Rio: First Morning/Bike Ride

On our first morning in Rio, we decided to check out the famous Copacabana and Ipanema beaches. Our hotel was right in the across the street from Copacabana beach.

We were also less than a block from the famed Copacabana Palace.

There were several sand artists at both beaches. We had to pay for the privilege of taking a picture, so we only took pictures at one location.

Soccer "fields" marked by back-to-back goal posts went up and down Copacabana for several miles. It was pretty remarkable--but even more remarkable were the men playing soccer in the sand. My calves hurt just thinking about it. 

On Sunday mornings, one direction of Copacabana and Ipanema's main thoroughfares closes to cars, making it a pedestrian walkway. Several enterprising people set up trampolines in the median and charged for the privilege of jumping on it. I thought of our own trampoline in our backyard and made a mental note to tell my kids yet again how fortunate they are. There were also people renting out small scooters and big wheels. The children here were about the only children we saw during our four days in Rio.

Copacabana, towards one direction--

and the other.

Our hotel (Porto Bay Rio) was perfect. Here's a picture of it:

Coconuts. Note the famous sidewalks to the left.

I saw people riding bikes everywhere, and I wondered where we could rent a couple of bikes. We inquired at the hotel front desk and found out that the hotel had two bikes available for use, for free.

We like free.

The bikes were a bit rough around the edges…but you get what you pay for! On mine, each pedal was broken in half, and the bike was covered in rust. Brian's was completely stuck in high gear. I think my rear end was sore for three days afterward. BUT--we had the best time riding those bikes that morning. The weather was perfect, not too hot, and we rode them all the way down Copacabana and to Ipanema, heading towards a trendy area called Leblon. It was so fun…and I think I want to get a bike now. 

Behind us is Ipanema.

Another shot down Ipanema. (Note the sidewalk again.)

At the far end of Ipanema beach is a visual study in Rio's stark contrasts. These contrasts were very visible everywhere in the city. On the bottom right is a large white building. This is the Sheraton, a five-star hotel, which charges about 500 real (about $300) per night. Immediately on the left is a favela--or shantytown. These favelas abound in the city. (More on the favelas in a later post.) The cost of staying in a favela for one month would be about 500 real (or possibly even less), equivalent to one night in the Sheraton.

As a tour guide would later point out to us: Very different accommodations. Exactly the same view. 

The current at Ipanema is too rough for swimming, and warning signs are posted everywhere, but it is quite popular among surfers. 

If I ever come to Rio again, I am going to make sure I pack a shiny Viking hat.

Another view of Christ the Redeemer. More to come.

The tiny peninsula between Copacabana and Ipanema had a beautiful "park" (for lack of a better word) with rocks and boulders to climb up and appreciate the view.

From atop the cliff, we could see an outdoor gym…and graffiti. Graffiti abounded.

Ipanema from atop the boulders.

Sugarloaf mountain, seen from a distance.

Another view of Ipanema:

Brian stands here at one end of Copacabana, near Ipanema:

We treated ourselves to some coconut milk (yum!) before heading to a flea market just a few blocks away.

At the flea market, we purchased two small handmade whistles for Nathan and Isaac. The artist personalized them for us.

Rio Arrival/Copacabana at Night

We left Buzios on Saturday afternoon, thirty minutes later than planned. By this point, we were affectionately referring to all delays as BST--Brazilian Standard Time.

My stomach was doing flip flops as we headed to Rio. I was excited, for sure, but I was all too aware of the many safety issues in the city. I had done a lot of research (maybe I knew too much?)…and we were heading to the city a day earlier than we had planned…and with five children awaiting us at home, I felt a bit vulnerable, especially after the tranquility of Buzios.

We checked into our hotel on Copacabana beach. Right away, the woman at the front desk gave us a standard speech on safety. I appreciated the gesture, but it didn't help ease my nervousness. We also had to find an international ATM that night, and fast, since the sun was rapidly setting, which added to my concern.

We went up to our 13th-floor room just for a few moments to drop our stuff, and I noticed another security warning posted in the room. The flippity-flops of my stomach only increased.

Before heading out to find the ATM, I snapped a quick picture from our little balcony. We were on the side of the hotel but had a decent view. A room with a beachfront view cost double; we had decided to economize.

We booked it--and I mean booked it--to the bank two blocks from our hotel. Immediately, I noticed the armored guard inside the bank. I also noticed the heavily tattooed man loitering outside. (I would find out over the next few days that pretty much every bank in Rio has an armored guard--or two--standing inside.) I stood watch while Brian withdrew cash, and we booked it to a cafe next door to our hotel. We were starving, and the cafe only had sandwiches, but at this point, in the dark, we had no idea where we could safely go to get some dinner. I am happy to report that our concerns eased a bit the following day, as we got the lay of the land. 

After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and went up to the roof, above the 20th floor. There was a beautiful pool (but it was too cold to swim) as well as a great fitness center and a few other amenities. But the best part of the roof was this view, of Copacabana beach at nighttime:

Copacabana beach, looking the opposite direction: 

Below is the statue Christ the Redeemer, all lit up. At one point, it was illuminated with rainbow-colored lights. I think we took about 100 photos of this sight over the next few days, from every vantage point in the city. 

At the base between the two inclines is one of Rio's favelas, which I will talk about in a later post. On the far right is the Christ statue once again.

More Buzios/Trolley Tour

This post will finish off our time in Buzios. It's a long one--sorry!

The Buzios part of our trip was more relaxing that our days in Rio would prove to be, and I enjoyed some good reading time while we were there. I started and finished Geraldine Brooks's Year of Wonders during the trip. 

Our hotel had a small chapel.

The ceiling of the chapel.

Another view from our room's patio.

The pool. It was a bit too chilly for swimming, but it was a gorgeous setting.

The hotel's playground. I also attempted to use the "state-of-the-art" fitness center one morning. Let's just say that state-of-the-art here means something different than in the States, and the room was also full of hungry mosquitos. 

These fisherman cleaned and gutted their fish down by the beachfront.

On Orla Bardot, Saturday morning before we left.

We walked down to the shopping area on Saturday morning about 10 a.m., only to discover that most of the stores didn't open until about noon. Even the McDonald's was closed! We had suspected many places would be closed, since Brazilians tend to stay up late, but literally everything was closed. Below, the empty streets:

On Friday afternoon, after Brian's conference obligations for the day were complete, we took a trolley tour of Buzios. This was our favorite part of our three days in the city. We were able to venture much farther out than we had been able to go on foot, and we loved seeing the absolute beauty of the place. The tour took us to five different beaches, several of which we had seen the previous day on the boat tour, but with a different view.

I will let (most of) the pictures speak for themselves:

I never grew tired of seeing the mountains in the distance.

Our tour guide was a sweet early-twenty-something guy from Cabio Frio who spoke decent English. I found myself thinking about him a lot in the days afterward, hoping beyond hope that he will be able to find good education and opportunity for his life ahead. 

The red sand at this beach is caused by the erosion of the rock surrounding it. 

(Above, a great picture of Brian in spite of the really bad haircut he'd had a few days before we left!)

We saw a number of very lovely, high-end homes along the tour route.

This rocky beach, our last stop on the tour, was my absolute favorite spot in Buzios. This picture doesn't convey the depth or height of the rocks, but it went out quite a ways. I so wanted to go back there later and hike around, but we did not have the time.

This horseshoe beach is calm 100% of the time, so it is a popular beach for families with children, and many vacation homes are built here.

On Friday night, we went to a special dinner in conjunction with the conference, held at a local nightclub. About a third of the women at the conference attended the event, where awards were given to recognize hospitals that met certain criteria in infection control and prevention. Including Brian and me, there were five Americans, and we all sat together and had quite an enjoyable evening. We were warned that the main course might not be served until 11 p.m., and the warning proved accurate. We finished eating about midnight--ugh!

Between courses, however, a pair of dancers arrived and lit up the dance floor. They did a few numbers, including a samba and cha cha, and it was a delight to watch. I will admit that while I stood there watching, I thought of my alma mater, BYU, which has a world-class ballroom dance team full of "gringos" who can hold their own against ballroom dancers from any place, any where. 

And when the group dancing started (did you know you can cha cha in a line dance?), I again thought of all those ballroom classes I took at BYU. They came in handy as we joined the group on the dance floor. I am happy to say that I don't think we totally humiliated ourselves. 

We headed home after midnight and went straight to bed. Brian spoke again at the conference on Saturday morning, after which we took another stroll through Buzios (see the beginning of this post). After lunch, we packed up and headed out of Buzios and on to RIO!