‘Copa, Copacabana’
Written: Dec 17 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Exotic and cheap with fabulous weather
Cons: For a woman: all those perfectly-formed Brazilian women in skimpy thongs on the beach
The Bottom Line: A fascinating city to visit. Displaying a blend of the wild, romantic Latin emotions with colonial European architecture and past – creates a atmosphere of culture and history.
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| britbird's Full Review: Rio de Janeiro |
I visited Rio de Janeiro in February 2001, just in time for the Rio Carnival.
I traveled alone from London, meeting with friends already traveling around South America. My first disadvantage was the language barrier. The language of Brazil is Portuguese – a product of Brazil being a former colony of Portugal in the days when it was a major trading nation. The language is fairly similar to Spanish on paper, but differs dramatically in pronunciation. Many Brazilians do speak Spanish, so if you are also competent, this should get you by.
The weather when I visited was consistently in the high 30s, so plenty of barrier cream was called for. We stayed in downtown Rio, an area called Glória, just south of Cinelândia where (unsurprisingly) there are a number of cinemas as well as many bars and restaurants.
We stayed in a small basic hotel (twin rooms, a/c and breakfast) and paid just $12 a night per room.
Rio Carnival takes place over approximately 4 days. These are public holidays in Rio, so make sure you do all your necessary shopping before Carnival starts. Also if you want to visit any museums, galleries, the Botanical Gardens or the majestic Municipal Theater, bear in mind that these will all close for the duration of Carnival.
Throughout Carnival there are lots of free, outdoor music events to go to. Stages appear on most squares in the city and live acts perform almost every night. By the end of your stay in Rio, you are bound to have got the hang of the samba. It involves lots of hip jigging with your arms in the air – and the locals start up at the slightest beat!
The main event of Carnival is also its origin – a competition for the biggest and best samba schools in the city. This takes place in a purpose-built ‘stadium’ or Sambódromo, which is to all intents and purposes a long road with concrete terraces on either side. Each samba school in turn parades down the Sambódromo, and it can take upto 85 minutes for the whole school (between 2500 and 6000 participants) to pass over the finish line. The result is a vibrant, shimmering river moving to the beats of the ‘bateria’ and the powerful voice of the ‘puxador do sambra’.
Away from Carnival, Rio has so much to offer at other times of the year. Only a short bus ride to the south, you find Copacabana Beach. This extremely popular beach stretches around the southwestern edge of Rio. It is wide, sandy – and absolutely packed with locals (cariocas) and tourists. A better option is to stay on the bus a little longer until you reach Ipanena Beach. Just as beautiful, it has the advantage of being that little bit further away from the main city and thus slightly less crowded. In the streets behind Ipanena Beach are small restaurants, bars and cafes that deserve to be sought out for that mid-afternoon bite to eat.
For the soccer fans, Maracana Stadium is the place to be. Statistics for the stadium’s capacity vary between 220,000 and 260,000, but whatever the truth, it is undoubtedly the largest capacity stadium in the world. Tours of the stadium can be booked, but the best experience is by going to see a game. Even a local Rio State game will attract around 28,000 fans and the acoustics make it seem like ten times that number. It would be an understatement to say that Brazilians are passionate about their soccer.
Visits to Sugar Loaf Mountain and the statue of Christo Redemptor must not be missed. The former is reached by two swift cable cars, and the latter by a bright red tram. The views from both are magnificent and sunset from the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain is a must!
The city metro is very safe and easy to navigate, having only two lines, which both run north or south.
Before I visited Rio, I was amazed by the number of people who said it was a ‘dangerous’ city and that I might get shot or mugged and raped if I walked around on my own. As with any city, from New York and London to Amsterdam and Paris, there are areas of the city that are dangerous for a tourist to venture into (such as the favelas after dark), but most of this is common sense. As long as you are aware of these areas and take precautions with regard to conspicuously carrying money or typical ‘tourist’ paraphernalia such as large expensive camcorders, you are no more in danger than you would be in any other major city.
I will be revisiting Rio, though probably at a different time of year. I want to see the cultural and artistic side of the city that I missed out on at Carnival time.
Highly recommended things to do in Rio:
Barter with a beach trader for a Brazil football shirt
Take the tram across the ‘Arcos de Lapa’ to the bohemian village of Santa Teresa
Hang-glide or parascend onto a yellow sandy beach
Join a guided tour to the favelas
Samba with a carioca
Sample a caipirinhi
Recommended:
Yes
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb
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Epinions.com ID:
britbird
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Location: Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 0 members
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