Advertisement
Published: April 12th 2011
Day 74
After an uneventful flight we land in Rio and get our airport pickup to the hostel. We have booked a private room and paying £50 a night we expect something ok (not too flashy) - we are slightly disappointed that the mattress is damp and there is a faint aroma of wee...
It is scorchio, so we change and fearing for our personal safety (the guidebooks and various people have given us the fear) we head out to get out money (military-styley with Em going in first, scanning for people who are going to rob us, and me taking money out and secreting it in our special money belt that fits in my pants).
Carrying nothing of any value we head out walking along the Copa...Copacabana beach to reach a little Lebanese restaurant called Amir. The food is truly outstanding and is some of the best humus and babaganoush we have tasted which is lucky considering the price (about £30) – we are discovering that everything in Brazil is very expensive...
Back at hostel El Misti the beers are flowing and we settle in for the night chatting to various people about where we should
go in Rio. We quickly realise that Rio is not full of people just waiting to rob unsuspecting tourists and in contrast it actually feels quite safe.
Day 75
The weather is not so great so we decide to head out to the Santa Teresa area which is the artistic side of town. After catching the metro to centro we see the strange shaped cathedral (ugly on the outside, pretty on the inside) and the rubix cube style office building. From here we take the bondinho (street tram) up the hill to Santa Teresa , and we are pleased to have a seat and not be hanging on to the side like other people, as it goes over a very high aquaduct with a sheer drop either side. The kids seem to love the danger and cheer as they hung on for dear life - I make a mental note to try this on the way back.
We have heard Santa Teresa is a little bit unsafe in parts but after locating a map in a police station, the policeman tells us to wander wherever we want to... so we explore the area which has some really
cool graffiti, old style buildings and monkeys!! We find a small local place for lunch, shelter from the rain and have a delicious meal of fish and chicken served with the traditional black bean casserole and ‘farofa’ (ground manioc which you sprinkle on top and which tastes a bit like smoky bacon crisps). We then head for Lapa which is the night area (and where the best clubs and bars are located), thinking that it will be good to familiarise ourselves with this area before a nocturnal visit. The main attraction in Lapa by day is the tiled steps created by a Chilean artist which showcases tiles from all over the world as well as various murals created out of the tiles. We experience our first and only fear here as a young guy with what can only be described as a murderous look in his eye keeps staring at us...
As the rain continues to pour we decide to head to the modern art gallery which looks close on the map... what isn’t clear is that we have to cross 7 lanes of traffic at rush hour at a point where there are no traffic lights. After a
quick argument and refreshing drink we eventually find a safer crossing and the gallery is cool, with lots of great photo exhibitions capturing people from 60’s Africa, ports around the world and fashion models.
In the evening we meet up with one of the Frenchies (Elsa) who we met in Chiloe and her friends (Emilie from France and Mehdi and Salah from Morocco) for some food and a few drinks. Once the torrential rain stops we head to a crepe place thinking this will be a cheap option – after discovering they charge £20 a crepe (no joke) we find a cheap sushi place where we devour 2 boats of raw fish. Being Elsa and Emilie’s last night in South America we head to Lapa for some dancing. We go into one club which is empty (it is only 12.30) and then find one with a queue outside. The club bar system in Brazil is very different to anywhere else, when you enter a bar/club you are given a card and every time you have a drink (which isn’t neat vodka, or beer – both of which I quickly work out are included in the entry price) you show
the card and the person marks your card, and then at the end of the night you hand your card in and pay. This seems a very silly system especially when alcohol is involved as apparently if you lose the card you get fined a lot of money. After dancing the night away to some cheesy music we quickly start to notice that we are the only gringos left in the club and the atmosphere is becoming a little seedy and as Em says, ‘a right sausage fest’. When men approach Mehdi and ask him ‘how much for the gringo girls?’ and a small random fight between 2 local girls breaks out (and we all get covered in beer) we decide to call it a night. Had a lot of fun though and safely make it home at 4am. Em has also discovered her new favourite drink of Caiprinha (cachaça mixed with lime and sugar) which I must say is super strong.
Day 76
With the weather much improved we decide we should aim high and pay a visit to Big J n the sky. Take the bus which is like sardines in a can and then a
train up to the top complete with live samba band. Just as we near the top the clouds close in and we exit the train into a complete white out. However, after a few minutes (as if by miracle) the clouds start to clear and we are able to get sight of Jesus (and yes I can confirm he does have a Jimmy Hill chin as Karl Pilkington says). The view is short lived as the clouds come and go and it is quite funny watching everyone trying to time their photos. This being the highest point in Rio the views over Copacabana and Ipanema are pretty awesome.
In the evening we head to our now favourite sushi place before embarking on a mini bar crawl of Copabana. Funniest moment is when Em orders a baileys and is served it in a thimble sized glass and charged £3 for the privilege (her face is a picture, and she keeps repeating, ‘are they ‘avin a laugh’?)
Day 77
It’s hot, really hot so we head to Ipanema beach which is divided into sections; favella kids, beautiful bodies, LGBT (politically correct public sector acronym) and family. We head for
the family section thinking our white bodies will blend in most here. The beach is easily the best city beach I have ever been to although the strong sea currents mean swimming is not an option. After 2 hours I start to notice the parts of my body that I did not apply sun cream to – I now have red feet and knees plus a matching red belt round my waist. Em burns her top lip and has an attractive red tash.
In the evening we head to the local bars for more schops (tiny beers with lots of froth) and crab cakes. Once again we wish we had more time to spend here in Rio as it is impossible to do everything we want.
Day 78-80
Hoping for some sunshine we head to Ilha Grande, an island just south of Rio, which has no cars on it. The transfer is booked through the hostel and includes a 2 hour taxi ride (the crazy taxi-driver driving makes Em even whiter) followed by a 1 hour boat ride. The hostel tell us that the taxi driver will buy our boat ticket when we get to the port...
so when we arrive the taxi driver points to the boat and tells us to get on. As we attempt to board we are told we need a ticket and by this point all we can see is the cloud of dust from the taxi driver’s wheels. With little choice and cursing the taxi driver we pay an additional £17 for the boat.
Once we land on Ilha Grande it starts to rain and doesn’t really stop which is a real shame as we have heard there are some amazing beaches and snorkelling spots here. However it is really pretty and our pousada up the hill in a tropical garden is lovely... The next day we just mope around wishing the sun would come out and enjoy our Brazilian breakfast which consists of fresh fruit, juice, eggs and cake. Much to my delight in Brazil cake is always included in breakfast, slightly less to my delight several of the 9 resident cats have identified me as an easy target and sit all around me at breakfast mewing for food... In the evening we meet up with our friends Stefanie and Adrian who we met back in El Bolson (Argentina)
and go to German per kilo restaurant, which serves food by weight and German beers. Spend the evening catching up on each other’s travel adventures and plan to do a boat trip together the next day.
Wake up and it’s not raining so we meet up with S&A and head out for a boat trip round the island. Em has overindulged in her favourite caipirinhas (Em – I have worked out that any more than 2 make me ill) and isn’t feeling too enthusiastic about getting on a speed boat, but once we set off and the wind is in our hair we start to enjoy ourselves. We stop at the Blue lagoon where we see loads of fish, at another spot where you can see a sunken helicopter and then at the Green Lagoon before heading for lunch. Unfortunately the weather takes a turn for the worse and in the afternoon we are lashed by rain as we make our scheduled stops at places like the ‘Love Beach’ and other beautiful beaches... The rain isn’t great but we see the funny side and we manage to share a few jokes (which mostly involve miming how cold we are
etc.) with the Brazilian and Argentinean couple we are sharing the boat with.
We arrive back at our lovely hotel drenched to the skin but happy to have seen some of the island... and meet up with Steph and Adrian for a pizza tea.
Day 81
We travel back to Rio for a final afternoon before heading to Manaus and manage to squeeze in a trip to Sugar Loaf mountain. The cable car trip is fun and the views from the Morro da Urca (halfway up) and top of Sugar Loaf are amazing. We then meet up with S&A for a few beers at a beach front bar and take them to our favourite place in Rio (can you guess – yes, sushi) and then to a local bustling bar in Copacabana...
Advertisement
Tot: 0.095s; Tpl: 0.013s; cc: 13; qc: 41; dbt: 0.0435s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Nick
non-member comment
Slops
schops (tiny beers with lots of froth) - sounds more like Slops - you getting ripped off again?