Carrasqueira, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil
One of the best-known silhouettes in Rio de Janeiro is the Pedra da Gávea. Its horizontal plateau and resemblance to a human face nourished the most diverse legends, some related to Phoenicians, others with extraterrestrials. The truth is that the stone, by itself, is already majestic and, with its 844 meters of height, bears the title of “greater block of the world of gnaisse and granite by the sea”.
Its name is inspired by the observation basket located on the highest mast of the old vessels. It was from one of these baskets that the stone was sighted from the sea on January 1, 1502, even before the Gaspar de Lemos expedition reached the Bay of Guanabara. It was in that same month that Rio de Janeiro got its present name. That is, the granite massif was baptized as Pedra da Gávea, before the city itself.
Even though it was so emblematic, I never considered climbing to the top. In the 1960s and 1970s, when I lived in Rio, climbing was a thing of “climbers” and specialized clubs. The sight of the Pedra da Gávea, from Ipanema beach, evoked more fanciful confraternities – whether or not they were smoked – about Phoenician inscriptions and portals open to Machu Picchu than the desire to face a dangerous and insecure trail.
I had to enter the six-point-zero version to get up the hills of Rio. After the Pico da Tijuca, Morro da Urca and Morro do Leme trails, Pedra da Gávea was on my waiting list.
After spending the early part of 2014 under the biggest blizzard of the United States, with temperatures of minus 25 degrees Celsius and snow on the frozen streets of New York, landing in Rio de Janeiro, even at 40 degrees Celsius, is a delight. I seem to be the only Carioca not to complain about in the oven. And as if the differences in temperatures and spindles were not enough, the next day, I already commit myself to my son Mikael to face the “most difficult” path in Rio de Janeiro.
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