After a gruesome journey from Buones
Aires, we arrived in Rio at 1.00am.
Already I felt a change in the
air from Argentina. The people with their European, African and
Native Indian blood resulted in a glamorous and exotic blend, the climate
very hot and the language, well bloody difficult!
Portuguese for me is a difficult language to follow and the Brazilian Portuguese
is even harder with their use of Jjs and Hhs. Spanish for me is
far easier, so to say we were going to struggle communicating is an
understatement.
The taxi ride to our hotel although dark outside filled me with an
electric vibe I hadn’t felt before, Rio had something I couldn´t quite explain
but whatever it was, I liked what I was feeling.
The following day we explored the famous Copacabana. The weather was
beautifully hot; well this is the tropics after all. Exotic fruits were
sold on most street corners and Samba music filled the air. The energy to
the city was amazing.
The city has literally been carved out of a mountain and the lush green
hills surround Copacabana and Ipanema. The panoramic views are
spectacular, in particular the vision of Christ the Redeemer looking
down on all those who visit the city. The other one being Sugar loaf
mountain, the best views can be seen from the top. The city is also made
up of Favelas scattered across the hills. All of this adds to the
beautiful charm of the city.
In Argentina it was difficult to eat
a healthy diet but here with so much fruit and salads it was great. Paw
Paws and Melons were served every day for breakfast and one could
finally order a salad as a main (unlike Argentina where this is unheard
of). Finally I can shed some of those extra pounds and feel like me again!
Ipanema is more upmarket than
Copacabana and most of the restaurants, bars and cafes were here but
Copacabana was still a great place to stroll around, do some shopping, and
perhaps hire a bike and ride down to Sugar Loaf.
The only down side to Rio was it was
very busy and the beaches were unfortunately packed full especially at the
weekends. It literally was a case of finding a spot of sand amongst
everyone else, which was not my idea of a relaxing day on the beach.
Rio de Janeiro is dramatically stunning
although a little pretentious at times. Everyone on the beaches in Rio
checks everyone out. And if you are a woman who isn´t wearing a
thong than something has to be wrong!!
Rio is an excellent city to
glam it up, party and get in shape and experience a totally different
culture. I was expecting the Brazilians to be loud, uncouth and in your
face but despite the odd one or two I found them to be humble, genuine, sociable
people, and bloody attractive to boot! Damn it
