We've formed a solid posse here in Rio de Janeiro. And though the rain has kept us from sun worshiping on the beaches, we've kept ourselves pretty busy, sight seeing and eating our way through this great city.
Every morning we convene in the breakfast area, discussing plans for the day, either setting off solo or in small groups, knowing we will regroup at some later point. Yesterday a few of us set off for the Central part of town for some shopping. On my list were a pair of Havianas, a must for any Rio visitor, and a pair of short Brazilian jean shorts. We met up in a bigger group in Lapa at the stairs made famous by the Snoop Dogg video, Beautiful (which I do not remember at all), before heading to check out the famous Christo Redentor statue atop Corcovado. Despite the rain the afternoon had cleared up and we had high hopes of sweeping views.
As we took the tram up the hill we drove right into a cloud, spoiling those hopes. It was kind of cool though anyway. The entire surrounding area was covered in clouds, giving the experience an erie end of the world feel. Eventually some of the clouds cleared out allowing us partial Rio views. It was still totally worth it.
Today we took the Favela tour with Mary Ellen and Rodrigo. Again, due to the high prices of the hostel tour, we were happy to find CaRioca FreeCulture, which gives a tour of Rocinha on a donation basis. These people are pretty amazing. Mary Ellen is originally from California, and Rodrigo grew up in Rocinha. They met last year when Mary Ellen was here traveling, and are currently working on getting papers in order for their pending nuptuals. They set up the tours as an alternative to the expensive hostel tours, giving more of a local perspective. Their goal is to eventually create a tour company where Rodrigo and his friends can lead these tours, giving other work opportunities to community members than drug dealing and gang involvement. In the future Mary Ellen hopes to open an English school in their community where they can educate people and run the tour company. We were sold on it as we knew the money would go directly to supporting the Favela and would result in a much more personalized tour experience.
To say it was amazing would be an understatement. The 4.5 hour tour was informative, with M&R giving us the lowdown on Favela life, realities, myths, dangers, non-dangers, and everythng else we could have wanted to know. We took motor taxis screaming up the hill, dodging buses, trucks and fellow motor taxis. It was a rush. We walked up to the top of the hill, taking in the beautiful panoramic city views and a barefoot adult soccer match. As we descended the alleyways winding back down the Favela we stopped into two homes to get a closer idea of life there. Rocinha is run by traficantes, and is pretty much self-governed, with Favela laws and rules. Everyone takes care of everyone, and there is severe punishment for wrong-doing to fellow community members as well as outsiders. It's a complicated and interesting community history and I'm glad we got the local perspective. If you're going to Rio, or know someone who is, I highly recommend it. Check out their site. They're a pretty amazing pair -
http://cariocafreeculture.com
I am in love with Rio. It's the best city I've maybe ever visited (sorry Spain). It's so alive. There people are so wonderful. There's so much to do and I don't have time to do it all and I need to come back. The fresh fruit juice, the acai, the cheap and delicious food, the best banana/nutella/ice cream crepe in the history of the world. I think we will be leaving Rio with a few extra pounds around our waists, happilly.
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haviana heaven |
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Graffiti and arches in Lapa |
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the famous stairs |
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this is i went to bed at 6 and woke up at 8:30 and i'm tired face |
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taking the tram up - it's still sunny - virgil, claire, loes, me, joslyn |
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jesus in the clouds |
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cloud separation |
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a less cloudy jesus |
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clear views for a few moments
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these guys were obsessed with virgil and his muscles |
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inside a samba school |
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Rocinha |
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futbol |
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this is how you make your electric bill cheaper |
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$.99R hotdogs do taste like $.99R hotdogs |
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