We woke up early and had brekkie in the top floor of our hotel- the view is stunning with the sun rising over Copacabana beach streaming in the windows. We said goodbye to our tour leader Fede, a really good guy and we will definitely keep in touch with him.
We headed off that morning for a tour of the favelas - the slums of Rio. You arnt really meant to venture into these neighborhoods on your own, but we went with a group. There are 950 favelas in Rio, with 920 of them run by drug lords. These places are a law unto themselves - they live off the grid as such, with no addresses, no streets and no authorities. This is changing however, as the government is now starting to recognize the economic importance of these people, before they were treated like scum, given nothing. Brazil is a country of great change at the moment - great progress.
We first visited the favela of Rochincha, one controlled by drug lords. We were not allowed to take photos of the place, only the view, which was stunning. You can see why the mid to upper classes down on the beaches are pissed off and want these people gone - they want the land.
We wandered some more and were given a great insight to the infrastructure and framework of the community - amazing places. To be honest i was expecting much worse than what I saw. The favelas to me seem like a perfect functioning society, yes based on a different moral code, but they live the only way they can. They havnt been given the assistance and opportunity for so long, so they live to survive, in shat I see as quite an organic and ordered community.
We then visited another favela that was controlled by the police. You could notice the change - cleaner, more structured but not necessarily any different. The living conditions of the favelas is one thing, the real challenge for these people and Rio city is the attitudes towards them, how they are treated and how they fit into wider community.
Was a really cool look at the under belly of Rio, the core I guess. It's quite a racist and class divided place, but it's changing. The poor are now the lower middle class - the gap is diminishing and that's a good thing.
We headed back to our hotel, via the winding coastal road along the beaches, and when we got back it was time to get wet. We packed our towels and swimmers and headed down to Copscabana. It was packed - a sea if red and yellow umbrellas. As soon as we set foot on the beach we were greeted by several hawkers offering beach chairs and umbrellas - towels are for losers on Rio's beaches. The hawkers are amazing, they set you up with your gear, get you drinks and offer you food. Awesome. It's like being at the footy - there's guys walking the beach selling almost everything, drinks, empanadas, ice creams, bikinis, sunnies, sorrongs and even beers.
The water was beautiful too - it really is a pretty beach - the perfect beach experience I guess. Not a bad perv either. Sim couldn't believe how tiny the bikinis were. Some of them I'm sure got swallowed up in the cracks.
We then wandered back to the hotel along the black and white mosaic tiled promenade. The streets of Rio are stunning. All of them are tiled in the district pattern - Copacabanas is a swirly wave pattern.
We had a sandwich and drink at a bar then headed back to the hotel for a Kip.
We woke up at 8 and headed for dinner at a classic Brazilian grill where the waiters serve you meat from s huge sword, cutting you pieces onto your plate. The food was ok but didn't match the spectacular serving!
I guess we've been pretty spooky for meat of late - got high standards now!
The best part of this place was the little disc they gave you, red on one side green on the other. You flip it over to say yes or no if you want more. Mine saw a lit of green action. Note: Mum I'm bringing this system home with me!
We walked out into the steer where there was a huge street party going on in the lead up to Carnival - was a pretty exciting atmosphere so we lingered for a bit, before ending the night with frozen yoghurt. Simone is loving the stuff and it's everywhere here too.
I'm loving Rio - the beat part is we are here for a few more days yet!
- Blog from iMat
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