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Published: January 30th 2008
We landed in Sao Paulo got our luggage, changed some money (a massive rip off) and got on a bus to Rio de Janerio. The bus was magical, not only did it have a toilet that worked (everything worked, it flushed, there was water in the tap, toilet paper, soap to wash your hands, paper towel to dry them after, and a bin to place the towel in after!!!!) it even stopped for food. Which we were soon to find out that Brasilians love their food.
By the time we arrived in Rio it was night and fter checking into our hostel which was suitably located on the border of Copacobana and Ipanema, we strolled to the beach. It was hard to judge what the beach really was like, because of the dark, but they had heaps of stalls that sell drinks. So after a few coconuts we headed back for our first night in Rio.
NB. Rio de Janerio was named because they thought that this is where the January River met the ocean, however they forgot to check if this was actually the case before naming it. What an idiot! The one thing they did get right was the name of Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain.) It is named because it looks like the moulds they used to cool the sugar after making it. Kinda like a massive gun shell, only not as pointy at the top.
I have been told by many Brasilians, that all the beautiful people are in Rio. After a morning run, I completely agree with this statement. All the boys are so HOT HOT HOT HOT!!! It can only get better at the beach.
We did the typical tourist things. Visited the Cristo Redentor (The Christ Redeemer) on Corcovado mountain. While the statue obviously isn´t as big as it seems, it´s still quite impressive. The 360° view of Rio is also stunning. Now one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, it was well worth the 80 reals taxi ride to the top, which was an adventure in itself. After bartering him down well commenced on a race to the top. At first we were stuck in traffic and then he decided to take a different route which gave us a chance to see the artistic neighbourhood of Santa Thersea and the outskirts of one of the many favelas. The best part of the ride was trying to communicate with our no existant portuguese.
Another fun adventure was finding tickets for the one of the first football matches of the season. Flamengo vs Boa Vista. The season begins with a state competition than later on it becomes the national comp. The hostel was selling tickets for 60 reals, which included a guide and transport there and back. After investigating other avenues we found we could purchase tickets cheaper from the club house. So we embarked on a ´15min´ walk and cirlced the entire club before finding out tickets on game day can only be purchased from the staduim. So we headed to the staduim early to get tickets. After purchasing tickets we realised that the had ´verde´ section, which is Portuguese for green. We had been told to avoid this section because this is where the hardcore fans sat, and all sorts of horrible things were mentioned such as dead chickens, urine filled bottles and lots of fun. So we headed for the section of dead chickens and spent the entire game standing up trying to learn the cheers of Flamengo and avoiding getting wacked in the face by the massive flags they wave around. Flamengo won 2-0, but in a style similar to Qld Roar the goals came after 80 minutes of stuffing around in front of goal and trying to score Steven Gerrard style from 30 yards out. Still it was great to be in the staduim that ´officially´ seats 95 000 people, but had about 210 000 people standing for the 1950 World Cup Final. I will definately be booking me some flights back to Brasil for the 2014 World Cup!
There were many things to do in Rio, but the lure of the beach and just chillin in the hammocks at the hostel was too much. The one day I tried to visit the various Forts around Rio was a Monday. Apparently all Forts are closed on Mondays or they are still used by the military and we were greeted by soldiers holding really big guns and telling us ´No you cannot visit this area.´
We extended our stay by a few days, but because of other time constraints we had to head back to Sao Paulo and then onto Salvador for CARNIVAL!
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Jose
non-member comment
So interesting! Forts, hammocks, soliders, soccer. Classic stack the stadium. Did you see any dead chickens?