February 22nd, 2009
Today was a day that I can never forget. We met up with one of Bruno’s
((…did I mention that Bruno grew up in Rio and was one of the best surfers in
town. Now to be allowed to surf the best waves in Rio you have to be respected
and the way it goes is this: To be respected enough you must be, 1: A really
good fighter, 2: an elder, meaning you are old; or 3: you are a really good
surfer. Bruno was (and still is) a great surfer. He made friends with many of
the other good surfers who were from all classes.. And even a few guys from the
favelas…)) friends who was working on the beach when I met him the previous day selling
something out of a cart. We were meeting him for a personal, walking tour of
one of Rio’s largest Favelas.
Our Guide
It was about an hour’s walk or so before we
entered into the center of the tightly built city. It was exactly what I heard;
buildings thrown together with whatever materials they could find. Sewage
washing past us in narrow, open canals. Very poor people living here. There
were only a couple of instances where I didn’t feel safe. We passed a group of
guys (a couple of them heavily armed) and we heard the word “Gringo!” being
yelled over and over. One guy had a grenade. They let us pass with no problem,
probably as curious as I was for why I was there.
A few photos of us:
Bruno’s friend had been participating in a surf club that
has been set up to help the children of the Favela learn how to surf and stay
out of trouble. He showed us the club HQ
where they repair the boards and get together to watch surfing videos.
He
seemed very passionate about the cause in his explanations. (…Bruno’s
friend((sorry, don’t know his name)) has 2 children and he’s 21 yrs old. He
seemed to be well respected in his Favela and knew everyone. He owns a 3 story home.
He walked us up to one of the highest parts of the Favela
and then we hiked up a rock face where he had a surprise for us… One of the
most beautiful views of Rio.
And one that is definitely not seen by many people
from out of town.. or out of that Favela for that matter. It was amazing. After
a brief decent through the jungle we were back in the middle of the Favela. We
walked back through and finally found ourselves at lower street level. As we
exited once again were the guns and the familiar “Gringo, Gringo, Gringo…” My
response was to just look at my feet and walk past. Seemed like the least
intrusive method.
How can I describe it?
I would say that it definitely pushed me out of my comfort zone. I saw
similar neighborhoods in some parts of Nicaragua but there was something
different about it. I wouldn’t recommend it to a friend. If you are going for a good cause then all
the best but if it’s just to see something different I’d stick to the images on
the internet.
For more photos of that and the trip go to: http://flickr.com/photos/35617967@N08/
