A good friend from Boston connected us with her Brazilian friend who was sweet enough to show us around Rio with her cousin and his girlfriend. We toured the Copacabana Fort and bemused at the stationary guard who didn’t flinch an inch. We inspected all the beaches: Copacabana, Ipanema, Sao Conrado, and Barra da Tijuca - each more impressive than the last. At the last beach (Barra) we hung around with the sun bathing crowd, kite surfers, and we had to sample the cashaca, a Brazilian sugar cane liquor.
Rio is not all sugar-coated though, as we drove past favelas (slums) we learned that these illegal dwellings in the mountainside (many controlled by drug lords) are sites of violence and crime.
We’ve been eating well - a little too well. We visited one of the best Brazilian all-you-can eat steak houses called Porcao. Waiters circled the tables with trays of hot grilled meats and prompted us to eat as much as we could. This was a buffet unlike any Sizzler.
On the beverage front, Starbucks is to the U.S. as juice bars are to Rio. They serve REAL juices of all fruits - although Ken accidentally ordered pure lime juice and he wasn’t too happy. He’s now obsessed with acai juice, a purple berry from the Amazon (he only orders two to three per day).
On the beverage front, Starbucks is to the U.S. as juice bars are to Rio. They serve REAL juices of all fruits - although Ken accidentally ordered pure lime juice and he wasn’t too happy. He’s now obsessed with acai juice, a purple berry from the Amazon (he only orders two to three per day).
On Saturday night we experienced the Rio nightlife by listening to samba music into the late hours at a famous samba school. On the weekends the streets in the Lapa neighborhood are shut off to traffic, creating a party in the streets (I can’t even imagine Carnaval if this was only a typical Saturday night!).
We attempted to hike in the Tijuca National Park, a massive urban forest in the center of Rio, but unfortunately the car broke down on the way up the hill, or rather ran out of gas. After hitch-hiking to the gas station, Mateos came back with old Coke bottles filled with gas for the car... and we were back in business.
The highlight of our weekend was attending the Flamengo (Rio) vs. Botafogo (Rio) soccer match at the Engenhao stadium. The energy of the street crowds prior to the match was beyond team spirit: soccer is a way of life. We also noticed the machine gun toting guards maintaining order. The stadium had two separate entrances which kept the fans on their designated side to decrease violence (you can’t cross into the stands of the opposing team). There was a large fence encircling the field followed by a circle of police dogs between the crowds and the field. Beer wasn’t sold (guess why) and beverages were only allowed in plastic cups (no cans or bottles). The fans had drums, flags, balloons, and noise makers such that watching the crowd was half the fun. The game ended in a tie of one to one; Ken is already plotting his World Cup trip to Rio in 2014.
Special thanks to our new Brazilian friends for showing us the “real” Rio -- and teaching us “constructive” Portuguese phrases like “F$@% you!” (very useful because everyone screamed this at the referees).
FIFA 12 should have a part where you can just be in the stands watching a game. You could have special moves for waving a flag, banging a drum, yelling at the ref. ;)
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