.  

 The coconuts were a HIT!

 When we were finished with the milk, we had him slice the coconuts open for us so we could scoop out the meat.  

 Adorably Sweaty Brazilian Brothers

 The coconuts were all these two needed and they were off and running through the trees.

 This process is not to be taken lightly :)

 We did OK ;)

 And then we were back to exploring again.

 We came across the swan boats before we could find the bicycles.  So we decided to go for it.  

 Cristo was still in the clouds...

 Boys in the Back

 Girls in the Front!

 The Cristo was finally surrounded by blue sky!  Maybe we could make it up there!

 It felt good to have a little breeze in our faces.  The Berryhills needed it!

The clouds were lifting and we made it almost all of the way around the lake.  It was time to head to the exact opposite of where we were, so we could meet one of Joe's friends for lunch.