There is something almost meditative in watching Rio prepare for Christmas beneath the outstretched arms of Christ the Redeemer. Sugarloaf rises opposite, the old port districts now careful eco-havens; faith, forest and favela somehow reconciled. It is not mere tourism — it is a city remembering that landscape can still carry meaning. In Britain we have long excelled at preserving cathedrals and country houses, yet we sometimes forget how to let the land itself speak. Rio, for all its contradictions, gently reminds us that sacred geography need not be a relic; it can still breathe.