Gringos in Rio

To celebrate the much awaited arrival of our GC we decided to do a short international trip this Thanksgiving. With Europe being mostly cold and rainy in November, we decided to avoid it and instead chose Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Brazil had been on our minds for a while and we wished that we had more days to explore the country. However, with only 5 days at our disposal, we decided to focus on RJ. It is possible to do RJ in 3 days and maybe spend 2 days at Iguazzu Falls. But we decided to take it a little easy and relax in the city instead. My very first impression about RJ was that it was very much like Mumbai, just cleaner and less crowded. The women were pretty and the men looked like gundas :-). The weather was nice and warm, just the way I like it. Stark differences between the rich and the poor were evident everywhere. You could clearly see the favelas (slums) from the beaches.

Aerial view of the city

Favelas as viewed from Ipanema Beach

There were many things that we were ignorant about and needed to research before leaving. A few important things to know are:

Language: Everyone speaks Portuguese. Almost no one speaks English, except the concierge folks at the hotel. Even in major tourist hotspots such as Copacabana and Ipanema, the waiters did not speak English. We had to ask for an English menu. We were able to get away with using a couple of (commonly used) Spanish words, but I won't rely on that for any kind of meaningful communication. It is good to know a few basic words and phrases and best to have Google Translate at your disposal. In spite of the language issues, we did perfectly fine. People were very nice and accommodating.

Money and information access: The money part is easy, especially if you have US dollars. Using cash is the best way to ensure that you get the best value for every dollar you spend. We did a lot of research on using ATMs and credit cards and called our credit card companies and banks before we left, but used cash. Local foreign exchange places, called "Cambios" give an excellent exchange rate, way better than any bank can give and do not include any kind of fees. Most of these places close at 5 pm on weekdays, 2 pm on Saturday and are closed on Sundays. If using a credit card, only use it at a place that has a card reader that you can see while your card is being used.

We had read that internet access plans for mobile phones are available for purchase, but we couldn't find a store that sold those cards on Copacabana Ave. If you are like us, change your plans at the last minute and rely heavily on the web for all run-time information, it might be worth the effort to take a bus and go to the mall to get the card. Buying a city guide might not be a bad idea, but we decided to make do with the Wi-Fi at our hotel. 

Transportation: Taxis are pretty affordable, easily available and hassle-free. Check the meter when you start your journey to ensure that it is reset to minimum. Buses are plenty. Use Google maps to check the route and compare travel time of buses and cars. It can take too long by a bus and if the route requires changing buses, it might be worth spending a little more on a cab. Metros are also pretty convenient, but it is important to check the routes first.

Safety: This is the most discussed issue about Rio travel. We read a lot of websites and spoke to several people who advised us to avoid public transportation and instead stick to radio cabs and guided tours. Here is my VERY personal opinion about safety based on my short experience in RJ. It seemed to me like any other big city. I am sure, safety is of concern to many people and it was to us as well. After all S was carrying two cameras and a tripod everywhere!!! You have to follow the basic safety tips like any other city you visit. We used the bus on the first day (around 4:30 pm) that we arrived in RJ and we used a metro at around 9 pm one night. Our bus was packed with women who looked like they were going home from work. They reminded me of my mom going to work. I had read all these articles about buses being shady and people being on the lookout for tourists, etc. That might be very well true, but we did not experience that. The bus ride reminded me of Mumbai and I thought that I would be offended if someone indicated that people like my mom, using public transportation are in any way dangerous. Yes, I still carry my backpack in the front and my purse very close to me when I get in a crowded bus, whether in Mumbai or RJ. But that doesn't mean that I mistrust everyone. I felt very safe traveling in the bus. Same with the metro ride. The metro was considerably full. Most people looked like they were going home from work. When we were staring at a route map on the station, a couple stopped by to ask us in English if we needed help. Things were fine. Of course, there are some basic rules that we followed:

1. We stuck to crowded places at night.
2. When asking for help, we turned to mostly older looking women (that resembled our moms) or uniformed officials.
3. If in a cab, use Google Maps to follow the cabbie's route, especially at night. Although, we didn't do it and didn't feel the need to do it.
4. When getting into a crowded bus or train, we kept our belongings close to us and in front of us where we could see them. 

But, in entire honesty, we didn't really feel unsafe anywhere. We took only one guided tour in Tijuca forest and did everything else on our own, even Santa Teresa and Lapa. I think some of our dismissive attitude about the safety concerns also came from the fact that we are used to crowded buses and trains and have used public transportation for a long time. We loved walking on the streets and didn't worry too much about getting lost or mugged.

To See: A lot of travel forums and websites say that 3 days is enough to see RJ. That might be true for some people. However, you can easily spend more time in RJ. We met folks that had spent more than a week in RJ. So, there is plenty to do. The city is very beautiful and has lovely vistas. It also has many peaks from where you can enjoy the lovely views of the city. Some things not to be missed are the Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer) statue,  Pao de Acucar (Sugarloaf Mountain) and either hang-gliding/para-gliding or a helicopter tour. If you are going to spend on a helicopter tour, this is the city to do it. You definitely need clear skies for all these outings.

Cristo Redentor:

The Christ statue is 30 mtrs tall sitting on an 8 mtr tall pedestal, on the top of 700 mtr Corcovado mountain. You can take a cab or bus to Cosme Velho and take a train ride from there up the mountain. Or you can take a taxi/van all the way up the mountain. There is also an option of hiking the Corcovado to get to the statue. Tickets can be bought in advance in Copacabana. Best time to visit is late morning/afternoon, although it can be crowded at the time.

Cristo Redentor

View of Sugarloaf Mountain from Corcovado Mountain

Pao de Acucar:
Sugarloaf mountain is a 396 mtr, monolith granite and quartz mountain. It is next to a shorter mountain, Morro da Urca and a cable car can be used to reach the top. The cable car goes from the bottom to Morro da Urca and the next leg is from Morro da Urca to Sugarloaf. Views of the city from both the mountains are beautiful and a helicopter tour can be taken from Morro da Urca. You can hike to Morro da Urca and then take the cable car to Sugarloaf, however tickets need to be bought at the bottom of the mountain. Best time to visit is at sunset. Cristo and Sugarloaf can be done on the same day. Botafogo Praia shopping mall is in between the two places and is a great place to shop, eat and soak in some good views of the Sugarloaf mountain.

Relaxing on top of Morro da Urca

View of Cristo Redentor from Sugarloaf Mountain

View of the cable car and the city from Sugarloaf Mountain

View from Sugarloaf Mountain

Tijuca Forest:

The world's largest urban forest is also a hand-planted rainforest. A lot of the rainforest was cleared and developed to grow coffee and sugar. It was replanted in the second half of 19th century. There are many trails here ranging from easy to very difficult and very short to a few days long. Many trails offer beautiful vistas, there are several waterfalls and peaks to hike. We took a jeep tour since it was raining consistently on the day that we decided to visit the forest. The jeeps are closed on the top and open on the sides. It was a fun drive through the forest.

In the jeep

Winding roads

Chinese Vista

The Chinese Vista point is one of the most popular ones at Tijuca as once again, you can see the beautiful city of Rio from here. It was very foggy that day due to the rains, so we couldn't see much. However, we thought even this looked very beautiful!!! We stopped at a waterfall, an old church, took a short hike through the forest and saw the royal children's playgrounds and bath tubs. After the royal children finished playing, they would soak in the bath tub before heading back.

Royal bath tub

Waterfall

There were plenty of Jackfruit trees in the forest and S was excited to see them. He loves Jackfruit. However, the guide told us that these are a different variety and Cariocas (Brazilians) do not eat them. Bananas were the other tree most commonly spotted in the forest.  

Jackfruit

Banana

The fog and the lack of crowds in the forest gave a mysterious and eerie feeling.

Centro:

The downtown district has lovely architecture and many museums. These museums are highly recommended for rainy days when you can't be on the beach. We skipped the museums, but went to Theatro Municipal instead. It is a very beautiful theater, where they provide guided tours several times during the day. It would have been great to watch a show at this place. 

Theatro Municipal

Santa Teresa:

Santa Teresa is a revived art district that was considered unsafe. A lot of charming art galleries have popped up here now. We walked uphill on the cobble-stone streets and even got lost a couple of times. But, did not feel unsafe. We actually ended up at an elementary school function on the weekend. They were nice enough to show us their street car museum. A street car used to run in Santa Teresa district that is currently closed for renovation. It was fun to look at the models, ring the bell and pose with the conductor mannequins. The neighborhood has lovely colorful buildings and churches.

Santa Teresa Street Car

Cobblestone Street

Church

Art Gallery

Colorful Buildings

Parque das Ruinas:

We walked quite a bit in Santa Teresa checking out some art and ended up at Parque das Ruinas. This is basically the ruins of a castle that belonged to an heiress. 

Parque das Ruinas

On the ground floor of the building there are a couple of art installations.

Art installations at Parque das Ruinas

Even though the building only has exterior walls and nothing inside, I found it beautiful. It reminded me of the ruins in Ek Duje Ke Liye :-) Stairs were added to the ruins to allow visitors to walk through 2 stories in the building. The brick walls, the vast open space, lots of windows, glass and sunlight made me fall in love with the ruins.

Open spaces in the ruins

Yes, we were standing across from each other when we took these pictures :-). When we visited the ruins on a Saturday, there were programs scheduled on the grounds for that afternoon. These included kite flying and live music. There was also a guy selling wooden toys for kids. These are the most colorful toys I have seen in a while.

Seller with his colorful toys

Escadaria Selaron:

From Parque das Ruinas we walked to Escadaria Selaron, also known as Lapa Steps. These are about 250 steps covered in Brazilian colors tiles, mirrors and ceramic. These dilapidated steps were rescued by a Chilean-born artist. Many of the tiles came from donations from all over the world. We spotted some from Singapore and San Francisco. This was one vibrant and busy neighborhood, full of artists, street vendors and tourists. This was the only place where we felt a little unsafe. Even a waitress tried to convey to us in a mix of Portuguese and Spanish that we should keep our camera inside while walking on the streets.

Escadaria Selaron

Tiles from San Francisco

Street Art:

There was street art throughout the city and a lot of it was very good. Several times we just wanted to get out of the cab and take pictures. But, many of those neighborhoods looked run down. So, we missed quite a few opportunities. But, managed to capture some of that street art.

 

To do: Apart from sight-seeing, there are several things to do in Rio. There were a few things on our list, which we couldn't do..... well, because there were too many of them :-). But, club hopping in the musical district of Lapa to hear different kinds of Brazilian music and watch Cariocas dance is a good one to do. We went to one club, but were pretty disappointed to find the club filled with gringos (foreigners) like us "trying" to samba. Other things that were on our list, but couldn't be done were Samba City tour (day or Thursday night (touristy) show), dance class, food tour, hang-gliding and tour of Maracana (for football fans).

I almost hang-glided from this ramp

Hang-gliding ramp hidden behind the clouds on this mountain

Beaching: 

You cannot go to Rio and not enjoy the beach. The promenade at the Copacabana beach was crowded until late at night throughout the week. We enjoyed a stroll on the beach and walked on the promenade, which goes all the way to Ipanema.

Sand castle at Copacabana

Such art work was at display at many places on the beach. There were also small shacks on the beach that served food and drinks. As we sat there to eat, several hawkers stopped by and tried to convince us to buy their stuff. This included everything from T-shirts, bracelets and hats to shoe-shine services.

Cooking class: 

So, even though this activity is recommended for a rainy day, I would recommend it on any day for food lovers. We chose to attend the seafood dinner on one of the evenings, but you can also sign up for the famous Feijoada meal during daytime. Our instructor was Simone, an enthusiastic personality, who talked about Brazilian history and culture, barring all political correctness :-) Needless, to say we loved her!! The food was good, the group was small and everyone took turns helping Simone cook various dishes, while she talked about the ingredients and other interesting things. Her studio was in the Centro district and was a charming place. There was plenty to drink.... and eat, of course!

Eat:

Tasting local food is of course the most important "to-do" item when traveling. Churrascarias are of course not be missed by anyone who loves meat. We thoroughly enjoyed eating fried stuff at small shops, just like in Mumbai. All I did was point at something that looked good and ask "pollo?". Caipirinha is a favorite drink among everyone, along with coco (coconut water). We brought home plenty of cachaca (sugarcane rum) to make Caipirinhas. Something that was commonly served at our meals was manioc flour, supposed to aid in digesting all the meat that Cariocas love to eat.  

Yummmmm!!!!

With so much to see and do, how can you spend just 3 days in Rio???