Our last day in Rio
Trip Start
Jun 09, 2008
1
3
9
Trip End
Aug 12, 2008
Rio de janeiro,
Brazil
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Santa Teresa is a neighborhood built in the 1800's on a mountain overlooking the city for the wealthy Cariocas (people who live in Rio) to escape yellow fever in the cooler mountain air
another morning starts right with coco
. Now it's a mixture of decaying but still beautiful mansions, and favelas that have sprung up around it. If it wasn't for the amazing architecture and the bohemian culture that persists, the whole neighborhood probably would have become a favela. With its incredible views of the ocean, the bay of Guanabara, mountains, favelas, and forest, it reminded me a lot of Valparaiso, but greener. The bondinho that we rode from downtown is an old fashioned trolley that can seat about 30 people (if you've ever seen Orfeu Negro you know what it looks like). The rest of the passengers, probably an additional 30 men and boys, held onto the side of the trolley with half their bodies in danger of being pushed off or crushed by the cliffs and trees that encroached on the trolley tracks. The ride was exhilarating, not just because of the views, but because of a feeling we got which was something like you get when you watch someone do the high wire act at a circus without a net. Teenagers joked with each other, and old men yelled at small boys who dangled from the side of the trolley intermittently running, jumping onto the side of the trolley, or falling underneath it inches from the wheels. They thought this was fun. As a Jewish-mother-to-be (not anytime too soon, don't worry) I almost fainted when I saw a five year old swinging from the edge of the trolley like a contortionist. I thought he was being dragged
downtown Rio
. Fortunately, a wise old man yelled for the trolley to stop and he told the kid "sit in a seat son, your life is not a gymnasium."Besides the incredible views, the best part of Santa Teresa is it's culture which was very different than downtown or Leblon where we're staying. In the three hours we spent there we had good conversations with at least three people. First we stopped in a bar and drank cafezinhos while listening to a man play baroque and Renaissance guitar music. With his long hair, beard, and bohemian air he looked very Chilean to me. After he finished playing, we talked to him and it turned out he was Peruvian, living in Brazil to explore the music here. The waiter at the cafe, who was also a musician, was very nice. He actually reminded me of Joe, if a bit more loquacious. When I saw the two of them wide eyed, stuttering with excitement as they talked about choro and samba music, I chuckled to myself that Joe found his South American twin.
After we left the bar, we walked a few blocks down winding cobblestone streets, and stumbled upon the best restaurant we've been to on our trip. Espirito Santa (the Holy Spirit) is a modest but charming restaurant and club with an incredible view from a candle lit deck. The chef is a woman from the Amazon who trained in France with Alain Ducasse
the palace
. She also trained with her Amazonian grandmother, and the mixture of unusual ingredients (many that we can't pronounce, and that you'll never find in the States) and impeccable technique and composition made for a unique restaurant. The menu ranged from Amazonian to Brazilian north eastern (Bahian) cuisine. After studying it for a good twenty minutes, we went with the relatively banal but phenomenal black bean soup with crispy collard greens and bacon, a vegetarian version of a moqueca made with banana (typically, it's a sea food stew from the Bahia made with dende (red palm oil) and coconut milk, like a Brazilian boulibasse) and a type of fish from the Amazon that was prepared rolled around shrimp and farofa (yuca flour) covered in tapareba (an unusual Amazonian fruit) sauce. Era uma delicia! E verdade! To drink, we had orange juice which is always squeezed to order in Brazil, and cupuacu juice, another amazonian fruit that I swore tasted like alcohol, but Joe assured me it was virgin. With our arms around each other on our second Valentine's day of the year, we felt so lucky to be together in this perfect spot. As we waited for a cab to come and drive us home we met the owner of the restaurant who is a former screen writer from the Upper West Side of Manhattan. He married a Brazilian woman who is the chef, and he lives mostly in Brazil now. We had a nice conversation with him about Rio, food, and travel, and he made sure we were safe until the cab arrived.
The cab driver was very friendly and interesting. Joe had a wonderful, intellectual talk with him about Brazil's politics, history, economy, educational system, racism and even the beautiful Brazilian women that stroll on the beach in their dental floss bikinis
the old palace
. Ahhh Rio. The cab driver said that because Brazil was a Portuguese colony, its people are much less hot headed than other Latin Americans. On the weekends they prefer to play samba and soccer, go to the beach, and relax, rather than to protest corrupt politicians and fight for social justice. They have a few sayings to this effect, one is "I don't care who painted the zebra, just give me the paint." Another is "I don't care who set the ocean on fire, just give me fried fish". Joe's Portuguese may be a little rusty, so these sayings may actually be zen koan products of flawed translation. Sarah likes the zebra saying, and will make sure to use it in med-school whenever possible.Right now, it's 9pm. We just got back to Michel's parents' beautiful home and Joe is playing their grand piano, looking out at Corcovado, trying to channel Tom Jobim even if we can't see any stars tonight. We called Michel's parents and sister just a little while ago. They are living in Miami now and we thanked them so much for letting us stay here. They told me that Joe is like a son to them which means that I am now their daughter. Very sweet.
Tomorrow we leave for Paraty to see Michel, Babi and the kids. I am looking forward to seeing them but will miss Rio.
Love,
Sarah and Joe
Comments
yay
we are still reading your trip from our abode in oaxaca. cant wait to see where you go next!