A taste of two very different Brazilian cities

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I jumped off the plane and made my way into Rio to meet Viv (still in work mode after the IAU conference that presented our holiday destination by taking place in Rio this time round). Sunrise over the favellas on the way into town was a very atmospheric welcome.

We spent most of the first day wandering along Copacabana and Ipanema, taking a dip in the sea and baking in the sun. 40 minutes was enough to lightly roast all sides (or turn Viv quite pink)! The beaches were packed full and very active - the Brazilians don't take the beach lying down but play games, jog or swim. Bronzed bums of all shapes and sizes hang out from the "dental floss" bikinis.

In the evening we went to admire the view of Rio from the feet of the big Jesus statue sat on top of one of the hills that surround and break up the city. The views were stunning, Rio must be one of the most spectacularly situated cities in the world.

Moving from the old capital to the new Brasilia poses lots of questions! It appears to be designed for cars not people and may have been invaded by aliens (take a look at the architecture). The city was designed from scratch in the 1950s so is in affect a city of the future as seen from then. Quite an odd experience. The architecture is interesting because all the principl buildings are designed by the same man as is the overall town plan, this must be the purest realisation of an architects dream town anywhere.

One building that really does impress is the Santuario Dom Bosco a concrete and coloured glass cube with a very cool blue glow. We had a lovely dinner that evening, hosted by one of Viv's friends from Cambridge, now doing something much more sensible than astronomy back home in Brazil, together with two friends. The restaurant was in a style we are becoming accustomed to - the per-kilo. A big buffet with loads of choice where you weigh your food. This time it was from the North East region of Brazil. An evening drive over the impressive JK bridge on our way home showed us a more familiar style of modern architecture.

Wherever we go we are meeting very friendly people who make a big effort to help lost looking tourists. Not a lot of English (and our Portugese is slim) but Viv's French is suprisingly useful. A phrase book, notebook and smiles do the rest.

Next stop - the Pantanal and hopefully some wildlife!

(Note to travellers on a budget: The two downtown hostels in Brasilia mentioned in the lonely planet have been closed -- apparently they were in super quadra "7", and therefore not part of the city grand plan -- so staying in Brasila is $$$!)

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Photos

Sugar loaf....
.....as seen by Jesus

National Congress
One alien ship landed the right way up - the other made a southern hemisphere miscalculation!

Comments

[Leda]

So cool!
The pictures are excellent! Looking forward to seeing pics of trees, animals, swamps, boats, rivers... ;-)

[fz]

Utopia
Brazilia est une ville que j'aurai beaucoup aimé visiter. Construire une ville en partant de rien et au milieu de nulle part, c'est réaliser une utopie formidable. un peu de folie peut etre...

[Ali Prior]

Away Again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Can you not keep your backside on a chair for five mins..... galavanting again. Must say it looks lovely. Now the romance side is puzzling me..... Was Viv not your old girlfriend....... I thought you had moved on to someone else that you met when you were away. I need the gossip and if Viv is the old girl friend then has it moved on a notch with the old case of absence makes the heart grow fonder..... Put me out my suspenders oop suspense. Ali x