Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (December 17-23, 2017)
RIO Baby!!!!! Just Wow! I finally arrived at the most famous city in Brazil. The sights are out of this world. The geography of the bizarre mountain peaks, city skyline squeezed in between them and beautiful beaches that seem to stretch for miles. The weather was also great, much hotter than Sao Paulo but not as hot as Salvador. You need to have sunscreen with you at all times during the day or you’ll turn into a lobster, or as Brazilians say, a camarão (shrimp).
First Impressions
Lapa Arches
We left Salvador at 3 am so we hadn’t truly had a full nights’ rest when we landed in Rio. We got settled in our amazing hotel on the top floor. From the rooftop pool we could see Christ the Redeemer. The second day, we decided to check out the historical center of Rio. It was incredible; we used the metro to get there and the efficiency of it was a huge relief, mostly because we had been stuck in traffic half the time in Salvador. Unfortunately, we hadn’t realised it was Monday – the international closed-museum day. Nonetheless, the architecture was unbelievable and I really enjoyed just walking around. We had a fun time riding on an old tram over the Lapa Arches and had a beer at a famous tiled stairway called Escadaria Selarón.
Later on that day we headed to Ipanema beach, another famous beach not much different than Copacabana. We met up with one of our friends from the school and had one too many caipirinhas (cocktails).
The next day, Margot’s parents finally arrived after 48-hours due to a delayed flight to Houston. We were so eager to see them. It was so nice to hear the Canadian accent again. (Guess what? We really do say “eh!” too much.)
Copacabana Beach
Copacabana beach is one of the most popular destinations in Rio. It’s always full of people from all over the world and, of course, Brazilians. The beach stretches for as far as you can see. It really seems endless. At the entrance of the beach there’s always someone trying to sell you an umbrella and chairs. Even when you’re just crossing the road the vendors approach you. This is mostly because they’re always in competition with each other. We quickly realized that the prices were inflated because we’re tourists. Tip: Go to the main tent and ask the manager directly and he will give you a deal if you say you’ll be buying drinks.
Copacabana, although beautiful, is so crowded that you can never really properly relax. The waves on most days were a vicious (the red danger flags were up) and the vendors constantly harass you. By the end of the trip I couldn’t stand it any longer and I ended up dreading the beach. Ipanema beach is similar but less crowded by tourists and vendors; but don’t be mistaken, there’s still a fair amount of them. My suggestion is if you’re looking for a relaxing beach to spend your vacation, you won’t find it in Rio. Many Brazilians go to Paraty, a state just south of the famous Rio beaches.
Christ the Redeemer
The main attraction in Rio is, of course, Christ the Redeemer. A gigantic art deco statue of Jesus standing 30 metres (98ft) tall looking over Rio de Janeiro mounted on a 700 metre (2300ft) tall mountain called Corcovado. It is for sure a wonder to see. You also get an amazing view of Rio and its entire splendor. It was really crowded but an employee told me that it is usually three times more crowded during the high season. The high season in Rio is usually the day after Christmas until mid February after Carnival. We spent some time there, enjoyed the view and snapped a few pictures before boarding the small train that brings you up and down the mountain.
Pão de Açúcar (Sugerloaf Mountain)
The next day we ventured to Pão de Açúcar; another main attraction Rio has to offer. In my opinion, it’s a way better vantage point from which to view the city. Not only because you get a view of the ocean and Christ the Redeemer in the distance. The gondola is also an incredible experience. It was kind of funny for me because it was the only time I took a gondola up a mountain and it wasn’t to go snowboarding. Margot’s family and I spent a few hours there and had a few beers at the top. We also got the chance to see some rock climbers just finishing their climb up the mountain. The name of the mountain is Pão de Açúcar due to its geological history. It was formed by two tectonic plates colliding and raising the mountains you see today in Rio.
After Pão de Açúcar, we went to a nice restaurant where they cooked Picanha (a special cut of beef that Brazilians love) right in front of us.
Graffiti Tour
If you don’t know, Rio has some of the best graffiti South America has to offer. It’s very different in comparison to graffiti in Brooklyn or Montreal. There is a stronger focus on street art and less on lettering, which you might see in Brooklyn, NY. We had a personal tour guide which helped us find all the amazing graffiti locations in Rio. He was amazing; he told us a bit about the art and the history behind it. I loved that our guide showed us how to distinguish between the different styles of the graffiti artists. We walked around gazing upon beautiful works of art and we also had a chance to visit the largest graffiti wall in the world called “Las Etnias” or the Ethnicities. It was created by the graffiti artist Eduardo Kobra right before the Rio Olympics to commemorate indigenous cultures from all around the world (and stands at a whopping 50 feet tall! You can see Margot in the bottom centre-right looking miniature).
Margot’s Segment –
Escadaria Selarón
Rio is nothing short of a magical place. I had seen pictures but didn’t understand what all the fuss was about until I saw those mountains, which are simply unlike anything I have seen before. Pictures don’t do it justice. Many people warned us about the violence from the favelas (poor neighbourhoods where drug trafficking is often rampant) but Copacabana felt relatively safe. Favela tours are offered, which I find not only dangerous and outright stupid but also unjust to the people who live there. In Sao Paulo, I lived near a favela and I must say, it’s not somewhere you want to sightsee. However, the graffiti tour was definitely worth our time. Many artists are commissioned to draw murals in this city, an art form that is glorified rather than frowned upon. Rio is also in the process of being gentrified, which is good in terms of safety. However, this is also bad because unaffordable rent pushes vulnerable people out of the centre, only magnifying the sheer inequality in Brazil.
The main beach is long and incredible, but as Erik said, you can never truly feel at ease with constant assaults from vendors (Do you want a bathing suit? Maybe a dress or a caipirinha? Ah!!!). The waves were intense but we realized by going far enough out, we could enjoy the waves before they crashed and best of all, the vendors couldn’t get to us there!
Erik & I being the ultimate tourists.
Christ the Redeemer was hilarious because they have mats set up where you can lay down and take a picture of your friend posing in the style of a Jesus Crucifix (the most popular pose). I think it’s smaller than the Statue of Liberty, but equally as cool. Pão de Açúcar is this giant, cone-like mountain that has some of the best views I have ever seen.
Next stop: Our return to Sao Paulo for our final goodbye to Brazil and the friends we made during our stay.
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