Arpoador on the Rocks

It could not have been a more beautiful and magical night.

Just steps away from my hotel just three short blocks from Copacabana Beach, I sat down at a small, trendy, open-air bar recommended by the staff at the front desk and ordered a meal of deep-fried, Brazilian-style hot 'n' spicy chicken, a bowl of hot black bean soup with crisp calamari croutons and parsley, and a basket of sinfully delicious pommes frites (fries)smothered in cheese, which I have been craving like crazy for the past 10 days, and two bottles of chilled, bubbly, super-quenching tonic water. The warm evening air, 65-70 degrees, reminded me of Indian summer back home- soothing, refreshing, just the right amount of coolness to take the edge off the gentle heat and not a trace of humidity. The ideal weather for a human being, I thought; it doesn't get any better than this.

All around me sitting at the petite bistro table settings were sets of couples, both young and old, eating, drinking and engaged in lively conversation. Brazilians speak Portuguese, a language I find exquisitely pleasing, unique and poetic, almost sounding like a blend of Spanish, Italian and French - and they speak it with passion! Listening carefully to them, it almost sounds like they are engaged in heated argument, but then they laugh and raise a hand to caress a cheek or smile lovingly at one another. It's common for both people to talk simultaneously - and loudly as well - and always accompanied by loads of animated hand gestures. Sitting alone and tuning in to the different conversational channels around me as I dined on my decadent cuisine was fascinating, revealing and highly entertaining.

Savoring the fine flavors and satisfying meal, I decided to take a stroll down toward Copacabana Beach and walk along the waterfront, lined with swaying palm trees and scores of giant coconuts lying everywhere on the ground. The Copa is the birthplace of surfing in Brazil, and people still in the water on their boards hanging five can still be seen even at dusk. The sound of the thunderous waves crashing onto the white, sandy beaches pulled me like a magnet. The sidewalks and mile-long boardwalk, Rio's version of the Malecon, are made of billions of hand-cut, porcelain fragments fashioned and inlaid into a beautiful, hypnotic mosaic pattern. It's like walking on a work of art with every step.

Standing at the beach and looking in both directions, to the right I observed the world-famous Copacabana and the lights of Rio's skyline, both stunningly beautiful, and to the left I spot the infamous Rocks of Arpoador- a cluster of enormous, magnificent granite behemoths that stand boldly, 100 feet or more, against the force of the surging Atlantic breakers. Arpoador means "fishermen with harpoons", and the rocks were named after the brave fishermen who used to harpoon the whales that came to reproduce in these warm, tropical waters.

Beckoning to me quietly and mischievously, they became irresistible to me! I decided to climb them. After that meal of 10,000 calories, I figured I needed to burn a few of them off.

Slowly winding my way up the well-worn pathways engraved into the earth by countless tourists, surfers, fishermen and locals, I wound my way up to the highest vantage point on the big grand-daddy of all the Rocks of Arpoador. From here, with the entire city of Rio de Janeiro stretched out before me in a panoramic view, glowing with lights twinkling like a Christmas tree, Sugarloaf Mountain softly lit by the moon in the distant background, the stars fully-lit overhead, the cool ocean breeze swirling around me and the roar of the surf pounding onto the beach, my spirit suddenly rejoiced like a choir of angels. The setting was as perfect and picturesque as anyone could find anywhere on God's green Earth.

For those of you who know me well and know that I cry more when I'm happy than when I'm sad, you will understand why my eyes filled with mist at this triumphant stance I took on this glorious night on the towering Rocks of Arpoador.

And in that one moment and the next hour I sat and soaked it all in...every penny it took to get here, every drop of sweat, every new wrinkle on my brow, every trial and tribulation that I faced in reaching these majestic rocks....all became worth it.