Oi from Rio de Janeiro

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We hired an apartment in Copacabana for our week in Rio. We discovered the price is similar to a hostel and you have a lot more private space.

As usual the first thing that we check is the internet. The promised wifi was not there. After some discussion the man from Copacabana Holiday Rentals left to sort it and said he would be back in 20 minutes. An hour later we went to the office and he had gone to lunch!!

So we headed to the beach, just three smallish blocks and a multilane street from our apartment. There was a wide level stretch of sand then a steep slope down to the water. The waves were ‘dumpers’ and close to the beach. There were “no swimming” signs but a few people braved the water getting pushed around by the surf.

I enjoyed walking on the beach and absorbing the atmosphere. However, Eileen was not comfortable with the amount of rubbish strewn all over Copacabana beach despite the very large rubbish bins placed along the entire beach at 40 metre intervals. She spent most of the time carefully watching where her barefeet were stepping!

In Brazil they speak Portuguese which sets them apart from the rest of South America. This took us back to zero on our language skills. We found that the Portuguese language has a harsher tone and is not so easy on the ear. One thing I never got use to was the greeting “Oi” their equivalent to “Hi”. I would be quietly looking in a shop when an assistant would give a sharp “Oi”. My immediate reaction would be “I’m not doing anything wrong!!’

We did many of the usual tourist things: a city tour including a cable car ride to Sugarloaf Mountain – unfortunately a bank of cloud moved in just before we got to the upper level, we visited Maracana soccer stadium, the Sambodromo stadium which was built for Rio’s carnival (Eileen looks much more at home in her costume than I do in mine!), and a visit to the summit of Mount Corcovado to see the ‘Christ the Redeemer’ statue where we caught glimpses of the city when there were breaks in the cloud.

Most cities have a cathedral which is usually an old ornate building with big columns and arches. Rio’s Catholic Cathedral is quite different than others we have seen. It is a modern reinforced concrete structure that looks like a honey comb pyramid. While relatively plain inside apart from four massive stained glass windows, the huge size and height gives it grandeur.

Eileen and I decided to tango in Rio. There were several options with a milonga or two most days. We chose one in Lapa planning to get there early and explore a bit. As it happened it was raining so we skipped the exploring and headed out by taxi. The principle source of amusement was our driver making repeated phone calls to ask for directions with the calls dropping out as we went through tunnels. He even got out of the vehicle to ask directions at one stage!

We finally arrived at the right address and as we entered the milonga I noticed a long line of scantily dressed women near the entrance who seemed to be waiting for something. Eileen was sure they were watching for a “cabeceo”, but not for Argentine Tango! We had a couple of dances and observed the locals. They looked very good which was made more obvious by my increasing rustiness. At least there was more room on the floor than in Buenos Aires!

After the dance we headed into the crowds and the pouring rain at Lapa (the opposite direction to the ladies in waiting!). Lapa is where the people of Rio go to party and there were thousands. The roads were closed and the street vendors had stalls set up everywhere so we enjoyed some kebabs.

An exploration of downtown Rio took us to the Museum of Modern Art where we saw a heron fishing in a goldfish pond in the courtyard. Also we walked past the Theatro Municipal do Rio de Janeiro, through a number of parks and we visited the Museu Nacional de Belas Artes. Of interest was a series of photographs of sites from around the world set up in a plaza – these shots were stunning.

No visit to downtown is complete without a visit to Selarón’s Staircase in Lapa. Jorge Selarón has been “decorating” the steps outside his house since 1990. The steps are now covered in more than 2,000 brightly colored tiles from more than sixty different countries, including New Zealand, and people continue to send tiles to him from all over the world. He has rooms set up in his house (part way up the steps) where he sells his work. His work features a stylised big breasted, pregnant black woman which is his reference to “a personal problem in 1977”. While his work was not to my taste, it was well worth a visit. We were fortunate to meet the Chilean artist when we visited. He was sitting on the steps painting tiles outside his house.

Rio is known for its nightlife so we headed to “Carioca da Gema” in Lapa, one of several clubs recommended by the information centre. It was a good choice with a laid back atmosphere and good music. The mostly samba music was provided by a seven piece band and a vocalist. We enjoyed watching the locals dance. We shared a table with a Canadian and two Americans (father and son). The son, a brawny youth around 20 years old, had his necklace ripped straight off his neck earlier in the day. He further highlighted the dangers of Rio by telling us of meeting an 18 year old woman who had been slashed with a knife by a mugger when she refused to give up her hand bag at noon on Botofogo beach.

We enjoyed our visit to Ipanema beach, the suburb has a nice feel. We had a delightful meal at the local market prepared by very colourfully dressed black ladies and one “camp” man. The market has a good range of products and art work and was well worth a visit.

Brazil is famous for its soccer. The city has four first division sides, each passionately supported by a loyal group of fans. We look in an evening game featuring Rio’s Flamengo team. The football was of a high standard. Even more interesting was watching the very passionate crowd. They dressed in local colours (being red and black stripes, Canterbury supporters would have felt right at home) played drums, chanted and danced on their seats waving huge flags, overall a riot of noise and colour not to be missed.

Reflecting on my time in Rio there were two downsides; the Portuguese language and the crime. This meant that I never felt really relaxed when in public spaces. Overall, Rio is a stunningly beautiful city with a delightful vibrancy. It features highly on my list of great places. It is one of those places that I feel is calling me and I would love to visit again and again, but not to live there.

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Comments

[kat]

Don't
Don't forget to go back ther i need a feathered hat.