My Trip to Rio, Brazil 2025 (Wheelchair accessible)

 My Trip to Rio, Brazil 2025

Welcome to my wonderful experience of our voyage to Rio, Brazil over my 2025 spring break. On Friday March 28th, I had early dismissal from school. I told most of my teachers including the principal that I am going to Brazil for vacation, out of my excitement. My dad picked me up and we headed home. I ate lunch and then my dad drove us to the airport. When we boarded the Avianca Airlines, I hoped that there will be screens but to my surprise there were none. When the plane departed, they served us snacks. I ate Oreos, Doritos, and Cheese Ramen Noodles. The rest of the time, I had beautiful sleep and observed the plane. Then, we arrived in Bogota in Columbia. In the airport, I noticed almost everyone's skin color was tan. I was starting to feel that we are in Latin America. En route to our gate to Rio, I saw a statue of a lady carrying fruits on her head. The first thing that came to my mind was coffee beans.

The accessibility was pretty good. In Chicago the flight attendants put 5 belts on for my aisle chair. In Columbia, they only put 1 belt on and without any safety equipment, I was brought down the flight by 2 helpers. My parents were little nervous as the helpers couldn't understand any bit of English. Thankfully it was fine. 

Our next flight was to our final destination, Rio in Brazil. Brazil is the country that is the most accessible in South America. Out of that, Rio is the city in Brazil which has the most accessibility. We had only 1 hour for our connection flight and we had no time for dinner. On the flight, they had a limited amount of food. There were only beef options and so we were forced to have chips and drinks for dinner. On Saturday March 29th, I woke up at 6:15 AM because we arrived in Rio. We booked a taxi to go to our hotel called Rio Othon Palace.

We had a conversation with our driver named Newton. My dad had funny conversations with Newton and all other drivers where we used Google Translate to converse between Portuguese and English. 

We headed to breakfast area and it was huge with a number of food items. Then, we ate breakfast. I ate pancakes, cheese balls and scrambled eggs and little bit of fruits. When we went to our room, I was stunned by the views of the ocean, mountains and islands of Rio. Sitting in my wheelchair and from few steps away from the balcony, it literally looked like we were on a cruise moving on the ocean. We enjoyed the beautiful views of Copacabana beach from our balcony where I also saw many female frigate-birds which are really big. 

Then, we went to the swimming pool, Skylab on the top floor to cool off. 

When we went to our room, my dad wanted to fly his drone to capture all the views of the ocean and the beach but the (RTH) Return to Home button failed to work so after the battery drained, it fell in the ocean. My dad contacted the drone company, DJI for advice (It's a known issue). He is figuring out the next steps. Later, my dad went through the convenient store to buy us ice cream and me and my sister enjoyed. A few hours later, we took a stroll around our hotel and on the Copacabana beach.

There, I saw paintings of Christ Redeemer, knittings of the Brazilian flag and tote bags on the streets from the local sellers. At the end, there was the historic Copacabana fort.

Copacabana fort

We bought our tickets and went to exhibits where they showed us miniature models and why the fort was built. It is the Brazilian military base of the south. After our visit, we went back the other way and went to a restaurant called Tropik for dinner. I ate delicious Shrimp rice. Finally, we went to our hotel and slept. 

On Sunday March 30th, after waking up to the beautiful views and sounds of the ocean and sun rays falling on my face, my parents woke me up and my dad helped me to get ready. We then went to breakfast. I ate pancakes, scrambled eggs, cheese balls and had orange juice. This was my routine everyday for week until the end of our stay. We then took a taxi to the Corcovado train station and had a nice conversation with the taxi driver. My parents thought the taxi prices were pretty reasonable especially with the currency conversion ($1 = 5.84 R$). We went to Christ Redeemer (Cristo Redentor in Portuguese) which is on of the seven wonders of the modern world. We then took a train ride through the Tijuca National Park to go to the top. We had a helper who took magnificent photos of us with Christ Redeemer. We met a family who also lives in Brazil. My family and their family talked about their stories. 

Then, we went to another mountain called Sugarloaf by a cablecar. A cable car is a transportation system which connects two places via ropes. Then, we got delicious ice cream at the first stop over which is Morro da Urca. I ate dulche leche ice cream. Next, we went to Sugarloaf Mountain (Pão de Açúcar in Portuguese). There we saw amazing views of Christ Redeemer amidst the clouds. We also saw the amazing views if Rio city amidst Tijuca national park. There were also many vultures and frigate birds. 

Riding a cable car from the ground to Sugarloaf Mountain

Riding a cable car from Sugarloaf Mountain to the ground on our way back.

From the summit of Sugarloaf Mountain

To taste the nut flavors, we bought four glazed nuts that are native to Brazil at Nutty Bavarian. We left and went to our hotel. We then went to a Brazilian restaurant called Mela Pataka. I had the opportunity to choose and eat amazing Brazilian Fish. 

Then we went to our hotel. In our hotel, I discovered that every Brazilian Real (Brazilian currency) has an animal on it like a jaguar or a monkey. Finally, to end that day's fun, we slept.

On Monday March 31st, we went to Cathedral Metropolitana where we spent some time in the church. It was in an unique shape because it is shaped like a cone. 

Cathedral Metropolitana

We then walked to the downtown and Escadaria Selaron. 

St.Theresa neighborhood 

My parents then booked the world famous and historic Marcanã soccer stadium tour. We bought the soccer jerseys to show our spirit. I got the Neymar Jr jersey.

The Marcanã football stadium was named after a bird named Marcaña that made a specific sound in the Tupi language. At the Soccer stadium tour, they showed us the evolution of the soccer balls. Then, they showed the jerseys of the famous players. Then, they represented the evolution of the Brazil soccer jerseys. We had the opportunity to buy a miniature soccer ball. 

Posing at the Press meet room

My parents took a package to score some goals right on the field where many great players played and made history. 

An interesting incident happened when we headed back to our hotel. Our hotel, Rio is right across the beach but there is a road that we have to cross. We were waiting to cross but with the heavy traffic, it took quite sometime. An empathetic guy stopped all the traffic on the Copacabana beach so we can easily cross the road and go to our hotel.  We were very thankful.

After that, we went to a Brazilian restaurant called Pipa Velho and we ordered delicious Brazilian fish fillet with flavored green rice and pleasing potatoes. Then, we ate ice cream as dessert. I had Nutella ice cream.

During the walk on the way home, my mom loved a cute Volkswagen toy car made of wood by a local vendor. My dad bought it and had a good conversation with him about his family business which was making wood toys. It was a great conversation to know about the Brazilians and their culture. 

To end the excitement for the day, we went to the swimming pool to relax. My parents helped me walk, swim and relax. Then, we slept.

On Tuesday April 1st, after Breakfast, we went to Tijuca national park which means marsh or swamp in the Tupi language which means "way to see" (Parque nacional da Tijuca in Portuguese). This park is a part of Amazon Rain Forest. We went on a Jeep tour via Ipanema beach, another beautiful beach and met a nice lady who guided me and other people through Tijuca.

 

After a little while, we entered Tijuca national park. 

Unfortunately, we couldn't see any animals except hawks. We went on a hike through accessible trails to see the lush green forest. My parents navigated through the rocks and leaves in the forest 1,000 feet above sea level. Later, we saw multiple mountains and fish in the water. Then, we went to the botanical garden which is part of the forest. It was really beautiful with multiple species of flowers. 

Waterfall of the souls

We also saw beautiful views of the mountains and Favellas. This is at the peak of Tijuca National Park which is at 3500 feet.

Largest Favella in Latin America 

Favella are extremely small houses where poor people live typically on a mountain. 

We returned to our hotel and went to another Brazilian restaurant called Republica de Monaco for dinner. I ate Brazilian snapper, bass, mashed potatoes and rice. For dessert, I ate a dessert that is similar to molten chocolate cake in Chili's. We then walked back to our hotel and went to bed.

On Wednesday March 2nd, after our routine of getting ready and after having breakfast, we took it easy and relaxed. At noon,  we went to the Museum of Tomorrow. Unfortunately, it is closed every Wednesday but google didn't tell anything about it. 

Then, my dad wanted to do the Rio's famous activity, Hang Gliding near Sao Conrado beach. There, we learned that they were offering paragliding too. I wanted to go too as we were told that they were also accommodating people with wheelchairs but I was below the minimum age of 14.

As my father was waiting for his Hang Gliding, my mom took me and my sister for lunch and ordered Sautéed Shrimp with guacamole. After about 30 minutes, their was an accident on the top of the hill so all the flights couldn't take off and my dad couldn't fly. A chopper came in to airlift the injured person. It's a little bit remote place so finding a taxi was difficult however we found a taxi that was pretty small, a sedan. We managed to fit my wheelchair by disassembling it and pushing it in one of the seats with our drivers help, went to our hotel and rested. Then, we prepared for the Roxy show at 9 PM. We had to be there by 8:30 PM. Since we liked Mela Pataka, a Brazilian restaurant that we tried before, we went there again and finished our dinner to head to the Roxy show. 

This show represents Brazilian culture with music and dance. The theater was really lavish with exquisite looks. First, they played music with silverware. Then, they played music with silverware and voice. Next, they played music with the dance styles from all of the states in Brazil like Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. My favorite part was when someone wore a costume of a bull in the Amazonia segment. 

To end the show, all the people wore hats and dresses with feathers of all colors. It basically represented the Rio Carnival. I really had a good time at the show and I recommend it as I was entertained and it was a learning experience of Brazilian culture. 

Then, we came back to our hotel which was only a few blocks away and we slept.

On Thursday March 3rd, our last full day in Brazil, my dad and mom wanted to do paragliding as they couldn't do the previous day. We waited for an eternity for my dad's instructor to come as there were reverse winds. Later, my dad was taken to the top of the mountain by car and he messaged us from there ( ~2000 feet high) that they were flying. After about ten minutes, we could see them. My dad wore Maurya Koduri Foundation's T-Shirt, mauryakoduri.org and held the banner to create awareness and funding. From the ground, we could see they were going random directions. Finally, we saw them landing. 

A funny part was when my dad was about to land, the instructor told him to walk fast as he touched the ground but he fell down when he touched the ground instead of touching the ground and walking. It was funny the way my dad explained about it and my mom's reactions to it. My mom also wanted to go but couldn't go because of the weather conditions.

We then took a taxi and headed back. My dad conversed with the older taxi driver about the life in Rio and Brazil and how Brazil evolved. This was all using Google translator. My dad would speak in English and the driver would respond in Portuguese and using translator, we were all able to understand what the driver said. He expressed that he had a very poor life and went hungry many days but he is in a good position now. However, Brazil didn't progress well. Other people from other neighboring countries including kids come to work in Rio but they were sleeping on streets and beaches. He said he is helping kids and others as much as he can but expressed that Brazil government should do more. We were dropped off near our hotel.

We were hungry and my parents found out that a near by Columbian  restaurant- Na Brasa Columbia had great reviews. We ordered Brazilian fish with Shrimp sauce, mashed potatoes and rice. It tasted yummy but there were left overs. We gave the leftovers to homeless people in the area. My dad and mom showed me how hungry he was as he quickly opened the bag and was so happy.

He said "muchos obrigado" which is Thank you so much in English. We went to our hotel, rested and then went to the beach. My dad transferred me to the sand by carrying from the platform all the way to the shore and I enjoyed the waves hitting me. Three of the waves literally made me move. After the beach, we went to the swimming pool on the top of our hotel on 30th floor. My dad and mom helped me walk in the pool. I like to walk in the pool as my body feels light and I will be able to do it only in the water. My mom and dad had enjoyed a drink and we got back to our hotel room, took a bath and slept.

Friday April 4th- it was the day we were coming back to Chicago. I had scrambled eggs and pancakes as the last breakfast in Rio Othon Palace. We then took a taxi and went to the Rio airport.  My dad and the driver had a good conversation. Brazil is just like India (My parents are originally from India). The empathetic people, the shops, the weather and road side vendors. The disadvantage of going to Brazil is that most people don't understand English only Portuguese so we had to use Google Translate to communicate. It was hard but we managed.

When we boarded the COPA airlines plane, I was happy that there were screens at first but when we went to our row, there were no screens. There were screens a row in front of us. There was also no window. For lunch, I ate pasta. They have nice food. Then, I continued to write this blog. In about 6 hours, we reached Panama City.

 Did you know that the Panama Canal is 52 miles away from the airport? After some walking, we were hungry so me and my dad ate at a sushi restaurant called Nacional Sushi. I like sushi. We boarded our flight to Chicago and I saw a documentary on how the universe operates. Then, I wrote my blog. When we were at the tip of Cuba, we were served dinner. For dinner, I had chicken noodles. For dessert, I had Tutti Frutti bread cake. We arrived in Chicago at 12:30 AM. We did Immigration and all the other procedures. Last but not least, my dad took us for a drive and we arrived home at about 2:30 AM and immediately slept.

I would completely recommend going to Rio. The food was brilliant, the people were so compassionate, the accessibility was good for a country like this, and the attractions were amazing. It’s kind of difficult to converse with the people but Rio city was awesome. 

Sharing our itinerary in case if it helps you:

Day 1-  Check in, Rest, Explore, go to Copacabana beach (accessible) and Ipanema beaches (Hippie Fair) and Copacabana Fort, pool activities and find out more information

Day 2- Christ the Redeemer – Go to Cosmo Velho Station for a train ride to Corcovado Mountain through Tijuca National Park. Plan 3-4 hours here. 

Day 2- Late Afternoon- Take a cab from Corcovado Mountain to Sugarloaf Mountain (Plan 3-4 hours here)

Day 3- Museum of Tomorrow, Escadaria Selaron, Cathedral Metropolitana, Marcana Soccer Stadium

Day 4- Tijuca National Park-Jeep Tour-Wheelchair accessible

Day 5- April 2nd - Explore bohemian neighborhoods in Santa Teresa via local trams. Beware of Cobble Stone roads.

Day 5 PM- Tropical Carnival Show - Brazilian Rhythms and Roots: ROXY

Day 6 - Relax and Stroll around the beaches, Hand gliding/ Paragliding

muchos obrigado (In Portuguese) Thank you so much for reading my blog. 

All the pictures are taken by my parents :)