Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

The 13 hour overnight bus trip turned into 16 hours and that was probably due to the lightning, thunder and heavy rain we had for most of the trip. At the bus terminal we saw all the taxi drivers blocking the exit doors vying for customers.It is so relaxing not being hounded around the terminal by touts like they do in other South American countries. We already had information on the local bus so headed straight for that. Our first impressions were of construction teams working on the tram lines and historic buildings near the old port being renovated probably getting ready for the Olympics in August.

We found our hostel a few blocks off Copacabana Beach and arrived to warm 27 degree day. The hostel was in a lovely leafy suburb with a shopping arcade nearby and a park at the end of the street. It is one of a franchise chain that they want to spread throughout South America. They offer a free night if you book at other hostels in the chain. The best thing about it is that it is completely a smoke free place. The staff head off and hang around the front gates smoking in their breaks. Although it is a hostel they cleaned and changed linen and towels daily and replaced soap and shampoo etc. Breakfast was self serve and you could have as much as you wanted and someone even washed your dishes for you. Other places we have to do that ourselves.

We found a free walking tour company and took the efficient fast metro into Carioca Square to join the group. The metro is a fixed price no matter how many stops you take so it is easy to buy return tickets and not have to worry about queuing. The locals have concession passes that they scan. The tour covered the historic centre. The guide presented the historical facts as a story and it was very entertaining. They are trained very well and try to involve the group in the talk by asking them to give their thoughts on why things have happened.

We visited the old Colombo Cafe which was where Queen Elizabeth chose to go for morning tea when she visited back in the day.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                It is a very expensive place to eat.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
Checked out where Miranda Carmen used to live. Brazilians claim her but she was not born in Brazil.                                                                          

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       The beautiful Municipal Theatre modelled on the Paris Opera Garnier

The old aqueduct that now has a tram on top. The tram was free because they have not finished the works needed to complete the line. At night this area known as Lapa is covered in stalls and surrounded by bars and night clubs. The Free Tour company offers pub crawls to here twice a week with discounts for entry, drinks and snacks.

 The tour ended at the tile decorated Selaron steps. Selaron, an artist, traveled the world and decided Rio was the best place on earth and decided to cover the steps in his mosaic art. Later people sent him tiles from all over the world and he installed those too. 

  

Now tourists scramble over the steps looking for tiles from their country.

   

The hostel advertised a tour to see a football match so we signed up. The local team, Vasco da Gama, was on top of the second division and played a team from a smaller state called Goia. The black and white Vascos were the only colour seen in the stadium. The match was not held at the famous Marcarana Stadium as it was closed for the Olympics but it was at the Vasco's 90 year old horse-shoe shaped ground.   

We were about 30 people from different hostels and the guide bought the tickets on the black market for us. He and the tout carried on their furtive activities in the car park of a garage outside the stadium while we waited for the word that all was okay. Some young people from the UK on a Gap Tour joined us from our hostel.

There were two groups singing the team songs along with all the actions. Proud dads had their children on their shoulders and they jumped up and down to the drums and singing. It never stopped and our group joined in as well.

Every day we went to the beach but towards the end of our time in Rio it got foggy and rained a lot. People were playing volleyball as well as foot volleyball which was a game invented by the Brazilians. They also played a game with a large wooden bat a bit like what we call patter tennis.   On Sunday the roads near the beach are closed to traffic and people jog, skate, run with their dogs, and families cycle up and down.

We joined another free walking tour of the Ipanaema area lead by Jose Juan, a Mexican man. He sang songs to us at every stop and talked about the statues in the streets. We learnt the story about the tune of 'The Girl From Ipanaema'. Apparently she never knew the song was about her until it was given to her by the two writers on her wedding day. She now has a chain of bikini shops.  At the end of this tour we sampled some local nibbles and Jose Juan and a German guy gave us a demonstration of the Capoeiro martial art by the edge of the lake where the rowing for the Olympics will be held.   

We never got to the big fellah on the hill as it was foggy, cloudy or wet so not worth the the trip. Jose Juan told us we could walk up to the Sugar Loaf and look across at the Redeemer so on a foggy day we did that. It was pretty eerie through the forest in the mist but we were hoping it would clear once we got to the top. It never cleared so we spent some time at the top before walking back from Morro de Urca.

Bikini anyone?

We had bad luck with our hostel. First the shower was cold and they had to replace it and then the rain leaked through the bathroom ceiling and dripped all day. They wanted to move us but many of the rooms we discovered were noisy near reception and the common areas. After two days of rain the leak extended to the hallway so I think they have a big job ahead of them fixing all of that.

One wet day we took the metro to the Indigenous museum where they had examples of bead work, films of the life of different Brazilian tribes. Most of the displays had cards in English that explained some of the myths of the different tribes. 

The museum was near the favela of Santa Marta so we decided to go up on the cable car to look around the favela. There are over 600 favelas in Rio. Santa Marta is one that has been sorted out by the police so it is safe to visit. It is also famous for having Michael Jackson there film one of his videos. They have a statue of him now and it is popular for visitors but it just poured buckets so we meandered our way back down the steps that were now like cascades and headed for a cafe with hot chocolate and coconut cake.

The first favelas were set up during the colonial period when the soldiers who were returning from fighting separatist Bahia could not find any housing. Tenements in the inner city were cleared and so the tenants started more favelas in the hills. 90% have electricity, rubbish collection and the internet. Many have legal rights to the land and some have title. The government has a campaign to rid the favelas of gangs and drugs. An elite army is sent in first to clear out the gangs and then a community policing unit remains permanently to guard the area.

We have felt safe walking about Rio in the day and around Copacabana at night. Two German couples from our hotel were relieved of their handbags and valuables while walking at night on the beach. A gang of 6 guys with knives surrounded them. We only take as much money with us we need at night to get a meal and a beer and would never walk on the beach which is very dark. 

Jose Juan playing a traditional instrument

Next stop Belo Horizonte.