Lewis lands in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

After Lewis the Lion’s long and exhausting journey, he could see the dawn breaking as he started to descend into Rio de Janeiro. The lights of the city snaked along and twinkled below and Lewis the Lion felt a wave of excitement as the plane prepared to land. As the aeroplane touched down safely, Lewis thanked God that his journey had gone well so far. Even though he was extremely tired, he was really looking forward to discovering what Brazil had to offer. (He had passed through 7 time zones since he left London and then back 4! In Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, they were 3 hours behind U.K. time).

Lewis then accompanied Helen through passport control, making sure to get her passport stamped. He then waited anxiously at the luggage carousel at the baggage reclaim hoping to be reunited with his rucksack, especially as it had been on three aeroplanes since he had last seen it. Phew! Eventually, after a patient wait, he spotted it and breathed a sigh of relief.

The next challenge that awaited was to identify the taxi-driver who would take him to his hostel. Luckily, Lewis the Lion did not have to wait long before a gentleman arrived with a piece of paper with Helen’s name on it, along with another girl’s. They got in his car and as it drove out of the airport, Lewis got his first proper glimpse of Brazil under the soft light of a new day.
The first thing that struck him (apart from the warmer weather!) was the vibrancy of the colours around him: the colour of the houses, the palm trees, the sea, the street art, all set against a pale-grey backdrop of mountains and hills which seemed to shield the city itself. As he kept his eyes peeled on the horizon, he spotted the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer which seemed both to welcome visitors to the city of Rio de Janeiro and protect its citizens, the Carioca, with his outstretched arms.

This statue affirms the principle religion of Brazil: Christianity and in particular, Catholicism. Initially, the white statue appeared as a tiny speck on the landscape but it seemed to grow and grow as Lewis approached his destination of Botafogo Vila Carioca Hostel. He knew that on another occasion, when he was feeling less tired, he would like to visit this statue up close and investigate further.

When Lewis the Lion arrived at Vila Carioca Hostel, he had one thought on his mind: sleep! Travelling can be very exhausting. Luckily for Lewis and Helen there was one bed left in a 14 bed dormitory (there were 7 bunk-beds) and 14 lockers. Thankfully, Lewis was well prepared with his combination lock so he could put his important valuables in his locker and lock it!

The hostel provided him with a pillow, a pillow-case and sheets for his bed. No sooner had his head hit the pillow of his newly made bed, then he was fast asleep, even with 13 other people sleeping around him!

Remember to check the Country Factfile on Brazil and look to learn some Portuguese in Lewis the Lion’s worldwide language challenge!