4 pm: sugar loaf mountain - A little further along the coast, just beyond the neighborhoods of leme and botafogo, is the beautiful bay of praia vermelha (the red beach), and behind it, the renowned Sugar Loaf mountain, side by side with its smaller twin, morro da urca.

One can ascend both of these by cablecar, and from the top delight in sensational views of an impressive stretch of the city's landscape, including christ the redeemer, Copacabana and ipanema beaches, as well as guanabara bay.

One can capture the interplay of mountains and sea, as well as the incredible sprawling favelas, in a way that it is impossible to visualize from the ground.