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Published: April 19th 2007
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Rocinha
In the heart of the favela. Our first experiance of Rio was arriving at the airport at 3am cause our flights were cancelled, and driving 30 minutes in dark, deserted streets, past favela´s, horrendous smells coming through the window, the taxi driver running red lights because it´s apparantly dangerous to stop. Bullets wizzing by as... okay i made that bit up. It was very scary. We recieved a very warm welcome from the people at our hostel, and were relieved to be in bed with four walls surrounding us.
Since our first night, it has been fantastic. Once we were settled in our hostel in Botafogo, we found a nice little private beach at Sugar Loaf to spend our first day.
We visited Ipanema beach the very next day. It was Saturday, and we were astounded at how many people were on the beach. People playing sports everywhere, volleyball, soccer, volleyball-soccer, tennis, surfing, para-surfing. It was incredible just how many people stretched for miles along the beach. I was expecting hot girls in small bikini´s, but it was hot guys in small speedo´s. The fella´s were incredibly ripped, athletic. Lia´s neck was very sore that night. She was so impressed with one gent, she
Sambódromo
Lia bringing the carnaval back to Rio. pointed him out at 3 different points of the beach, but didn´t recognise him any of the time. Just pieces of meat to Lia. Unfortunately, there are no photo´s, for fear of losing our camera.
Ipanema was our favourite beach. We spent days at Barra da Tijuca (very touristy, mostly rich, older couples. No good), Copacabana (water was very dirty) and Leblon, at the other end of Ipanema. Once we were happy with our tans, it was time to see some of the sites.
We thought it would be a great idea to waste some of our money on a crappy tour of Rio. It was a day tour, which took in the sites, but we were only given 15 minutes at the top of Christo Redentor. The "tour" of the famous Maracaná Stadium, didn´t include entering the stadium at all. The cable car to the top of Sugar Loaf gave us a glorious view of the clouds. This was not their fault, but I´m blaming them anyway. We still had fun despite the complaints above. The views from Christo were awesome. We went to Sambódromo, which host the parades during carnaval, and we dressed up in costumes
Rocinha
Future musicians from the favelas for some photo´s.
A few people we met at the hostel told us about a company called "Don´t be a Gringo, be a Local!" They run tours of the favela´s and take groups to soccer matches. We booked it in.
The soccer match was at Maracaná stadium, a match between Flamengo, the biggest supported team in Rio, and Potosi, a quality side from Bolivia. From start to finish, the fans were beating drums, waving flags, and chanting non stop. The stadium was only half full, but the atmosphere was electric, and it was great to be right in amongst it. End result, Flamengo 1-0.
The next morning we were picked up for our favela tour. In the car on the way, our tour guide just happened to mention how 15 gang members from a rival gang had been murdered the day before at a neighbouring favela. The favela´s are run by 3 gangs, Amigos dos Amigos, Comando Vermelho and Terciero Comando. Gang warfare is very common in the favela´s.
We visited Rocinha, the largest favela in Latin America, home to 200,000 people. It is run by Amigos dos Amigos. There are 2 leaders, Nem & Joca.
Corcovado
Christo´s view every day. They are 24 and statistics say they won´t live to see their 30th birthday. On the plus side, they make a lazy $3million US a month in drug trade. This money is used to buy drugs from neighbouring countries, import weapons, often heavier then what the police carry, and pay off the cops.
It was the most interesting and unforgetable experience. We caught motorbikes from the base to the top. Lia picked the craziest one, and was left up the top by herself, waiting for the rest of the gang. We were given rules once at the summit. Most importantly, if we pass anyone with guns or smoking weed, we are not allowed to take photo´s. This is the agreement between the gang and the tour company.
Wandering through tiny alley´s, we met artists, children, performers, but no gun toting criminals, sorry to say. There are 4 recognized artists in the favela, and we visited their studio. We bought our first piece of art. A nursery set up by the gangs and tour company, which looks after young kids so the parents can go and work, was our next stop. Lia was in her element here. The kids
Botafogo
The cable car to Sugar loaf. were gorgeous, very happy, and it was great to spend some time with them.
We could go on for hours about interesting facts and stories, but we´ve piped on too long. The people we met throughout the day were incredible. It was totally amazing and an experience we will never forget.
We´ve witnessed how the rich live and the poor survive, so it´s time to move on from Rio.
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Kieran
non-member comment
holy sh*@t!
Sounds like a heap of fun, near death experiences every day, bullets and gangs! You guys are living it up (to quote john legend), and i'm living vicariously through you, so keep it up!!