The adventure to the iconic Pão de Açúcar started with a very unglamorous moment—the crossing of the tunnel of death.

No, Mark, it’s just a nickname I came up with a decade ago—this is the tunnel that connects Copacabana to Botafogo.

It’s long, dark and noisy, but it’s safe.

Kind of.

I mean, there are police cars parked at both ends, even though I’ve never actually seen a police officer in the car.

It was Valentine’s Day—or rather “Friendship Day” as Mark’s school informed us by email—our first Valentine’s Day together in years since I tend to run away from Canada in winter.

And we were heading to what could be one of Rio de Janeiro’s most romantic spots—the Pão de Açúcar, the peak that offers the best views of the city. It’s not like we had planned to spend Valentine’s Day kissing on top of Rio but there are worst places to be on February 14, and the Pão de Açúcar is our favourite (paid) attraction in the city. What’s not to like? The scenery is gorgeous, the two three-minute cable car rides are fun, and both the Morro da Urca and the Pão de Açúcar offer trails and plenty of opportunities to step out of the crowds.

It was a steamy hot day. We took a first cable car to Morro da Urca, then a second one an hour later to the Pão de Açúcar. No wind, 43⁰C, and surprisingly active marmosets dangling from trees—they had more energy than us.

Copacabana, Botafogo and Guanabara Bay looked amazing, as usual. We’ve been there a few times, and the light is always different, it’s quite fascinating.

After that, we walked to the Botafogo Mall that offers amazing views of the Pão de Açúcar, and Feng and Mark had… what was it, meat with meat? Something like that. Your typical Brazilian “churrasco”, the food court version.