Sth America 07-08: 2. Rio de Janiero

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Rio de Janiero

Day one in Rio, the weather isnt the best, and one of the joys of independent travel is arranging the move on. First item on the agenda is to go to the main bus terminal and book tickets to Sao Paulo and onto Foz de Iguazu. It cost about $20 in the taxi to get to the terminal, and I saw a bus that connected to the Metro, for $2 including a Metro ticket, for the trip back. I have no idea where we went, but I certainly got a good tour of the good and bad parts of Rio, and about 3/4 hr later, when I thought we could have been anywhere, the bus finally stopped at a Metro station. I rode the rails to Copacabana as the weather was fine now. The beach was beautiful, white sand and very flat and wide, with the famous sculptured footpath. The water looked dirty though, and the waves were for paddling in only. Had a long walk on the beach, before stopping at at outdoor bar on Avenida Atlantica called Mabs for a drink. The hostel has people from all over the world staying, plus any number of locals who work there or drop in. Anyway I ran into a couple of locals at Mabs, and ended up having a few drinks with them before having dinner at a flash traditional Brazilian Kebab restaurant, where waiters come around with huge skewers with all types of meat cooked on them. They have large carving knives. and slice off a small portion for you and move on. The food never stops, and a couple of hours you roll out of the restaurant, unable to move.
The next day I did the tourist thing, and wandered around the town area and along the other famous beach in Rio, Ipanema. It was hot again so I ended up at Mabs again for a drink and dinner at the restaurant that inspired the song "Girl from Ipanema". The next day I went on an organised tour, with a stop at the largest urban rainforest in the world, including a 500m climb over a distance of 1250m to a large rock outcrop just to the south of Ipanema Beach. The height was 770 metres, and it had the best views of Rio imaginable. After I got my lungs back in my chest I really enjoyed the view. Next stop was the Christ Statue, and we were lucky as there was no cloud or haze about the statue, which is apparently quite common. Again, the view was magnificent. A visit to Ronnie Biggs (Great Train Robber) house in the upmarket suburb of Saint Thereza, was followed by a stop at Sugarloaf Mountain. By now it was 4pm and I was worn out, so in one of thses famous last words moments, I said I would come back the next day to ride the cablecar up. I did so, but it was one of the few rainy days in Rio, and the mountain was shrouded in cloud. I did the cablecar thing anyway, because it was there, and so was I. I went out again with some locals that night before leaving on Saturday for Sao Paulo by bus.

My views on Rio. It is a beautiful, but run down city. Away from the monied areas near the beaches you can see the faded glory. The parks are overgrown, the paint on the buildings faded. All through the city, on the steep hills are the favelas, or slums. The favela made famous in the film "City of God" sits in a valley between Ipenema and Barra, two very upmarket suburbs. There are tall fences and barricades on all the government and important buildings, including guard towers with firing slots on the main police stations and army bases. It has a vibe that you can feel, and I can see why people love the place.

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Photos

Copacabana
The cloud n the low left above the buildings is Sugarloaf Mtn.

Ipanema
The far hill on the right is the hill we climbed in the urban forest.

Rio Views
Views from Urban Forest

Christo
The famous Christo Statue

Favelas
One of the many Rio Favelas

The City
Rio with the Rich and The Poor

City of God
The favela featured in the film of the same name in the hills between affluent suburbs.

Sugarloaf Mtn
as I saw it

Friends
Dinner and drinks with the locals