Rio de Janeiro, 3 days!
Trip Start
Feb 03, 2006
1
19
59
Trip End
May 09, 2006
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil
Sunday, February 26, 2006
MILES: flying 8517, bus 22, taxi 33, walking 30, ship 4963, Zodiac boat 14 total: 13,579 miles
Trip into rio, from the ocean, beautiful. Sugarloaf mountain and Christ the redeemer, mountains framing beautiful beaches, and green vegetation and water everywhere.
OK, so it is not quite so pristine when you get there, but it sure looks incredibly beautiful from the ocean.
Rio, 6 to 12 million people depending on how you count them, and what is city and what are suburbs. Let's just say it is a really big city. There is great poverty and great wealth. In fact, it is said that there is a very large lower class, with multiple slums on the hillsides filled with very poor people, and a large upper class, taking the condos overlooking the beaches, and a very small middle class. So it is either rich or poor, and of course, more poor than rich, and people here say the gap between them is widening. There are many warnings for Rio about crime, and I have direct evidence from a coworker who was kidnapped here. However, I walked around at length and never had problems, not to say I eventually would not
Barra beach
. But there are a lot of people here just going about living their lives. I felt safe most of the time. As usual in big cities, be aware of your surroundings, don't stand out too much, and keep and eye on your things. Visited Trijuca national park, a forest inside the city. Beautiful waterfalls, and tropical forest vegetation, meaning it is a dense mix of green. Butterflies are in abundance, as are wild flowers. Copacabana and Ipanema beaches are just what you would expect, long and white and sandy, with all manner of human types occupying most of the space. Brazilians are sun worshippers, and they all seem to be at the beach, at least until Carnaval starts. Lots of activities here, volleyball is being played everywhere, and a similar game that mixes in soccer (they play volleyball without using hands, it looks incredibly difficult). Lots of bodies, and lots of skin...
Soccer is king here, it is played all over town, and if people are not doing it, they are fanatics in rooting for their teams, local or national. Brazil has won several world cups, more than any other nation, they point out quickly. And have the largest stadium in the world. At one game some years ago, the stadium held two hundred thousand screaming fans.
Through people on the ship, about 30 of us went to a Samba club. This particular night was to rehearse for the upcoming Carnaval events. We got there about 10pm, but dancing did not start until 11:30pm. Most of our group left about midnight, it was pretty hot, and very loud inside
Carnaval street parties
. But I and a few others stayed, and watched, and danced, as the evening/morning wore on. We left at 2:30am, and the building was still packed, with people waiting to get inside. I visited some other beaches as well, those the tourists got quite make it to. There are miles and miles of white sandy beaches in and around Rio, so it is easy to get some space. Not many people swim in the ocean, as it is fairly cool, and the waves are strong. Good surfing however. Coconut water is sold here at hundreds of little stands. You pick a coconut, and they whack at it with a ax or meat cleaver until a hole big enough for a straw can fit in. Then you just suck all the milk/juice out.
On my last day here, I went to a neighborhood called San Theresa, with lots of Brazilian crafts and artwork in the shops, as well and local hangouts for food and drink. This is a very old neighborhood, some homes are very nice and very well maintained, and well fenced, and even guarded in some instances. Other places are run down and in need of great repair. I was continually warned to be careful, especially with my camera. Carnaval is just days away, and the people are celebrating already, with impromptu parades and parties (I experienced one on the subway). People are in costume, men dressing as women, and women dressing as, well, colorful women... Lots of music all over town, and dancing in the streets. Lots of traffic jams as well, since so many streets are closed off.
Rio de Janeiro is a large city, and many areas felt very safe, and some did not. I wish I had more time here, I would have liked to explore other areas, and spent more time in some I did see. I never did get to the traditional tourist spots like the top of Sugarloaf, but I did see the Rio that is real, and lived in. I will come back and visit again.
