Rio de Janeiro - Copacabana, Ipanema, Jardim Botanico


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Published: January 5th 2014
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Rio is a legendary place. Just saying the name Copacabana relaxes me and fills my mind with images of beach cabanas, samba music and cocktails. It met all my expectations. Our hotel, Rio Majestic Palace, is between the beach and a steep mountain rock cliff. It’s very nice and there’s a pool on the roof with a great view. We arrived on New Years Eve to clear skies and a mass migration of people in white clothes (to symbolize renewal) walking towards Copacabana. We followed suit with our cachaça (Brazilian fermented sugar cane) and coke in hand. Venders were selling all kinds of food, flowers and hats in the street. There are a few traditions we learned about. One is buying flowers, usually white, and throwing them into the ocean for good luck and to pay respect to the goddess of the sea. Another is to jump over 7 waves and make 7 wishes. A lot less people were doing this. But it’s hard to tell with more than 2 million people at the beach at the same time.



There were two stages set up at different points on the beach. We went to the one right at the end of our street Rua Santa Clara. They played modern Brazilian music first, and then a DJ came on and played some American music, which the crowd loved. After the count down the fireworks show started. It was spectacular. There were so many different patterns in the sky that it was hard to decide on where to look. The fireworks went all the way from one side of Copacabana to the other, at least two miles, launched from barges in the water just like in Valpariaso. People were laughing and kissing and being sentimental. There were also plenty of your quintessential drunk guys with their arms on each other’s shoulders or trying to pick each other up with a beer in hand.



The samba show after the fireworks was my favorite part. The drummers were absolutely magical. The whole band was very talented. We watched the female samba dancers shake it with their massive headdresses and hardly anything else on. We also saw male dancers in white and blue suits defy the laws of gravity. The whole crowd knew every word to the songs they played which they demonstrated by dramatically singing with their arms in the air. What an incredible scene it was. We were in the thick of it, surrounded by Brazilian culture. We were all feelings ecstatic. After two hours of dancing and my mom saying, “just a few more minutes,” we made our way back and crashed.



We kicked off 2014 by sleeping in and hitting the beach to sleep some more. It was too hot to be directly in the sun or walk on the sand without sandals but in the shade it was glorious. We rented an umbrella and chairs. I read and my parents slept. The water was colder than I thought and it was pretty disgusting with all the remains of flowers floating around but it cooled us down when we needed it. After the beach we decided to hit the pool on the roof of our hotel. At this point we were so relaxed that time had slowed down to only the present moment. We chatted with some Englishmen in the pool about traveling and the English premier league.



On January 2nd everything opened. The city looked completely different. The shops lining the streets are so exposed to the road that you can see everything that is going on like one of those glass ant farms. We took a tour of the city. First we went to the Maracana Stadium where Brazil won several world cups. Maracana is named after the local birds. We weren’t allowed to go inside because the stadium is being renovated for the upcoming world cup. Brazilians usually pile in and watch games first come first serve standing room only. Apparently that did not fly for the world cup administrators so they are installing seats. There are four soccer teams in Rio that all play at Maracana. It was sad that we couldn’t be there for a game. The season doesn’t start until late January.

After the stadium we went to the Sambadrome, the main stretch of carnival, which is setup like the Rose parade with bleachers along the side of the road. We were also sad that we couldn’t be there for carnival either. So many reasons to go to Rio! But at least we saw NYE. They had some of the elaborate and heavy costumes used in the Samba parade to try on and talked about how the samba teams prepare all year for the parade. Just like capoeira and soccer, samba also originated in the Favela’s. In the beginning carnival was just a group of people performing in the Favela but after a while they moved to the streets and were well received. Now carnival is for everyone. The samba schools are still in the Favela’s though.



As we drove around the city sightseeing it was cool to see how each rich neighborhood has a favela in their backyard. There were also lines of a dozen tall apartment buildings attached by a bridge in the center. I saw this right behind Ipanema when were coming from the Jardim Botanico. They were in bad shape and reminded me of section 8 housing in the states. Everyone is close together. Not that there aren’t huge fences between them. There are also distinct differences in race like too many places on this planet. Our guide told us a little bit about Favela’s. I didn’t want to go on one of the Favela tours they offer because it seemed like a strange thing to do to go watch how people live in disadvantaged conditions. Apparently Favela’s have running water and usually electricity stolen from the street but they do not have a sewer line and they have very few roads. Our guide explained that until recently the police were not even allowed inside the Favela’s. It’s like they are an unofficial independent state. It’s really interesting how everything I associate with Brazilian culture originated in the Favela’s.



We drove through a neighborhood called Laranjeiras, meaning orange trees, and the guide explained how there used to be orange groves there but now they are all gone. I told her about Orange County in California and how the same thing happened there.



Because of the holiday all the touristy places were complete chaos. I was very glad we were on a tour but we still had to wait in several lines in 100-degree heat. Being in Rio de Janeiro is an experience in overpopulation. There are lines for everything. Lines to go, lines to come back, lines to buy a ticket, lines to enter. I don’t know why they don’t let you just pay as you enter!



On the agenda were the two main attractions in Rio de Janeiro; Crist Redeemer Statue in Tijuca National Park and the Pao de Azucar cable car south of Copacabana. Both have incredible 360-degree views of the city and are not to be missed. A lot of the pictures you see of Rio are taken from these high points.



The following day we decided to go to the colonial turned art district of Santa Teresa. Santa Teresa is up on a hill and it’s all cobblestones. It started out as just a convent then a rich neighborhood turned up around the convent. Now it’s a historical landmark that has been taken over by artists and bohemians. We took the subway to Cinelandia and a taxi up the hill. There’s a lot of walking and stairs especially inside the Characa Museum, which was not ideal for my mom. I wanted to go to the Selaron Staircase made by a Chilean artist but it was not a good idea for my mom either. From the taxi we saw the aqueduct of Lapa and all the street art and colorful buildings. The street art was awesome. I took lots of pictures. My dad wasn’t impressed though. Not his cup of tea.



That night we went to the Plataforma Samba show. It started with a fancy churrascaria style dinner on Copacabana complete with cachaça, cocktails, yuca, platanos and a million kinds of meat. I could of done without them cutting the meat for my parents right over me. That completely grossed me out but given the situation I couldn’t complain. I just closed my eyes. From the restaurant they bussed us to a theater in the Jardin Botanico neighborhood. The show takes you through each stage of Brazilian history through music and dance. We especially enjoyed all the costumes. The dancers did not miss a step. The capoeira portion was a little strange because it was just each capoeirista showing off rather than a joda where two people go in and challenge each other. Hopefully we will get to see joda’s in Pelourinho Salvador. It was very much a tourist show though. There was not a single Brazilian there. Just a sea of light skinned people from different parts of the world. My parents didn’t mind though. They loved it.



Our last day in Rio we had a few last things to cross off our list: the botanical gardens, Ipanema Beach and the Copacabana Palace. We managed to see them all except we didn’t get to see the inside of the Copacabana Palace because the hotel was full and they were only letting people in who had reservations. That tells you how fancy the place is. Ipanema was also very fancy but in a more modern way. I’m really glad we stayed in Copacabana. I really like it here and would love to come back some day.



Lessons learned in Rio: Rio is the most expensive city in Brazil. Wait till you get somewhere else to buy souvenirs. Buying food at the market is just as expensive as eating at a corner sandwich shop. Don’t assume drinks are included when you go on a tour. The subway is air conditioned and faster than a cab. Rent an umbrella and chairs at the beach. Buy lots of water as soon as you arrive.


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10th January 2014

Rio de Janeiro
i love this place seriously the most cheerful and fun loving place,full of colors on carival days and beaches the major attraction, full of tourists from all over the world.I visited here last year and hired a car.you can get a car in rio de janeiro very easily at affordable price.I enjoyed every moonet there,really will be there soon.

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