Rio de Janeiro - Sin, Samba and Sea, my all time favourite city...
Written: Dec 23 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Sheer spectacular setting, gorgeous Cariocas, The Sugarloaf Mountain and vibe of the place
Cons: tricky to exchange "exotic currencies" like pounds, euros, yen..
The Bottom Line: As much as I love my London, the only other city in the world which I would move to is Rio. My perfect exotic destination.
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| actonsteve's Full Review: Rio de Janeiro |
Words cannot describe my love for the 'Cuidade Marvelosa'. It was a deep unconditional affair with what must be one of the most spectacular cities in the world. And to leave was almost physical in it's painfulness.
It slivers around the contours of Guanabara bay with the jungle covered peaks of the Tijuca NP as an awesome backdrop. It's beaches are world famous and the legendary Copacabana lives up to expectation with 4km of snow white sand. Bathed in year-round sunshine Rio positively glows and shines. It is the premier city in South America - South America's glittering star - and has a joie de voie that every other city must envy.The residents of Rio, the carioca's, know they live in paradise and spend every minute getting the best out of their city. And who can blame them? The city pulses with excitement with it's exotic nightclubs, colourful samba schools and the greatest show in the universe - the Rio carnival.
Rio de Janeiro is my favourite city in the world...
The best way to orientate yourself in Rio de Janeiro is from the summit of the Corcovado or Sugar Loaf mountain.
There the 'Cuidade Marvelosa' will be spread out in all it's glory in front of you. To the west and north will be the great mountainous jungle ridges of the Tijuca NP. This tropical rainforest seems to creep into the city and it's mountains reach dizzying heights. Where the mountains reach the sea to the southwest is fashionable Ipanema. Another mountain blocks this from world famous Copacabana whose curve of sand reaches eastwards with beautiful white sand until it ends with the peak of the Sugarloaf mountain. This overlooks lovely Bortafago bay which arcss onto the promontory where the city centre of Centro is situated. The entire coastline of the city of Rio de Janeiro stretches for 10km and squeezed between the sea and the mountains are over eight million people.
This creates diverse living conditions. For every sunkissed socialite on the beaches of Ipanema there is someone who lives in the favela (shanty town/slum) creeping up the mountain. These are just as much part of Rio as samba and carnival and are now being drawn into the tourist mainstream. Crime is always a concern when visiting Rio but if you take the usual big city precautions your stay will be uneventful. The authorities are keen to police tourists and look after foreigners who visit their city. I felt very safe wandering around this amazing city and will be definitely going back for more.
Once you have seen Rio de Janeiro every other city pales in comparison.
Copacabana Beach
It also has to be one of the biggest beaches I have ever seen and stretches along a great half moon for 4 kilometres. At it's western end is Ipanema, this is separated from Copacabana by the Aproador headland which houses a military fort still in use. At it' s eastern end is the Morro de Babilonia, a jungle covered ridge of mountains which separates Copacabana from the Sugarloaf. Here Avenida Princess Isabella travels through a tunnel which connects Copacabana to Bortafago, Flamengo and the rest of Rio. The great road which travels the length of Copacabana is the Avenida Atlantica. The great multi-coloured Art Deco hotels of Rio line this avenida, each competing to be more extravagant with the other. Restaurants dot the Avenida Atlantica and at the Aproador end there is a night-market which is very impressive and sells T-shirts, plastic Christo Redentor's, beach towels, bikini's and souvenirs of Brazil.
Copacabana may attract tourists but they are outnumbered ten to one by the local carioca's. People spend their lives here and the population is a mixture of young and old. Copacabana had it's heyday in the forties/fifties and many of the population who moved in then are still here living in the five blocks between the beach and the mountains. The main drag is one block up from the beach - Avenida Nossa Sonora de Copacabana. This is workaday Rio catering to the local populace rather then the tourists and it is lined with supermercado's, farmacia's, restaurante's, banco's, churrascaria's (meat restaurant's) and suco bars (juice bars). Buses to Centro leave from here and return two blocks north along the east-west Rua Berata Ribeiro. The excellent subway ends at Arcoverde and is only two blocks south along Avenida Dante to the beach. Buses stop every fifty yards along Avenida Atlantica allowing you quick access to Centro, Flamengo and Ipanema.
But back at the beach I was stunned how fit and healthy Carioca's looked. And after a while you begin to notice the sensual nature of the beach - couples kissing in each others arms, one lad adjusting himself in front of his woman when coming out of the sea and bikini's so tiny that they seemed to vanish into the flesh. There is alot of flirting going on in Copacabana and gangs of girls watch the boys with many a backward glance being thrown. The beach can get very crowded in January/February and at new year over a million people dance on it's sands but the same time it is exceptionally friendly. If you lie there for any length of time then your neighbours will talk to you. Well, as well as they can - most Brazilians only speak Portuguese.
The Sugarloaf Mountain
The hottest debate with visitors to Rio is which has the better view the Corcovado or the Sugarloaf? I would plump for the Sugarloaf as you have the sapphire waters of Guanabara bay along with fabulous close up views of the mountains that enfold Rio. The journey on the cablecar is vertigo inducing with nothing between you and the tropical rainforest far below but a piece of wobbling metal. And there were so many surprises to the Sugarloaf - watching kites wheel and turn on hot air currents over Guanabara bay, gigantic freighters looking miniscule from this height, cacti clinging to the streaked granite outcrop like limpets and little golden marmosets as big as your hand begging for food on the very summit of the mountain.
The Sugarloaf consists of two mountains. The first is the smaller, though still enormous, Morro de Urca whose summit passengers disembark from the gondolas and catch another one to the higher peak - the Pao de Acucar. This is the more famous,spectacular peak and I'm told the entire journey takes about two hours including gawping time. One of Rio's great icons is the gondola/cablecar which has been refurbished in 2002. The view of these glass and steel capsules creaking up the mountain above is one of the great sights of Rio de Janeiro. The cablecar station hides under the mass of the Morro de Babilonia, a colossal mountain range that separates Bortofago from the famous beaches of Copacabana. The station itself has been renovated and can only be described as spiffy - clean glass and metal draped with jungle vegetation. Full journey back and forth on the cablecar costs 24 reals (£6/$8)
I had the summit of the Morro de Urca nearly to myself and nonchantly walked to the edge......and saw one of the best views in the world.
Rio de Janeiro was laid out like an artists watercolour in the sunshine. To the west was the Morro di Babilonia. It's bulky green spine hiding the favela which takes it's name. This was the range of jungle mountains which kept colonial expansion in Rio to a minimum until the building of the Babilonia Tunel. And beyond it was Copacabana in all it's glamorous glory with it's 4km white sands and it's art deco hotels visible at this distance. Even the dual summits of the mountain at the end of Ipanema could be seen. East of the Morro de Babilonia mountain range was the residential district of Bortafago, squeezing this area in their enclosing folds were Rio's truly monster mountains - the Tijuca National Park. Over 100km of mountain and tropical rainforest within the city limits. They looked like a great rolling emerald menace trying to push the city into the sea. The most prominent of all was the green spike of the Corcovado. Even from this distance you could see the statue of Christ with arms extended as if to dive off his lofty perch.
Cultural Rio - the Centro District and Candaleria Church
This is the oldest part of this city and dates from 1527. The original Portuguese colony started in Urca in the shadow of the Sugarloaf, but was moved to the higher ground where it is today. Centro is caught between the port (which is still in use) and the mountains. To the north are some of the worst favela's in Rio, to the west is the bohemian area of Santa Teresa, to the east Guanabara bay and to the south is the beginning of the beaches. In fact the nearest beach is Flamengo about twenty minutes walk from the centre. If you take a bus from Copacabana or Ipanema you will whoosh past this beach which is often far less crowded then it's more famous sisters.
There are plenty of ways to get there. From Copacabana/Ipanema the best way is the bus. Buses arrive every two minutes at the bus stops along Avenida NS Copacabana and Rua Visconde Piraji and have the decal 'CENTRO' above their windscreens. The 'Aterro' versions are non-stop. Pay your money and sit back as it will rocket to Centro usually depositing you at Praca 15 Novembro . To catch a bus back to the Zona Sul the best place is Avenida Vargas just behind the Candalaria church, buses run as far as the Barra di Tijuca from here. But the best way to get to Centro is via the high-tech subway.Urganiania, Cinelandia and Carioca are the three subway stations in the centre and Arcoverde is the nearest subway station to the Zona Sul.
At the end of Rio Branco is a truly magnificent boulevard - the Avenida Vargas. It was named after the Brazilian dictator of the eighties but at the eastern end marooned amongst all the swirling traffic is the Igreja de Nossa Candalaria (Candalaria church). This church is an expression of baroque and one of the few remains of that age left in Rio. Open each day it is worth a wander and stepping into the nave gives that sense of awe great cathedrals have. In fact the nave was colossal and reminded me of a miniature St Peters or St Pauls complete with frescoed dome and marble column's. Wooden pews faced a silver altar carved with marble angels. Statues adorn the side-chapels and the echo as I moved around this deserted church became obtrusive in such a cavenous space. This truly is an exceptional church and provided me with my fix of old-worlde culture in Brazil.
Crime and Safety Concerns in the 'Cuidade Marvelosa'
I am now going to say something controversial.
"I went to Rio de Janeiro and NOTHING HAPPENED TO ME!!!"
Shock! Horror! Someone goes to Rio and doesn't come back with a gratuitous tale of a robbery or mugging. Hard to believe eh? I fact, I will go further and say that I never felt unsafe as I was wandering around and was impressed by how well policed Copacabana was and will go as far as to say that this city is one of the most underrated in the world. Perhaps that is what the Carioca's want - the tourists scared away so they have this beautiful city to themselves.
All is not sweetness and light. Let's be honest, the crime rate is exceptionally high here. Although the Brazilians are quick to point out that it is on a par with America's it is advisable to watch your step. However, if you take the same precautions as you would visiting any big city and don't wave expensive watches or camera's around then you should be fine. It would be a shame to miss out on Rio de Janeiro. Be savvy, be aware of your surroundings and don't take unneccessary risks. Whatever you do don't let paranoia ruin your stay.
The trick is to blend in. carioca's will immediately spot a foreigner by the way they dress. If you adopt their dress i.e. shorts, speedo's and thongs/flip-flops the odds for being noticed go immediately down. The social point of the city are it's amazing beaches and just like any other beach it is best to leave valuables back in the hotel. You wouldn't leave your watch at the Trevi fountain or your wallet on Trafalgar Square and then expect to go back to it after ten minutes would you? The same with the beaches, in fact you need very little when visiting the beaches just bathing costume, towel and a few reals. Hawkers sell drinks, suncream and food all day on the beaches. And those sweeping pictures of Copacabana beach can be taken when you go back to your hotel. If you can keep all valuables in the safe in your room then do so. It pays to be sensible in this city.
You may be worried about coming to Rio because of the crime. I'll not deny it goes on, but most visitors to this amazing city have an uneventful time. There are things to watch out for but common sense and the usual big city precautions usually negate these. The Rio authorities are keen to dispel it's image and the pro's to Rio far outweigh the con's. The authorities are keen to look after you and go out of their way for foreign tourists. They are very proud of their city and want to show it off...and once you have been there and see it...you can understand why...
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Singles
Best Time to Travel Here: Anytime
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Epinions.com ID:
actonsteve
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Member: Steve Cassidy
Location: Acton, London, United Kingdom
Reviews written: 62
Trusted by: 7 members
About Me:
Completely fanatical writer and Londonophile.Found usually at bar in Vauxhall Tavern supping good ale.
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