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Published: February 1st 2006
Carol, Giselle and I arrived in Rio around 11:00. The first thing I noticed was the number of people with shirts that read estacionamento- Portuguese for parking. They seemed to be all over the place, and I wondered why there were “so many parking cops.” It turns out they are the humane parking meters of Brazil. When you are parking they guide you into the space, if it is sunny they cover your window with an old piece of cardboard, and when you leave they help you get out of the spot. Nothing in life is free, and the services of these men and women are no exception. The more demand for the parking spot the higher the price, but generally you give pocket change if it is not busy, two or three reais (around 1 dollars) if it is. It doesn’t seem to be regulated by anyone, and I am not sure how they find and defend their curb. The one thing you can be sure of is when you are ready to go they will show up, often times out of nowhere, to collect. Brazilians see them as an annoyance, but pay up when the time comes.
We made our way to the apartment of Giselle’s friend and unloaded our things. We then headed to one of the most famous mountains in Brazil- Pão de Açúcar (pronounced pown gee a zoo ca.) The name translates to Sugar Loaf and alludes to Brazil's history as a sugar exporter. Brazilian sugar cane was boiled, refined, and put into molds for transport. The mountain resembled the mold and the name stuck. On the right you can see Sugar Loaf, however this photo does not do it justice. It is surrounded by the ocean and provides an excellent backdrop for photos on Copacabana beach.
Sugar Loaf is 396 meters above Rio and from the top you begin to understand how Rio got its reputation as one of the most beautiful cities in the world. On the far right you can see Rio's most famous beach Copacabana.
To the right is a picture of the neighborhoods of Botafoga and Urca. Urca is at the left hand corner, and my neighborhood, Botofoga, is behind the green hill (Mora do Pasmado) in the middle of the picture. To give you an idea, I live about a 10 minute walk away from Mora do Pasmado. Above you can just make out the 90 foot tall Christ the Redeemer statue on top of the highest peak in the distance, Corcovado.
I haven't had a chance to verify, but I heard Mora do Pasmado used to be a favela. In the 1960´s the Governor shipped all the residents out of the favela, and burned it to the ground. He then proclaimed the area to be a state park and forbid anyone from living there.
More on the 90 foot Christ the Redeemer statue later, but here you can see a better view of it from Sugar Loaf. If you click on "Full Image" notice the favela creeping up the side of the hill above the 09. If you look to the left of 09 you can see two tall skinny and then two tall wide buildings. I am currently in the last wide building.
And yes, the city is gorgeous at sunset....
After soaking in the sites of the Cidade Maravilhosa (the marvelous city) we decided to grab a bite to eat in Copacabana neighborhood. We found a small cheap restaurant, and I had chicken with, of course, rice and beans. After the meal we decided to end our day by heading down to the beach to take in the sunset.
The anticipation of getting to the beach is one of my favorite parts. Once you are two blocks away the ocean breeze hits you cooling you from the harsh Rio sun and surrounding you with the smell of the ocean. Refreshed by the breeze, with my belly full and my expectations blown away, well I was quite optimistic about this whole Brazil thing.
We arrived at the beach around 6:30, and after taking a few pictures found a spot on the sand. Andre (Giselle's friend), Giselle, Carol, and I sat, taking in the scenery. As the time past, I didn't notice it was starting to get dark. I didn’t notice the number of people walking on the beach shrink. And I didn't notice the man who was about to rob us, until he was right next to us. Rio's beauty has a way of blinding you.
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Clara
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Keeping writing, i'm loving to read!! :-)