Relaxing in Rio

Rio is truly a beautiful city surrounded by long stretches of white sand beaches, dotted with mountain peaks and communities built around these peaks, favelas (shanty towns) built up the hills and nearly spilling into the sea and a lively atmosphere. For the first few days, I was with three friends from Canada and we stayed at a rented airbnb apartment about a five minute walk to Copacabana beach. We took in the various tourist hotspots with the throngs of other tourists. Two hour waits at Sugar Loaf and Christ the Redeemer view points for the beautiful vistas.


My recommendation is to get up early and head to these sites by 7:30 am to avoid the crowds. I prefer the views from Sugar Loaf though it doesn't have the famous statue of Jesus overlooking the city. Rio also has the pleasant Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, a large 8 km lake smack in the centre of the city full of rowers, runners, bike riders, botanical gardens and couples taking romantic walks. There are also little exercise machines around here and the beaches to get rid of some of the fat from the startch  / carbohydrate rich Brasilian diet. Rio also has an old town (Lapa) with cobbled stone sidewalks and bars with live Samba music and dancing and the famous tiled staircase, Escadaria de Clarion. Over 2000 tiles from over 125 countries are found on this brightly colored staircase. Unfortunately, the Chilean artist of the staircase apparently killed himself at the bottom of the steps as it feels somewhat incomplete as there ate no tiles on top of the steps and some parts remain empty.

Rio is slowly returning back to itself following the end of the World Cup with most of Argentians having left and the disappointment of the Brasilians waning over their team's implosion and poor showing in the last two games. I attended their 3 - 0 lost to the Dutch. Where was the defense and mid-field and with the exception of the injured star player, Neymar Jr. there was little to no offensive power or someone to send the ball to. You can not have a team dependent on only one player. Good thing the whole staff of the national team has been fired. The team played without much heart and by the end of the Brasilia game, some of the Brasilians were in a foul mood with near fights, beer being thrown and booing. The Brasilian team didn't even come out after to thank their fans as other teams did who went around the field acknowledging their fans.

One local complained futbol use to be considered a lower class sport with many players starting out in barefoot or playing in the favellas. He complained the national team was now made up of middle and upper class players who went to soccer school and did not have to struggle to get out of poverty. He was disgusted by their play and a taxi driver bitterly joked the Brasil team has two super heros on the team... the Hulk and the Invisible Man (a.k.a. the mid-field - Fred). 20 Billion was spent and the GDP for Brasil in June and July 2014 went down. It will be telling if the team´s loss willl have any impact into Brasil´s next election this September 2014.


I never realized how much rivary Brasil and Argentina have over futbol. The swarms of 100 000 or so Argentinians sleeping on the beaches, stadiums and hotels must of irked the Brasilians. Especially the fact, they were playing for the Cup in their country. On the day of the World Cup final, there were so many blue and white Argentinian team jerseys around, fans singing that Maridona was better than Pele and making fun of Brasil's recent 7-1 loss to Germany. You think they were playing Bras instead. Many Brasilians were supporting Germany (or more precisely any team playing against Argentina) and with their 1-0 win, the claim that no European team has ever won the World Cup in Latin America was broken. The Argentinians were much subdued and disappointed and unlike the Brasilians, do not party their blues away. The police and riot squads were out but nothing happened. I was at thr Fanfest in Copacabana beach and there must have been 40,000 plus of mostly Argentinian fans. With a giant tv screen on one side and the surf and waves on the other side, it was hard to beat with the sunset.

 

I am back to traveling solo again and it has been an adjustment sleeping in a cramped 12-bed dorm where privacy is a luxury. I am sleeping on the top bunk of a 18 foot bunk bed and it kind of reminds me of my old Naval Reserve days sleeping on destroyers. I also miss the company and laughs of my friends which reminds me of home. I'll have to start making friends again but the downside of hostal friends is that it is always transitory.

I am planning to take  a favella tour and see a little more of the city before I fly out on Monday to the Iguacu Falls. More adventures awaits.