Brazil is enormous. Even with two and a half weeks it's impossible to take in all of Brazil in one trip. But we did a pretty good job covering a lot of ground visiting Rio de Janeiro for almost a week, followed by a week in the Amazon and then a few days at Iguazu. The trip required a total of 8 flights, so not a simple itinerary, but so glad we made the effort to experience three very different parts of Brazil.
We met Dallin in Rio, our flights landing fairly close to one another. We managed to make our way via taxi to our airbnb in Ipanema. Our airbnb was somewhat quirky with a stair-heavy, vertical living space but it came with a small private pool and a mind-blowing view. You could take in the lagoon and mountain views from just about every room in the apartment, but the piece de resistance was certainly an unobstructed view of Christ the Redeemer in the centre of it all.
The views from the rooftop terrace gave us 360 degrees of Rio mountains and city scares, including some pretty epic sunsets.
Impromptu rooftop pizza party. Sometimes you gotta go with some comfort food while exploring the world.
Christ the Redeemer from our airbnb by night.
Our first full day in Rio we set off for a beach day on the famed Ipanema Beach. This was certainly a bucket list item, and it did not disappoint. It's a beautiful beach buzzing with life. We walked the length of the promenade taking in the views before settling into some beach chairs for a couple of hours.
Trevon had a blast body surfing in the waves.
Lots of beach vendors selling everything from bikinis, to ice-creams, to cocktails made on the spot, to roasted corn. It's a steady flow of vendors, and while some can be a little pushy, overall I'd say less intrusive than some other beaches I've been to in the world. It made for pretty great people watching. The load these people carried through the hot sand on such a hot and humid day was pretty impressive, not a small workout.
Rio's beach vibe is very different from any other beach culture we've experienced in the world. It's an incredibly active scene. At regular intervals outdoor "gyms" with basic strength equipment line the boardwalk. At any moment glancing down the shoreline you can see many dozens of footballs bouncing in the air as many groups gather kicking the ball around, with a great degree of talent I might add. I've never seen a culture so entrenched in all things football. You also see rows and rows of beach volleyball courts, but most of them are playing with footballs using their feet, a game called footvolley. It's kind of amazing to watch players spit the ball back and forth over the net so accurately using their feet.
We ended our first day in Rio with another major bucket list item, a helicopter ride over Rio. We've only ever done one other helicopter experience on our travels (over the Great Barrier Reef in Australia) and to be honest, I don't love helicopters. They awaken all my worst motion sickness tendencies (similar to the Pandora ride and Walt Disney World, which was a day-wrecking experience for me). This was no exception and I was actually glad the ride wasn't any longer than it was, but it was worth the risk for a chance to fly over Christ the Redeemer.
The other risk with helicopter rides, especially in this town, are the temperamental clouds that threaten to completely obstruct the views you're paying to see. It's a big risk here, as the clouds in Rio are very moody. We watched the clouds dance around Christ the Redeemer all week from our terrace, and these clouds love to "hug the Christ" as our guide put it, so we saw from this point of view how unpredictable it can be. But you either chance it or you don't, and I doubt I'll ever be in Rio again. We didn't get very lucky. Once airborne the window of time to get a view of Christ the Redeemer is pretty short. Conditions were not on our side, so it was mostly disappointing, but our pilot made one final circle back upon which we got the tiniest glimpse through the moving clouds of Christ in all his glory, and I managed to capture it, which is nothing short of a miracle. It didn't turn out as I had envisioned it, but still glad to have done it.
The boys, in particular Dallin, loved the helicopter experience, which made it that much more worthwhile.
Pretty stunning views directly over one of Rio's largest favelas.
Amazing sunset shoreline views.
For the next two days we hired a private guide to take us around the various neighbourhoods and sites of Rio. Our default is usually to sightsee on our own, but hiring a guide in Rio just makes a lot of sense, and it was easily the single best decision we made for this leg of our trip. Rio is not a really safe city. Even with how much we travel and the sketchy places we have visited around the world, I'd say we felt more unsafe in Brazil than most anywhere. Having a guide gave us a much greater sense of security, as we followed his instructions, and generally put us at ease. What's more is Rio is such a vast city, it's not only enormous but has so many different spots to explore. Having a guide to organise logistics and do all the navigating was essential. I had researched and compiled a pretty extensive list of places to see and our guide weaved it all together seamlessly. We had an amazing time hitting the sights of Rio.
First up was a trip up the mountain to visit Christ the Redeemer. Unlike our helicopter experience we had exceptionally good luck for this trip. The clouds also have the ability to obstruct the view of the statue even when standing at the foot of it, so if you go up when the clouds are hugging Christ you won't see him. Gratefully we arrived to gloriously blue skies, and it was spectacular. Seeing this in person exceeded my fairly high exceptions. Wow!
Next we visited Sugarloaf Mountain. This is an iconic peak in Rio that comes with amazing views over the beaches, if you're so lucky. Gratefully the clouds seemed to be trailing us, and we enjoyed a wonderful mountaintop lunch with incredible views. Just as we were finishing and ready to descend the clouds wrapped the mountain in a blindfolding blanket, and once at the base we could also see that Christ the Redeemer was also shrouded. Phew!
Next we visited our first favela, Teveares Bastos, giving us a glimpse into this part of Rio.
Here we visited the Maze, a creative community project that has become a community cultural icon. It is a residence, an art gallery, a music venue and a bar. This multilevel structure is completely covered in mosaic from top to bottom, created over a long period of time by locals and travellers alike and is an anchor in the centre of this favela. A visit here was worthwhile to experience the art and the views, but it also gave us a look inside what favelas are doing to tackle building an economy away from the grip of the drug gangs. By visiting these places we are also helping a tiny bit.
The beautiful Grutas Parque Lane
Our next day of explorations took us to the Centro and Santa Teresa districts.
Never seen a cathedral quite like Cathedral Metropolitana
A visit to the national buildings at Parca Foriano, National Library
Market in front of the Municipal Theatre of Rio
Municipal Theatre of Rio
On the tram up into Santa Teresa
Exploring the colourful neighbourhood of Santa Teresa, a hilly village up the steep streets of Rio where decaying mansions and artists abound.
Lunch view from Aprazivel
View of the Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai, home of the Rio Carnival
Parque das Ruinas, one of the many ruined mansions, partially repurposed, partially left in ruins and where many photographers go.
The famed Escadaria Selaron
Almost impossible to capture without loads of people, but if you're patient you can get a glimpse of parts of it absent of tourists.
More of central Rio
The beautiful Royal Portuguese Reading Room
The jaw-droopingly gorgeous Sacro Franciscano
The famed Confeitaria Colombo lived up to the hype, gorgeous cafe resembling the opulence of the grand cafes of Europe and the Belle Epoque with delicious, uniquely Brazilian pastries
Mosteiro de Sao Bento
A glimpse of Little Africa in Rio with a look at Sao Francisco da Prainha Square, where you find the statue of the first black ballerina to take the stage at Rio's Municipal Theatre, Mercedes Baptista.
Later in the week we went on a guided walk through Rio’s largest favela. The favelas are densely populated slums largely run by drug gangs. They’re pretty sketchy places to say the least. But with a local guide we spent the afternoon exploring Rocinha, which has 200,000 inhabitants.
Our local guide is a native and current resident of Rocinha, which gave us an insider’s look at life in the favela. And as we were hosted by an insider it meant the visit was not only safer, but also meant we were supporting the favela economy in a legitimate way. That then meant we were welcomed guests as opposed to merely voyeurs. These pieces are important because while I love visiting the more real and raw locations of the places we travel, respect and ethical considerations matter. I greatly value this kind of access and the opportunity to learn about ways of life so different from my own. My own world bubble shrinks with every such visit. Exploring the narrow lanes full of rubbish and sewage we learned about the rule of the drug dealers in the community. Along the way we encounter bouncing children roaming the streets, or playing football. We also encounter empty plastic cocaine vials discarded at our feet.
We learn about the unofficial rule of the drug dealers, and the twisted society that exists here in which the drug dealers do more for the community than the government or churches. Yet this is exactly because there is a corrupt relationship between the gangs and these institutions creating a sad entrapment for the average favela resident. Most people in the favela are immigrants from other places in Brazil, and most never get out, the corruption entraps them indefinitely. On certain lanes we were told to keep our cameras down as there may be drug dealers. We learned about their unmerciful tactics when crossed. This was not a lighthearted visit, but one where careful attention was paid with every step. Our guide showed us his street. He doesn’t have an address. No one here does. Tangles of electric wires dominate the view overhead, though official utilities are not in place. Some dwellings have water tanks. We encounter children jumping on trampolines, all provided by the drug dealers. Our guide chats to many of the residents as we wander down. Life is vibrant here. It’s a difficult place to reconcile when compared with the world beyond. More than 20% of the population of Rio live in the favelas so a visit to Rio seems incomplete without time in a favela.
On our final day of exploration in Rio we made the pilgrimage to the holy of holies of South American football, Maracana Stadium, where the likes of Pele and Marta have made football history.
Pretty special to be on this pitch
We spent our final afternoon in Rio in Copacabana. It's a beautiful stretch of coastline, but decidedly rougher than its sister beach next door, Ipanema. Here we definitely felt much less safe than on Ipanema, which confirmed our choice to stay in Ipanema. Paradoxically Rio's top luxury hotels sit on Copacabana beach. We certainly felt we had to watch our backs and keep our valuables out of sight anywhere in Rio, but especially in Copacabana. I felt uneasy pulling my camera out for even just a couple of shots. We didn't wear any jewellery at all while in Rio and kept cameras and phones in bags and in pockets well out of sight.
Tom Jobim "The Girl from Ipanema"
Back in Ipanema for our final evening in Rio before heading to our next destination in the morning.
Next up we head deep into the Amazon . . .
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