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Published: October 23rd 2007
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The Man
Cristo Redentor We just spent an hour typing out the last two days and this bleeping computer has deleted everything. Not happy! $#@% !!!
Yesterday we woke up early to see Jesus, aka Cristo Redentor, the big statue. The forcast said the next 5 days are going to be cloudy and we REALLY wanted to make sure we got to see the views of the city! Corcovado is the biggest tourist attraction Rio has to offer ... as we saw when we were greeted by tour buses of eager beavers. It was actually kind of funny - up until now it has been difficult to pick out the tourists in the crowds (Brazil is very multicultural), but when they're all having a party atop a mountain they (we) stand out like sore thumbs. We're referring to the "sun hat-khaki shorts-camera around your neck" variety. We taxied up the mountain (no tour bus for Trevor and Kristena - that stuff is already starting to annoy us) and spent some time with THE MAN himself (as well as the other 500 people there to see him too). The views from Corcovado were absolutely stunning (muito lindo = very beautiful)! And, much to our amusement,
Local Talent
Little boys excited to put a show on for us. It was very cute. for the lazy tourist out there, there is even an escalator that one can take to Jesus. We got quite the laugh from that one!
After hanging with The Big Guy, we headed for the beach...
IPANEMA BEACH! It's only about a 15 minute walk from Copacabana beach and oh man, it was love at first sight! It is seriouslly the most AMAZING beach either of us have been to (keep in mind we were previously land locked Albertans). The waves were easily 8-10 feet high, the sand was pristine, there wasn't any garbage (Copacabana has trash that washes up in the surf and stinks), and there were no rocks or slimey green things in the water! We spent hours getting bashed around by the surf - I grew tired of it quickly, but Trevor was a trooper and kept going back for more! It's rare to find people working on a Sunday in Rio ... not because they are at church or sleeping at home, but because they ALL went to Ipanema Beach! The beach was packed! It has "sections" where certain groups of people sit - we found ourselves right on the line between the beauty section
Artist
This man paints amazing photos, and this is the one we bought. (lots of bums and boobies) and the gay section (discovered when we saw two men smooching it up). There was also a "ghetto/gang banger" section (where we were afraid to sit) and a family section (where little kids pee and throw sand). Also very cool was that the market came to us when we were sitting on the beach ... we could buy drinks, lotions, chairs, hats, jewelery, shoes, etc, and the best part is that when we'd say "No thank you," they'd just walk away! It wasn't like Mexico or Jamaica where the venders say "Really? Are you sure? Look again!"
We ended up walking back to our hostel along both beaches (interesting fact: it is not considered wierd if you wear your bathing suit/bikini/speedo downtown), and Trevor can now officially say that he likes long walks on the beach! :P
This morning we headed for a travel agent as soon as we got up so that we could book a flight to Belem (it is waaay up north and we haven't given ourselves enough time to get there). We had quite the adventure trying to find an English speaking agent (this is not Mexico, it's TRUE
The Favela
Unbelivable. We walked through and among those homes!? when they say no one speaks English!) It is one thing to fumble through "Where is the bathroom?" or "What kind of meat is in this pastry thing?," but in matters of airplane travel we wanted to understand and be understood! After a good chunk of time, we lucked out by finding a man who could translate to the agent for us. One hour later and 1200 Reais (Brazil currency, about $600 CAN) poorer (and a flight for tomorrow), we headed off to the mall to console our empty wallets. Taking the bus in Rio is surprisingly easy (in the more "well off" neighborhoods, which we are in) and the cost is only 2 Reais per person. We get on, look confused as hell, ask someone in our pathetically broken Portuguese if the bus goes where we want to go, and then they make a commotion for us when it's time to get off. At the mall (which was about seven stories high), Trevor bought a futbol jersey and I got a purse. Voila, mission accomplished. It's so funny to us that such simple things, like taking the bus to the mall becomes such an adventure when in a foreign
Elevator to Jesus
Where one can fast track their salvation :P land!
The best (and most eye opening) part of today was our tour through a favela. "Favelas" are where many poor people live in South and Central America. Rio de Janiero has the largest one in Latin America - 20% of Rio's 11 million people live in a favela. That's staggering! The one we visited was home to 200,000 people -unbelievable! It was like a city in itself, with its own post office, medical centres (sadly, for all those people only 2), garbage collection, etc. Favela's are run by drug lords and gangs (this one was run by a gang known as ADA - it stands for Amigos de Amigos), and due to the extreme poverty, gangs and drug trade, are unsafe for outsiders to go into.
Most people, ourselves included, assume that everyone who lives in a favela is a part of the drug/gang world, but that is not true. We learned that typically it is only about 10% of the population who are involved in the drugs/gangs. Surprisingly, we also learned that life is relatively safe for those who do live there though, as the gangs do not allow "unneccesary" violence (rapes, murders, etc). Our guide
From the Bottom
Looking up at the favela from ground level. explained that it is only dangerous there when either A) another gang approaches (it's a turf war over land because favelas are where the majority of drugs are sold), or B) the police come. Those are the times when gunfire is exchanged and innocent people die. We learned that the military police are very corrupt and that about 5% of the gang's monthly income (about 1.5 million U.S.) goes to paying off the Policia. The average monthly income for someone living in a favela is about 400 Reais (about $200 CAN) and many of the people who live there work in ordinary jobs ... driving buses, shop clerks, etc. The people do not pay taxes, and if they want to have their mail delivered, they must pay a fee to the post office because of the difficulty in delivering through the complexity of the walkways and homes. It is an incredible web of tangled stairways, corridors, little shops, and houses built ontop of other houses, etc. There isn't any room to build sideways, so they build up.
We were a little hesitant to do the tour (FYI, for anyone thinking of it, you *need* to go with a reputable
Jesus is Watching You
At one of the view points on the way up to Corcovado. company who has paid off the local gang in order to allow for a safe tour... outsiders are not recieved with open arms), however, we had heard from others that it was a jaw dropping experience not to miss. We also learned that the money from the tours goes back into the favela to serve the community. They (the "tour" company) have opened a free daycare centre, as well as started up a program which teaches the children productive skills so that they do not need to beg for money (i.e., paintings, crafts, music, etc). The thing that we really "enjoyed" was realizing that even though these people are extremely poor and have almost nothing, they were still so happy!! After spending 4 days in the wealthy neighbourhoods of Rio, it was important to us to see the other side of the story. All in all, it was incredibly eye opening!
We leave you with some photos of the last few days ... and, for anyone interested in learning more about the favela's find a movie called "Tropa de Elite" (with English subtitles). Apparently it is alot like "City of God", but more shocking and graphic. We have been
advised to wait until we leave Brazil to watch it!
Muito Lovo,
Trevor and Kristena
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anonymous
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Bubs loves these pictures. So far I have seen six of your blogs. Keep on sending more.