Day 96: A Rainy Saturday In Rio

Sat. 17th November 2012

Whilst definitely better than a wet Wednesday in Bognor, the weather in Rio is not turning out to be like the mental images that we have of Rio. It is another grey, overcast day with low cloud and it is raining as we get up. Once again, we are grateful that we picked the two best days for the city and favela tours – it would have been disappointing to be up in the hills in the cloud and the favela in the rain would have been more slippery and smelly.

Having been based in Copacabana for the past few days and particularly having walked along both Copacabana and Ipanema beaches yesterday, we thought that we would spend a morning exploring the Centro district before heading off to the airport for our flight to Buenos Aires this afternoon. As we headed out, it was threatening rain and it seemed as if everyone had decided to stay at home. As with the City of London, it seems that everyone leaves for the weekend and the streets are quiet and the shops and offices all closed. Passing the building for the Central Bank of Brazil reinforces the similarities with the City of London.

We get as far as the Teatro Municipal opera house before the rain starts again. Unfortunately, we can’t get in – the interior, like the exterior, is supposedly very ornate, but you are only allowed in for performances. We have to make do with a couple of photos whilst trying not to get either ourselves or the camera wet before diving in to a street side cafe for a coffee. (Its and ill wind and all that!). Also close by is the Biblioteca Nacional, supposedly the seventh largest library in the world. Although not as ornate as the opera house, you can at least get inside the foyer.

The rain eases up, and so we head off once again towards the Lapa district to see the Lapa arches which we saw from a distance on our city tour. This whitewashed, former aqueduct, runs high above the streets. It was later converted into a tramway – from the tram depot to the start point of the tram up the hill to the Christ the Redeemer statue, but after the fatal accident (see Day 93) is no longer used. The scale of the aqueduct is impressive, but they definitely need a fresh coat of paint and there isn’t much else to see nearby.

We still have a good 3 or more hours before we need to head off to the airport and we seem to have exhausted the nearby possibilities. I’m sure there are worthwhile things that we are missing, but I had expected there to be more to do in Rio. We have heard about the Rio Sul shopping centre (and seen the shuttle buses) and we haven’t yet experienced the Rio Metro, so we head off to the nearest Metro station to kill two birds with one stone.

As advertised, the Metro is easy to use – less busy than London, less intimidating than Moscow (no barriers that try to bite your ankles!) and with only two lines scope for getting on the wrong train was limited. At R$3.20 (£1) per ticket, it was cheaper than the Tube too. When we got back above ground in Botafogo, however, things were less simple. We had about 1km to walk and there was a distinct lack of signposts. Fortunately, Janet’s Trip Advisor app for Rio (on her phone) had offline maps and so we were able to navigate our way there.

Once there, Rio Sul turned out (unsurprisingly) to be very much like every other shopping mall you’ve ever been to. Big, bright & full of shops selling stuff that we really don’t want. Perhaps we were just tired after all of our walking but we didn’t appreciate Rio Sul – and the lack of a store guide of any sort made the whole experience quite frustrating. I even turned down the opportunity for a vanilla cappuccino at Starbucks.  There was, however, WiFi available and so we were able to call up a proper maps app and so the walk back to the metro was simpler than the walk there.

By the time we got back to the hotel, it was time to collect our bags from storage and get a taxi up to the airport. The taxi ride and check-in process were both uneventful though we were glad that we had checked in online last night as that significantly shortened the queue. Sadly, no lounge access for us today – it is only the flights on our RTW ticket that are business class. Once through security, the airport was  quiet enough though, unlike the zoo that is Heathrow.

Buenos Aires is some 1,200m (2,200km) south of Rio and one hour behind. When we got off the plane though, it felt like it was a century ahead of Rio (and don’t even start with La Paz!) – a modern airport that felt efficient and easy to find transport into the city (Taxi Ezeiza). Even better, we are back in the Spanish speaking world and I can understand (better) what people are saying. Janet accused me of showing off when I had a (simple) conversation with the immigration officer.

We had been warned that drivers in BA were mad and that impression was reinforced on our drive from the airport. We clocked the taxi as doing over 140km/h at times – the fastest we have been on ground transport since leaving the UK. Our hotel seems to be reasonably centrally located, so after having checked in, we went for a short walk round (and a beer). The cafes with packed pavement tables and the occasional street musician were a good sign for what we hope is going to be a great stay in BA.

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Day 95: Walk Around The Beaches

Fri. 16th November 2012

It is our last day close to Copacabana Beach before moving to the centre of Rio and the weather is still not lazing on the beach sunny. Having said that, as this is a bank holiday weekend in Rio the beach is busy – like you would see on Brighton beach – all wrapped up but determined to build sandcastles and enjoy. Instead of sunbathing, we opt for a walk along the beach and around the headland to Ipanema beach. It was definitely more wet suit weather and surfing time than bikini time. There were quite a few heads bobbing in the water waiting for the right wave.

I might have guessed Dave had the Starbucks app on his phone at the ready and it just happened there was a Starbucks nearby. The Christmas songs playing and logo on the cups was too much in mid November! I know I am not sure what Christmas will bring this year with none of the usual weather or decorations at home (I nearly bought a foot high plastic tree for less than a £1 but resisted). It will be our first Christmas without the boys but we do have Skype booked.

Ipanema beach is separated by a canal from the next beach Leblon but it is very dreary and not worth the walk. At the canal we turned inland to where the canal joined a large lagoon, Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, and I was reminded of Christmas yet again as there is an enormous tree being decorated to be floated around the lagoon from December 1st.

Not tempted by the pedaloes or “Boris” bikes, we headed for a cafe for lunch before collecting our luggage to transfer hotels. As we had been walking for the best part of two hours and the Metro stations are not overly convenient for our transfer we opted for a taxi which was much easier but, given the traffic, not necessarily much quicker. This will not help our budget but never mind.

There are a couple of cafes across the road from our hotel so we sit out for a drink just before 6pm, whilst it is still safe to venture out. Quite pleasant until the church bells start and make us jump. We checked at 7pm that the double glazing in our room worked, otherwise the earplugs would be out again.

The location of our hotel, Sao Francisco, reminds us of the heart of the city in London where everything is shut outside office hours. As we walked around everyone, was busy getting home after a days work and the only places to eat here are McDonalds and KFC – we couldn’t find any restaurants at all worth the name. Fortunately, the buffet in the hotel is reasonable (in both price and quality) so we opt for that rather than taking a taxi further afield and heed the Trip Advisor reviews which do not recommend walking at night. We have most of tomorrow to explore downtown Rio before our flight to Buenos Aires so content ourselves with an early night watching Harry Potter on TV. (We have watched almost no TV since leaving the UK, so this is a bit of a treat).

 

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Day 94: Favela Tour

Thur. 15th November 2012

Having said our final goodbyes to everyone yesterday, it was just the two of us at the breakfast table. We’d better get used to the experience as we don’t have any more group tours booked. We’re on our own until we meet Myf in Melbourne in February next year.

After yesterday’s city tour, our next priority was to go on the Favela tour and see a little of one of the favelas that Rio is known for. Looking on Trip Advisor, the reviews for the tour are at the polar extremes – some folk seem to love it and others seem to have hated the experience. Only one way to find out which category we will be in!

One of the other things that we’ll have to get used to now we’re on our own is being at the mercy of local tour operators and their flexible timings. We had a thirty minute wait for the minibus to arrive at our hotel – Danielle, the guide, blamed some of the others for being late at their pickup. Sure enough, when we got in the minibus it was a real international group – Italians, Germans, Argentines, Singaporeans. Fortunately, everyone spoke English – so that was one thing we could cope with!

Our tour was to the Rocinha Favela, with 300,000 inhabitants it is the biggest, but by no means the only favela in Rio (or Brazil). There are some 300 favelas just in Rio and over 11m people live in favelas in Brazil. We were surprised to learn that the term favela isn’t Portuguese for slum or shanty town, but actually is the name for the type of tree that used to cover the hillside before they were cleared to make way for the people.

The favela is built on the hillside, right next to one of the richest districts of Rio. As there is only a single road that takes you to the top of the favela, everyone has to go past some very large houses on the way to view the homes of some of the poorest inhabitants of the city. We are dropped off in a busy, noisy street at the top of the favela and then head down an alleyway. Once inside the favela, there are no roads just narrow alleyways festooned with cables and pipes.

Our first stop is in art workshop that is run to support the local kids. From the roof, we get a good view out over the favela and we get our first view of the ramshackle, haphazard buildings that wind their way down the hill to a sports complex, funded by the government, at the bottom. Whilst we wait for another group to finish on the roof so that we can go up, Danielle talks about the drug lords who control the favelas and the police attempts to control and pacify them – particularly ahead of the World Cup and then Olympics. She is very sceptical as to whether the police are having a positive impact, this leads on to a wider discussion. Some of the others seem to be far too interested in how the drug gangs work and what could be done about them.

At last, we move on and start working our way down through the favela. Danielle explains that there is no central planning here – people just build where there is available land. Now that there is no more clear land, people sell their rooftop and a someone else will build a ‘house’ on top (and then a third person will build on top of that and so on). We certainly saw 4 storey houses built higgledy piggledy. Having built a house, you splice into the nearest mains electricity and water (and cable TV). Hence all of the wires and pipes running above and alongside the alleyway.

As we work our way down and through the favela, the alleyway gets narrower and the smell gets stronger – the sewer seems to run beneath us sometimes and beside us (and open) at others. Danielle points out a couple of places where there has been a mudslide and to other houses where the pillars holding up the house are disintegrating. Halfway down we stop at a shop that doubles as a bakery. As it is lunchtime, we buy a snack – I go for the ham and cheese stuffed bread that seems to be a local favourite. We also get the chance to try the local firewater, cachaça – they have one-upped the Mexicans and their worms in the tequilla. Here they have a crab and a piece of sugar cane in the bottle. It would have been rude to say no to a sample and at least you couldn’t taste the crab!

All in all, we were glad to have done the tour. However, despite the terrible housing and conditions that we would run a million miles away from, we didn’t get the impression that people were really poor (as in African slums). All the people we saw were dressed in clean(ish) clothes and looked reasonably well fed. Danielle talked about how the children all go to school (getting free transport outside of the favela). When we asked about life expectancy, Danielle said it was the same as the rest of Rio – around 70.

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Day 93: Rio In A Day

Wed. 14th November 2012

At breakfast, it is time to say goodbye to everyone – the eight others who we have been with since Lima 45 days ago, as well as the three (four including our tour guide Zaida) who joined us in Santa Clara 16 days ago. The partying last night went on a long time after we left and so there are a few tired/hung-over faces. Thank you all for our great adventure across South America – we will always remember the amazing things we did.

Afterwards, we decide to walk down street and book city tour for this afternoon, as weather is not forecast to get any better and clouds are higher today and it isn’t raining. As we walk down to the tour office, we also check out the Metro station, which looks straight forward for our transfer to Centro on Friday.

We walk back to the hotel along the beach front. As this is Copacabana Dave cannot wait to check out the beach for those thong bikinis that Rio is well known for but there is not a soul sunbathing. The beach is windy and empty, but at least the Wi-Fi there is free.

We met up with six others from our old group to go on the City tour and squeezed into a sixteen seater minibus which was already half full by the time it arrived at our hotel and off we went hoping the weather would be kind to us and remain clear enough to see the views.

Luckily the first stop was at the Cristo Redenter (Christ the Redeemer) statue, which is situated on the 700 metre peak of Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park not far from the centre of town. The statue was constructed between 1922 and 1931 and is said to be the largest Art Deco Statue in the world. We reached the peak by road and were a bit disappointed not to go on the train, but never mind. The views from the top were amazing with just a few wisps of cloud around. It is a good place to start to get an idea of the layout of Rio without paying the extortionate price of a helicopter trip. We were also lucky with the weather and just in time to see views before the clouds came in.

The next stop was the area called St Teresa where we went for walk and saw the mural in memory of the tram crash which put an end to the tram travel in Rio and also some of the local art.

Next we were heading for the Cathedral so thoughts of the usual 17th Century buildings with nave, alter, side chapels etc came into our mind so we did not expect what came next.The latest of a series of Cathedrals for Rio was built between 1964 and 1979 (younger than us but we won’t go there!). It is Mayan style, as we had seen in Yucatan, and has standing room for 20,000 people. There are stained glass windows on four sides which are 64 metres from floor to ceiling.

The sights were coming at us in all shapes and sizes and next was no exception. The Lapa steps are nothing like the Spanish Steps in Rome. The steps are the life’s work of the Chilean artist Selaron and the colours were a sensory overload! It was interesting to spend some time just looking at all the different pictures and colours on the tiles and the names of many places all over the world. Even the Simpsons had a place next to iconic Americans – Martin Luther King and John F Kennedy. Part way up the stairs was an art gallery (another fridge magnet from here for our growing collection) and Selaron himself was sat there watching the tourists go by.

There was not any time to stop at the usual places a city tour would visit in the Historical centre. That will have to wait until Friday when we change hotel and will have time to exploring the centre of Rio on foot.

The final stop on the tour is to visit the Sugar Loaf mountain, so named as it looks like a type of Portuguese bread apparently? The first of two cable cars takes us to Morro da Urca, which gives good views back towards Rio and Christ the Redeemer. It also gives views of the harbour including an enormous yacht, which is well beyond our budget and over twice the size of any others.

The second cable car keeps going up to the top of the Sugar Loaf which is 396m high and has views of the city airport watching the planes take off and fly by as well as back towards Rio and Christ the Redeemer.

The tour with “Don’t be a gringo – be a local” (www.bealocal.com) was over 5 hours long and an excellent start to our stay in Rio. The weather could have been better but at least the rain and low cloud stayed away.

Dinner was simple at a “kilo restaurant” and quick as it was just the two of us! However it was strange not being part of a sixteen strong group which we will miss, as well as all our new friends who have now gone their separate ways, some home (old and new homes!), some staying longer. We will miss them but thanks to Facebook will still be able to keep up with them.

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