Her Name Is Rio....

Trip Start Dec 05, 2004
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Trip End May 04, 2005


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Flag of Brazil  ,
Thursday, February 24, 2005

At last the highlight of our trip in Brazil- Rio!! We travelled by minibus after the ferry back from Ilha Grande to the mainland and can only say that it was one of the scariest rides of my life! I think the driver was trying to break his own record for the travel time and was tailgating the whole way there while travelling at 130kph plus! We witnessed three pile ups on the way into the city but fortunately we managed to make it in one piece! Only two days here before flying off to Salvador so time was of the essence!! I was hoping that Rio wouldn't disappoint and it didn't!
Like most people who come to Rio, first on the agenda was to visit Christ The Redeemer (which incidentally is the smallest urban national park in Brazil). We took the local bus to where the train was to pick us up and rather than take the train to the top, we managed to hire a private car which was cheaper (after some negotiation!) and allowed us to see more than just the statue. The views were tremendous- Rio is without doubt the most breathtaking City in the world, even better than San Francisco which has always been my personal favorite!
No visit to Rio would be complete without seeing the underbelly to the glamour so we planned in a visit to a couple of Favella´s. 20% of Rios population live here in the slums which are run by the local drug lords where ironically the crime rate is lower than on copacabana beach due to the punishment dealt out by the hierarchy! Visited two Favellas the first housing a population of 60k the second a smaller one housing only 4k. The tour was a real eye opener- lots of dark alleyways (no maps exist!) with accommodation built one on top of another mainly by the owners without any structural engineering advice!! Most flats are hot wired so electricity comes free and all have satellite TV so they can keep up to date with their favorite soaps!!
Also managed to catch the sunset over Rio from sugarloaf mountain- a fantastic experience watching the light fade and the Rio lights coming to life... well worth the two heart stopping cable car rides to get to the top!!
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