Feliz natal
Trip Start
Oct 28, 2007
1
20
24
Trip End
Dec 29, 2007
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday reallybigtoweringoverRiowithyourarmsout Jebus,
Happy Birthday to you.´
Yes, it's the big guys birthday, 25th December, and the big guy don´t get much bigger than here in Rio de Janeiro. Not just because Brazil is the biggest Jebus-lovin nation going around, but because they built a straight-up big Jebus, that sits on a big mountain, high above this big city. Locals call it ´Christ the Redeemer´, but to me he will always be just Jebus. Who needs redemption anyway?
I´m sure I´ve mentioned before that my Mariah Carey´s ´All I want for Xmas is you´ is my number one Christmas tune. It dominates. But for most of my week in Rio, I´ve changed it to ´All I want for Xmas is sun´. The weather has been average. Well average. Of the 120 hours I´d been in town leading up to Xmas day, less than one of them had seen Rio bathed in sunshine with blue skys overhead. One lousy hour - almost. So, all I wanted for Xmas 2007, aside from Real Madrid beating Barcelona in the ´superclassico´, was some sun, so I could see the real Rio. The Rio I´d read about. The Rio I´d seen on tv. The Rio I´d dreamt about. I got my first want - Real beat Barca 1-0. But would I get my second? I did - emphatically. I was handed the Rio de Janeiro Christmas Day of the Devil of Death. Nothing but sun and blue skies. You little ripper. High fives all round. F*cking bueno.
So, I Rio´d it up. Did those things I´d been saving for this kind of day. Sure there were only 2 things, but they were good-uns.
jebus
First stop - Sugar Loaf. Sugar Loaf is another big mountain with wicked views. No Jebus on top, but wicked views, and monkeys. Not sure how it got the name, maybe it looks like a pile of sugar. Views - brilliant. Taking a cable car to get there - brilliant. Only a handful of fellow tourists around - brilliant.Second stop - The Copa, Copacabana for a Xmas caipirinha. This city is all about the beach, so were else could I go? After trudging through the blisteringly hot sand down, past the locals wearing as little as possible, the volleyballers and coconut vendors, down to the icy cold water, I headed to a beach side bar for some quality time with the most famous of Brazils cocktails. Dig it. Caipirinhas - addictively good. Throw in a steak and a few beers and you get the Xmas day of death. Xmas 2007 - brilliant.
It was difficult to get into Rio before the sun came out. This city seems to need it more than most. The city seems to hibernate when the sun is missing, like they´re cold-blooded or something. Brazilians need to be outside, they´re whole life revolves around it. Being at the beach, playing football, dancing, drinking, it all happens outside. So, when the weather is average, the place lacks that energy, that special energy that is known everywhere as being unique to Rio. I still got out and about, hitting the sights and what not, including the island of Paqueta (pretty much Rio´s answer to Rottnest, minus the quokka´s), but it wasn´t until the sun appeared that this place captured me.
Rio really is a ´see it before you kick it´ city, compared to Sao Paulo, which is a ´sit it if you want to kick it´ city. A city with ocean, beaches, rainforest, parks, lakes, gardens, mountains, and in between, skyscrapers, favellas, and a big statue of Jebus. It defies logic how it all fits together. And the kicker is, all the cariocas (locals of Rio), all 8 or so million of them, are in walking distance of the beach. And the colours. Peaches, yellows, lime greens and sky blues all over the place. Only in Brazil. It´s a pretty amazing place. The perfect place to end my South American journey.
Well, I guess there´s nothing left tosay but Feliz natal, Merry Christmas, to all those who´ve read this poorly organised and written blog. I hope you haven´t seen it as a complete waste of your time. And a happy 2008.
Bye Bye South America. It´s been a pleasure. Vamos Boca...
