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We timed it so that we would hit Rio for the weekend (Oct 9th) and chill there for a couple of days. Accommodation was quite difficult to get so the only one we managed to secure before we left Ilha Grande turned out to be less that desirable. A quick scoot around and we booked into a 'fresher' establishment.
Enough of that, it was Friday night so we were aiming for the street party in Lapa. Basically it's thousands of people out on the street having a drink and enjoying some live drum beats or the music coming from the clubs. The atmosphere is great here and everyone is out for a good time. The Ireland V Wales game was on that night which put a dent in our festive mood for a while though. One job that will not cease to exist in Brasil is that of selling beers on the street. Everyone is at it and everyone wants more beer. Market saturation will never happen here, drinking related diseases may though.. It can be a bit dodge but as long as your not a fool and get don't get drunk you'll be fine. Pick pockets are all over the place.
As for the beaches, 'the skimpier the swimwear the better' seems to be the motto. This is adhered to as much by the men as the women. Funnily enough Copacabana beach is not the pick of bunch despite it's notoriety. Ipanema (where we were based) is cleaner, safer and overall a nicer area. The boardwalk that runs parallel to the beach had kiosks where you can sit down, drink from a coconut and watch the world walk by. The beach is full of volleyball courts and people playing football, others are standing around looking pretty. If that's gets to much for you simply jump into the water and try not to get a beating from the waves. Seriously the waves kicked my ass on several occasions!
On Tuesday (Oct 11) we completed the top tour. This includes Christ Redeemer statue, Santa Teresa neighbourhood, Lapa steps and Sugar Loaf mountain. Unfortunately the clouds rolled in and there was no point to go up Sugar Loaf mountain. For me it was so strange at the Christ Redeemer statue as it is so famous I couldn't really believe I was actually there. The views from the top are immense - panoramic views of the beaches on your right all the way to centro on your left.
During my time in Rio I took a tour of the favela - Rochina (the largest in Brasil). The tour involves starting up at the top of the hill and walking your way down to the bottom. Our tour guide was from that particular favela. I knew this as he shouted 'I love Rochina' at every chance/at every person he met. If you didn't get it from that, he had sections of the favela tattooed all over his body. He was a bit intense to say the least, nice guy though.
You see gang members standing on street corners with AK-47s and several guys sitting at strategic points working as look outs (they had two way radios). I imagined the favela to consist of wooden shacks but the vast majority of houses are made of bricks and have electricity,plumbing etc. It is very cramped and they are generally one/two room houses stacked on top of each other. Our guide did paint it in a positive light but it is hard to imagine that many of the favela residents would live there if not for their financial situation. Saying that there are free surf, DJ and other youth clubs that the kids can go to provided that they are going to school.
One of my best memories of Rio was when I was walking back along the boardwalk in Ipanema around sunset. Next to one of the kiosks a group of about eight musicians with guitars, flutes, mandolin, bag pipes, bodhran, violin and tin whistles were just playing away. All kinds of Irish music and just have a right ol session. It was honestly the last thing I expected to hear or see. So I grabbed a beer, sat in the sand and thought of Ireland for a while.
With my time in Rio coming to a close the plan is to spend the next few days chilling out at some coastal towns.
- comments
Brian Nice,pete... good old blog. sounds like the perfect place, plenty of night life, plenty of places to relax. glad to here your enjoying it, thanks for the b-day wishes. talk soon!