Family fun in Rio

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Rio is magical. There is something very special about the place - the picture perfect setting, the refreshing caipirinhas, the feel of sand between my toes...but best of all my parents and sisters were with us for a holiday.

We started and ended our three weeks together in Copacabana. And yes, Barry Manilow played in my head throughout. I am not really a beach bum. It can be more hassle than it is worth. All girls know that sand gets everywhere. Regular readers of the blog will notice that we have tended more towards cities and mountains than sand and sea. Copacabana though is worth each grain of sand in the pants.

4.5km of a gorgeous crescent moon beach with small islands sitting in the bay. The seductive sound of the waves crashing, a constant soundtrack. There may be many stunning beaches in the world, but what makes Rio Rio and Copacabana Copacabana is what lies on the other side of the sand from the blue water. The Sugarloaf mountain to the left, Christ the Redeemer looking down...pure magic. Then of course there is the mix of people - lads from the favela playing volleyfootball, rich wives in designer swimsuits and designer sunglasses, kids jumping waves, body building posers, men who think they look good in speedos, the occasional red tourist, teenage girls giggling, joggers jogging, vendors selling...the beach is everyone´s playround. Once I´d gotten over the inital urge to people watch, it was time to get down to serious busiess. Building sandcastles, chasing waves and burying my sisters up to their necks in sand. Tough life.

(I´d like to give a big thumbs up to the Brasilian ideal of female beauty. None of this ill-looking stick-insect thinness that urgently needs a bag of chips and a bar of chocolate. Maybe it is all the incredible Brasilian food and the delicious por-kilo buffets, it would surely be impossile to be anorexic. From the billboards to the beach beauties, in Brasil it is all about curves and confidence. Hurray for Brasil!)

Rio is more than just a beach town. First there are the skyscrapers. A living breathing fun city right from where the sand ends. Next, as the flat strip of land gives way to a steep incline, ramshack housing of the favelas rise up the hillside. Then the lush greenery of the mountains takes over. Up we headed, away from the waves and upwards near Santa Teresa.

Santa Teresa is unlike downtown Rio or the Zona Sul where the beaches are. With the atmosphere of a small village as opposed to a neighbourhood of a metropolitan city, it felt like stepping back in time. The faded charm of yesteryear mansions, the rickety old tram, quirky boho boutiques and craft shops - I thought it was really lovely.

Twisting further uphill from Largo do Guimaraes, the centre of Santa Teresa, it was a ten minute ride to the end of the tram line and our pousada (guesthouse, called Casa 579) in a residencial area. Casa 579 was a colourful, bright and airy B&B. The friendly staff went out of their way to give Ciara a treat on her 9th birthday, putting what seemed like as many hundred and thousands on the homemade chocolate cake as there are grains of sand on Copacabana beach.

Despìte a touch of false advertising in that it is not actually situated in Santa Teresa, Casa 579 was well located to go downtown (Largo do Machado metro station was ten minutes by bus), to head up to Cristo Redentor (a must do, absolutely obligatory and absolutely brilliant) plus it could not have been better positioned for a tour of a favela. In fact one was less than five minutes walk from our front door. Sounds like sheer lunacy to stay so close to a favela - I've seen the film ´City of God´- but it was grand. To their credit, Casa 579 supported the local community and any staff who were not locals all did volunteer work. They had a contact with a community worker in the favela, Charlie, a Brasilian from the north east of the country.

Charlie took us around the nearby favela on a damp day. We climbed up steps along a maze of narrow alleyways. We passed concrete boxes, some would house three generations in one room. These buildings were established, permanent fixtures on the hillside. A few were even two storey, the next generation building on top of their parents. Other buildings were more makeshift and looked like they might crumble at any moment. Up we climbed further until we reached a football pitch with a view that took my breath away. Kites filled the sky like confetti being sprinkled on the beautiful city below. Some spot for a kick around. On the way down we stopped at a hole in the wall shop for a cup of refreshing Guarana, my new favourite fizzy drink. We passed a church and a sign for a beautician, goes to show that life in the favela is self-contained to some extent.

It might seem flippant of me to say so, but somehow I thought the favela would be worse. Maybe as tourists we were protected and did not see the worst areas, but I would consider some council estates around Manchester or the flats in Ballymun to be more dangerous. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't recommend a midnight stroll there, but I expected to see people off their faces and dodgy guys hanging around on corners. Talking to Charlie, he explained that whilst druglords rule the favelas and control those who live on their turf, junkies are not common. Heroin doesn't exist in Brasil and crack cocaine has only been introduced recently - a worrying development but not nearly at epidemic proportions yet. The dealers trade in marijana as opposed to hard drugs. The way Charlie saw it, the main issues revolved around the complete lack of opportunities for those in the favelas in terms of education, health, employment and quality of life. Most people just wanted a chance to improve their lot, something impossible for them in a country where the gap between rich and poor cannot easily be bridged. Still, if I was born into a slum and I had a choice, Rio would definitely be number one on my list.

Charlie also showed us the small community centre from where his projects are run - a library, dance classes, digital design, film making. He couldn´t have been prouder of the group that had produced a short film which had recently received an award in a European film festivlal.

Wednesday night and a mid-week match was on the fixtures. Andrew, James and I went to the famous Maracana stadium to watch a local derby - Botafogo v Flamengo. Even though the 100,000 seater stadium wasn't close to half full, the Rio fans would have drowned out the Britannia. I am proud to say that Stoke City fans were officially the loudest in the Prem last season, louder than a jumbo jet taking off. But this was something else - imagine Potter fans with samba drums and firecrackers and flares. With regards to the most important matter at hand, the match as a cracker. Without a doubt there were more displays of skill than you would see in an average Saturday afternoon in the Premiership - and neither team were near the top half of the table. As we were sitting plop in the middle fo the Botafogo fans, we wisely decided to support Botafogo. When the ball found the back of the net in the 34th minute, it seemed like we had chosen the right team. In the end we were half right. Final score was a neutral´s dream, two goals a piece. Unlike a Midlands derby, both sets of fans mixed without trouble outside the ground and on the metro leaving - says a lot about the laid-back Brasilian temperament.

After ten days in Rio between Santa Teresa and Copacabana, we packed our bags and boarded a bus five hours down the coast to the small colonial harbour town of Paraty. Unfortunately at some stage during the week we were all unwell (swine flu??!!) and on top of that the weather seems to match our health. Fortunately the yummy ice cream buffets eased the sore throats, high temperatures and aching limbs. All recovered and well-fed from some top class Italian restaurants in the old town, back to Copacabana we headed for our last days on the beach.

I´ll leave the final words of this blog to my sisters, the bestest sisters ever x

"Rio is soo big, the skyscrapers are sooo tall and the fresh pineapple smoothies are soooo delicious. The only downsider is having to put your used toilet paper in the bin - I couldn´t get used to it!"
From Serena, age 10 3/4.

"My favourite beach and place was Copacabana because it was the calmest and the friendliest. Being in Rio made my birthday super!!!!"
From Ciara, age 9.

From Jess

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Photos

Cidade Maravihosa
"The marvelous city" - Rio de Janeiro lives up to its nickname.

Windy Ipanema
This was actually taken from the public loos on the beach!

Comments

[Gay Hoban]

Brazilian carnival
This is a super blog - great fun to read about the great fun you're having Love from Gay xx

[Joy]

Wonderful blog and will always be a reminder of the fantastic three weeks we spent with you both.We had our personal guides in you both.Your SA Spanish /Portugeses and knowledge of everyday life in South America helped us have a wonderful holiday.