July 7: Jardim Botanico Gardens

The Gardens

We then traveled to Jardim Botanico which is a beautiful garden in Rio. It has ​​137 hectares and over 6,500 species (Some Endangered). It is sometimes called "Suvaco do Cristo" which translates to "Armpit of the Christ". The park lies at the foot of the Corcovado Mountain far below the right arm of the statue of Christ the Redeemer. The park is protected by the Patrimônio Históricoe Artístico Nacional and was designated as a biosphere reserve by UNESCO in 1992. There is more than 6,000 different species tropical plants and trees and subtropical plants and trees, including 900 varieties of palm trees. Wow! One of the tour guides told us that the 750 Meter line of 134 palms forms the avenue of Royal palms leading from the entrance into the gardens. Also the tour guide said, "these palms all descended from a single tree, the Palma mater, long since destroyed by lighting." The story was very interesting! After just walking around the amazing city and hanging out we hit the hay and enjoyed a nice long sleep.