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Published: January 22nd 2023
Chinese Viewpoint
Marcio took us here on a grueling six hour tour the morning we arrived. This view compensates.Arrived in Rio after an overnight flight courtesy of Delta. Obtained a few winks, but the comfort level of Delta, which I consider the best U.S. airline, did not compare to the Virgin Atlantic flight we took last summer, at least not on their Boeing 767. Nonetheless, we spent much of the day with Marcio, our tour guide, being ferried about the city. And this is a very large town with some thirteen million calling it home. Not infrequently, we find the traffic in Atlanta atrocious. Well, it cannot hold a candle to this place. Driving is a hazardous sport. Motorbikes move about the lanes much as they do in Italy, except more cavalierly, producing curses from Marcio. He labels these folks "organ donors" as an average of two are killed in the city each day. Wow!
For us the city is about the views. The granite outcroppings are awe inspiring, particularly as they are adjacent to a beautiful ocean. The actual sights in the city we found rather pedestrian, yet Marcio gushed over them. Surely, many, many folks disagree with both Marcio and our assessments as the many miles of beaches were teaming with scantily clad people from sunrise
Chinese Viewpoint
Same location with the camera pointing a bit more east. That is Copacabana with our hotel toward the far side. until after the sun departs the sky. For most Americans Copacabana defines the beach in Rio, perhaps assisted by Ipanema (you know The Girl From Ipanema by Astrud Gilberto). Yet, the classiest beaches are further north.
During previous trips across the pond Europeans invariably inquired something along the lines of what's up with the U.S. to elect Trump president. Not so here, perhaps as Trump is no longer president. I inquired of Marcio's opinion of his new president, who replaced a person similar to Trump. Well, that was a bit of a mistake as he launched into a tirade of the deficits found in the new president and how the election was stolen by not counting votes. Sound familiar? He continued this rant off and on for the following two days. Wishing additional punishment I asked about Trump, but not being a total idiot (Bird suggests I'm quite close), I waited until the end of the last day. He had no opinion, which we have not heard before.
Income in Brazil is quite unequal, and when I wondered about that with Marcio he confirmed the considerable majority of citizens are very poor with a small middle class (he
Chinese Viewpoint
Marcio took us here on that grueling first day lasting six hours. Sure was long after the flight, but this view compensated. For folks who are unsure, Marcio is in the center. classifies himself as lower middle class and seems rather proud of that fact) and even less numerous upper class. Marcio was fascinated by wealth, often commenting about how wealthy the inhabitants of condos and the few houses we saw. Population is very dense here with a very great number of condos and slums. Seems to us this place may be ripe for problems. Oh well, we are always interested in the society of countries we visit.
As for photos, we elected to wait until leaving for a post so all pictures will be here-a total of fourteen. Don't fret too much as we will not have much to say. Some places we are too lazy to discover the name. Really? Yep.
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Carol Ann
non-member comment
Beautiful
Beautiful blue sea and rock formations. Too many people for me!!