A trip to Brazil is not complete without a visit to Rio de Janeiro; one of the world’s great places. Due to my crazy schedule in Sao Paulo, I was contemplating whether or not to skip it entirely, but the decision to go changed my life in a single day.
Rio is beaches, mountains, music and beautiful people, even during the winter. (OK, so it’s still kinda warm, but it gets dark super early). Online I found a groovy little hostel in Copacabana with beds for $15 and, as luck would have it, they were hosting a party. Loads of people showed up, we danced for hours and I had so much fun I forgot that Rio’s famous party is Carnival, supposedly one of the world’s best. Ah, well. There was still lots to see and not much time to see it.
Coming from Sao Paulo, Rio felt downright cozy with only 5.6 million residents. Although it’s much larger than almost any American city, I got the feeling I could get a feel for the city by walking, as long as I chose a single neighborhood I wanted to explore.
The Portuguese crown moved the thrown of their empire to Rio for 13 years and the city remained the capital of Brazil until 1966 when the seat of the national government was changed to Brasilia. Rio’s neighborhoods are full of stately mansions and homes that have been standing for centuries. The architecture is a cross between European and Carribean influences, as if New Orleans were set in stone.
For those who don’t want “postcard Rio,” a crop of hotels have opened in the favelas, the slum neighborhoods that were the setting for the movie City of God. I didn’t make it into a favela (the closest I got was where a poster in my hostel lobby advertising a party in a favela with the tagline, “be a local”), but adventure seekers can hang glide over rainforests without ever leaving the city limits. Know any other large city that can say the same?
My one day in Rio included a visit to Copacabana beach, an excursion to the top of the Corcorado, to see the iconic Jesus statue as well as a breather in Santa Teresa, where we listened to an amazing group play samaba and traditional Brazilian tunes. Somewhere, work must be getting done in the city. The downtown had skyscrapers with the names of banks on the outside. However on a blissful Sunday night, as young people clogged the street outside a jam session, the work week seemed as far off as the South Pole, and life really is different here.
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Sounds like an amazing experience. From my own time spent in Brazil, in the northern city of Balem and a world apart in the amazon, I would say it is one of the most unique and exotic countries on the planet. I am drawn to return someday.