Rio de Janeiro

Arrival in Rio

Arrived at the Airport we took a taxi that took us to our lodging located near the famous Copacabana beach close to the avenue of the same name. Due to arriving later than the scheduled time, we sent a message to the lodging owner from the Brasilia Airport where we stopped. We will stay in an apartment in a building provided with a doorman, so through him we call the owner to notify him of our arrival. The owner, who has Italian origins, opens the apartment for us, consisting of an entrance, kitchen, living room with sofa bed and bedroom. I will sleep in the bedroom while my travel companion will prefer the sofa bed. Having arrived in the late afternoon, all that remains for us is to reach the nearby Copacabana beach and walk along its seafront enlivened by tourists, stalls, open-air eateries.

A young man approaches us who sells tours and speaks perfect Italian with a typically Milanese accent. We decide not to be hasty and to avoid booking right away. We have dinner in one of the many eateries located on the wide sidewalk of the seafront. The prices are more expensive compared to those in the rest of Brazil but we are in Rio de Janeiro, former Capital, one of the most famous cities in the World and in a few months the Olympics will be here. We are quite tired from the troubled journey of last night spent sleepless, so we return to the apartment for the night.

Copacabana, Ipanema and Sugarloaf Mountain

In the morning we go to the nearby Copacabana beach, long, wide and without facilities, which anyone can use freely. On workdays there are never many people and only on Sunday is it crowded with local families. The long strip of sand is bordered by the wide sidewalk that forms the pedestrian promenade and by the Avenue where vehicles pass. In the part of the beach near the promenade the young people play volleyball and a similar sport in which the ball, however, is hit with the whole body except the hands. Here there are also numerous kiosks selling drinks, coconuts, food and others that rent lounge chairs. We walk partly on the beach and partly on the pedestrian promenade to the end of Copacabana, then, going around the promontory that hosts the Fort, we enter the Parque da Garota de Ipanema dedicated to the Girl from Ipanema sung by Jo Bin.

On the other side of the small Park there is the Ipanema beach which we walk to the end where there is another hilly promontory. Both beaches are very beautiful but are surrounded by large buildings that disfigure the skyline. The spectacular and scenic mountains, very similar to those of Hawaii, are partly occupied by the large Favelas. We walked a few kilometers without realizing it, we had our first swim in the Atlantic, all that remains is to return by tram that takes us back to the Copacabana area from where we had set off. On foot we go to our apartment near which we get a Hamburger at a Fast Food place. After some rest in the afternoon we return to the Seafront Avenue and by taxi have ourselves taken to the Cable Car Station where we go up to go on Sugarloaf Mountain. The Cable Car stops at an intermediate Station from where you take another to reach the top.

From Sugarloaf you enjoy a wonderful view over the City. Below us is the Airport closest to the Center from which airplanes continuously take off. In the distance the outline of Corcovado with the famous Christ. Rio seen from here is spectacular; after all, it is considered one of the most beautiful Cities in the World for its location among green rocky spurs and intricate bays. Morphologically it feels like being in Hawaii or the Marquesas. At sunset we descend to the valley and take a vehicle to take us back to Copacabana where we have dinner in a Restaurant on the Seafront. We close the day with a walk, stopping at the guy who speaks Milanese and sells tours whom we met the night before. This time we book for the next day for Ilha Grande. We return to the lodging for the night.

Ilha Grande

We get up bright and early and head to a large Hotel on the Avenida Atlântica in Copacabana, not far from our apartment. After a long wait and clearly behind the scheduled time, they come to pick us up with a bus for the excursion we had booked the night before. After a few hours we arrive at a spot on the coast from whose little harbor we board for Ilha Grande. Actually, we won't be visiting the island but will make a couple of stops for snorkeling. The first is little more than a dip, the second is very interesting because we dive into a bay teeming with colorful fish. For the rest, the excursion is disappointing, also because the Island, which could also be interesting for its typically tropical vegetation, is close to an industrial complex that disfigures its environment. Even the boat we're traveling on would be nice in itself, but there's loud music on board.

Back at the little harbor we get back on the bus, make a stop at a sort of service station (as we had done on the way there) and return to Rio in the evening. Entering the City we pass in front of the Sambadrome, which we see from the window packed with samba dancers preparing for Carnival. We pass through Downtown Rio and then get off at Copacabana. It's evening, all that's left is to have dinner in a restaurant, take a walk along the Seafront, chat a bit with the guy who sells the tours, and return to the apartment for the night.

Corcovado

In the morning I leave my travel companion at the apartment and go alone a few blocks away to meet some representatives of the Italian Community of Rio de Janeiro in a Bar. Together we go to Copacabana beach where we say goodbye. Back at the apartment I observe from the window that numerous people are gathering to celebrate Carnival. Attracted more by the sea than by their cheerful clamor, I go to Copacabana beach and dive into the waters of the Atlantic, always full of rather impressive waves. Back at the apartment with my travel companion, we take a taxi that takes us to the Station of the cog train for Corcovado. At the foot of Christ the Redeemer we can observe the beautiful panorama of the City with its Bays and in the background Sugarloaf Mountain, where we went up a few days ago.

Having come back down by the little train (and for a short stretch also by escalator!), we took a taxi and had ourselves dropped off in an area near a lagoon where we had dinner in a luxurious Pizzeria. We then took another taxi to Copacabana where we strolled along the seafront and met again the guy who sells the tours and who speaks Milanese. Then to our apartment to sleep.

Rocinha Favela

In the morning we have breakfast with one of the exquisitely delicious natural fruit drinks that only here in Rio can I drink without fear of getting poisoned. I discovered one that's particularly good, made from an Amazonian fruit. It doesn't look appetizing but the taste is exceptional. In the afternoon I leave my travel companion to go to Rocinha, the largest Favela in South America. I had tried to go there together with my travel companion a few days earlier, but the rather confused taxi driver hadn't managed to find the place we were looking for in the intricate maze of streets. We had given up and, after having ourselves taken back to Copacabana, we had taken a taxi to Sugarloaf Mountain. I tried again this time on my own, using a tram and following the directions that the person I wanted to meet had given me over the phone.

Having gotten off at the bus stop, I went up the hill with a guy who, for a fee, gave me a ride on his scooter. I visited the headquarters of an Italian Association that works on recovering street children, and I had lunch with the President of this organization. With another scooter I returned to the bus station and from there by public transport to Copacabana. Evening at dinner and the usual stroll along the Seafront before retiring for the night.

Last day

Last day in Rio. On my own I take the Subway to Botafogo. The day before I had gone with my travel companion to see the famous Maracanã Stadium from the outside, also because the visiting hours were already over. On the way there we had gone by bus and we had returned by Subway. This allowed me to learn what I needed to do to get to Botafogo. Here I have an appointment with a fellow countrywoman, whom I had met a couple of days earlier in a Bar in Copacabana. She was born and lives here but is of Tuscan origins; she takes me to visit the Preschool attended by her son. I am introduced to the School's Director. I go back by Subway to Copacabana and join my travel companion at the apartment. While I was in Botafogo he had gone back to Maracanã Stadium to visit it.

After packing our suitcases, we have lunch in a Restaurant on the Seafront, tasting the typical Brazilian dish made with black beans. We retrieve our luggage from the apartment and take a taxi to the Airport, from where we take the flight to Porto in Portugal. It's the second time we leave the State of Rio de Janeiro on this trip, since we had been there a first time going from Foz do Iguaçu in Paraná to Manaus in the Amazon. In that case we had made a stopover at one of the two Rio Airports and had transferred to the other by taxi, crossing part of the City at night. We had also seen in the distance for the first time the statue of Christ the Redeemer, which on that occasion was illuminated by spotlights.