Turning Carioca

I still feel high on yesterdays samba experience! It was so much fun!! i would like to go there every day!
Looking back I almost felt like a Carioca when I was discussing samba with the taxidriver back to Ipanema. Although in a strange mix of Italian, Spanish, French, Portugese and English. We were doing surprisingly well! He was a Mangueira and I was proud to say I am a Tijuca.

So now I just have to get a fotball team as well.

Eu sou Tijuca

What a crazy fun evening/night!!
We went to the sambadrome of Unidos da Tijuca. As it is only a matter of weeks until carnival all the samba schools are rehersing as crazy and as we kind of decided that Tijuca is our school we went there. It was absolutely amazing!! So much energy, music, dance, sweat and happiness in one location!!! And all the beutiful and talented people. Not only the young and slim but also the older and rounder people dance like gods. And the music...!!!
After the carneval-rehersals were over, som other people took care of the live music (well actially some of them the same) so now it became massive brass-music and drums. Absolutely fabulous!!

It was a long timw since I danced this much!!

Cristo Redemtor

Yesterday I was acting the real tourist and went up the Corcovade to see the Christ statue, Cristo Redemtor (which I still think sounds much more like "Terminator" than redeemer) or actually more watching the view from there. It is stunning!

Connected travelling

It is amazing the way people travel now. Everyone is constantly connected. In the back-packer-style guesthouse where I am staying, in the evening when people gather in the bar/pool area a majority of them have their laptops with them sitting chatting, surfing, emailing, skyping etc. If they don’t have a laptop they have an I-phone. I should not say too much about it as I am one of them myself sitting with my laptop, but this is actually the first time I brought it for a holiday and mostly to stay in touch with my friend here without spending a lot on the mobile phone bill roaming via Sweden twice. It definitely has other advantages as well, but I think I have never seen so many connected travellers in one place. What happened to take a break from the normal world and getting absorbed with the environment?

Something's happened

Something has happened. I can not exactly say what or why but maybe it takes at least a week to see and live what is around you in a new environment. What has happened is that people all of a sudden see me and I am feeling a part of the city in another way. My friend has all the time been going on about the sensuality of Rio, how people interact, flirt and socialise in a very warm, loving and sensual way. I was pretty sceptic to say the least. Ok, I have seem him interact with people that way, but hey he has been here before and he knows people. And the fact that I felt invisible and that no one flirted with me, whereas he got all the attention, I at least partly blamed on the fact that we mostly mingle in the gay areas of Ipanema. But then today something happened. All of a sudden people see me and give me appreciative smiles and comments and are very flirtatious.

Today I went for a short shopping round. I put on a dress that I like, but actually never have used. It is simply too tight, too short, too everything, but I thought it might work here. It obviously did. I got a lot of positive attention. So this is the carioca-style!
One of the things I wanted to buy was a bikini. There are lots of them, but that also means difficult to choose and some are also very expensive, which might make sense if you live in a country where you can use it more or less every day of the year, less so in Sweden. Anyway I found one shop with a big selection to reasonable prices. I started browsing on my own but quite soon a young salesman came up to me; introduces himself as Bauer (don’t know why most Brazilian men I talk to have German names), asks for my name and starts talking. He does not know many words in English, but those he knows he uses well. He is just so cute and so charming. He starts showing me what bikinis he thought I would look good in and really takes a close look at me to find out what size I need. I know it is his job, but the way he looked at me made me blush, goddammit!

When I find one I like he takes out another, more or less the same but in more bluish/greenish colours. I tell him I like the first one better as its colour are “happier”. He agrees but then tells me that the blue one will look very good with my eyes and smiles his most charming smile. Man! You just sold a bikini! When I had decided for myself he asked me if I wanted to buy something for my husband. It was just so charming and nice, nothing pushy and sleazy about it. I smiled to myself and walked out with two bikinis and had spent far much more that I had planned to. Bikinis that I most probably never will use anywhere outside Brazil! But it felt good.
Then it continued that way the rest of the day, in the juice bar, in the street at the beach. Something’s happened.

Business diversification

Today I discovered that not only the grilled-cheese-vendors at the beach may double as drug dealers, so do the kanga-vendors. When the man trying to sell kangas to me realised I was not interested he could offer me both marihuana and cocaine. Very diversified and flexible business!

Observations

# 1 Braces
I have noticed a lot of adult people with braces here in Rio. That is quite unusual for someone coming from Sweden, where this is taken care of around the early teens. I suppose here they don’t have the same public dental care and people have corrections made when they grow up and make money to pay for it themselves. Maybe it is also a sign of the developing economy. People coming from families that could not afford this when they were kids, now earn money enough to do it now. Or maybe it is sing of increasing focus on looks and beauty and less acceptance for difference?

# 2 Latest sports fashion
Ankle socks seem to bee sooo last year here. I have seen plenty of young and fashion-aware girls wearing white, thick knee-high socks to their work-out outfits. Often together with long, black or dark tights and the socks are really pulled up all the way to just below the knee. No, it is not very beautiful. I wonder if it is a new thing that might come to Europe as well, or maybe this is a result of living in a country where you normally never really need socks at all. If you use them, let it show!

Weather report

Something’s happened. The two last days the water has been cold. People with more Rio-experience say it has never been this cold. Somehow a different current must have reached the bay. And I can agree. It has been cold, freezing cold, even for someone used to swim in Swedish waters. My friend compared it with the ocean around Cape Town. Not that it is a huge problem when the temperature still is over 30 degrees.  Simply refreshing!

The weather is apparently also different from what it normally is like. Since I arrived a week ago we have only had one single rain shower, the first evening, and there has hardly been a cloud in the sky. Me like! 

City Walk

Today we abandoned the beach completely and took a long walk in the older more central parts of Rio. We took the underground to Carioca and from there the Bonde (tram) up to Santa Teresa where we walked for a while, then walked back down towards Lapa and Cinelandia where we had a late lunch. From there we had planned to take the underground back to Ipanema but decided to walk back though Gloria, Flamengo and Botafogo.



Santa Teresa and Lapa are partly deserted and lots of old beautiful houses and residential palaces stand abandoned and falling to pieces. Very sad. Although they have some ruin-romantic charm, but still it is a shame to let this area decay and go to ruins. As Santa Teresa is on a hill you also have the most breathtaking view from there as well. Loved the place!




To be honest I loved all the areas that we walked through today. Rio has some very interesting architecture, both old and more modernistic and it is a total mix of it everywhere. But as crowded the city is there is always plenty of green around and the topography opens up for spectacular views every now and then. Love it!!

Where I am staying

As you might have understood from what I wrote earlier about the place I am staying in, it is not exactly the Sheraton.



Not the Sheraton, but nice, laid back and funky. Posada Bonita



It is nice but rather simple, more like a backpackers’ place. Therefore it is a little difficult to know what level of service to expect. The first morning I wondered if someone would clean the room during the day and came to the conclusion that daily cleaning maybe was not to be expected. So I made my bed at least halfway and put away some stuff only to come back in the evening and find the bed properly made and the room cleaned. Good, I thought the next morning and didn’t care about making the bed at all. That evening no one had cleaned the room. So new conclusion; cleaning is every second day and I arranged myself accordingly. However that morning the cleaning staff probably just forgot my room because since the room have been cleaned daily.

There is very little space to put away things in the room. There is no wardrobe and just one small hanger and a bench where I can put all my clothes and stuff. This morning I rearranged things in new piles to make it a little more tidy and organised and also to make it easier for the staff to clean the floor. When I came back tonight it was all rearranged in another way and it took me quite some time to find what I was looking for.

The next thing to figure out and what I am actually wondering about is how long a guest has to stay to get new sheets and towels.





Right outsid the place where I am staying you see this new fancy lift going up the hill to the nearby favela.







During night it is very brightly and colourfully lit, which makes it look even more like something from outer space and almost ironic compared to the standard of the favela houses.

Dancing in the Streets

My feet are killing me! Last night’s dancing in the streets in Lapa was a killer for my poor feet. But oh so fun! A part of the city that during daytime is almost completely deserted and very rundown gets a totally different life during night. Bars and clubs open up in the old, very beautiful but derelict houses and everywhere in the streets there are music and drinks and people dance everywhere. People are very open and friendly and come up to talk and dance with you. I also got some free samba lessons. In a crowded place like this there are of course a lot of pickpockets. For the first time I had someone trying to steal out of my pocket. Unfortunately for him my pockets were not so easy to steal from and I felt something and hit is hand, then he walked on as if nothing happened.

Another first thing was having someone hitting on me as part of a couple. If someone asked, I and my friend said we are together, just because it was easier that way. But at some point my friend spotted a man he liked and started flirting with him. He was really not my kind and I was busy learning samba. Therefore I was quite surprised when the man came up to me and started trying to get my attention and even tried to touch me. My friend told me the man had asked if we would like to have a threesome. None of us was very interested. But we had a good laugh.

Thinking of it there has been many first times these days. Today at the beach one of the old ladies selling drinks etc at the beach was apparently also flirting with me. At least I think so; it was quite difficult to know exactly what was going on as we didn’t seem to understand one single word the other said. Some young boys started helping her communicating with me but as their English vocabulary was even smaller than my Portuguese it wasn’t very successful.
Today was also the first day I saw a perfect sunset at the beach where everyone stood up and clapped hands as the sun set, thanking for another day at the beach. Nice!!

I would have loved to post some pictures from the beach and have some at all from last night in Lapa, but it is difficult to bring the camera everywhere. Pickpockets are abundant and therefore I try to avoid bringing more than is absolutely necessary. But I will have to go back some day during daytime and get some pictures. Unfortunately I didn’t bring the camera with me when we went to Makumba beach yesterday either, which was a pity as it was one of the most beautiful beaches I ever seen.

We should have gone to a samba school today, but it was cancelled. Even though that would have been so fun I think it was good in a way. I believe my feet need to rest a bit and maybe me to. It got really late last night.

Yesterday we took a walk to the Jardim Botanico. First we planned to take a bus, but later decided to walk all the way. It is a very nice walk along the Lagoa de Rodrigo de Freitas. We also passed the Hippodrom and the Jockey Club. We never went in, but it looked very nice as it is old (if I remember correctly it said 1889 by the door) and very stylish and I would have loved to go in and maybe watch a race. Maybe still have the chance to do that.





Also the Jardim Botanico has a very old-time stylish beauty. It is founded in 1808 and with the ubiquitous vegetation here of course the botanical garden is no exception, very lush and rich.





For a day as hot as yesterday it was perfect to stroll around in the shades of the garden. Yesterday was a holiday here (S:t Sebastian’s day, Rio’s patron saint) so probably the place was more crowded than on a normal Thursday, but still very far from crowded. Not any way near the crowds at the Ipanema beach where we went afterwards. It was indeed packed! Today we will probably try to get to another beach, less crowded, a bit further away, as our guess is that many have taken this day off too.

Apparently I have been very lucky with the weather this far. We had some rain my first evening here, but after that it has been all sunny and warm and lovely. Yesterday I think it was about 38 degrees. It is very humid and steaming, but I don’t mind!

From the Jungle to the Beach and back to the City

Yesterday we took the bus for about an hour to a place from where we had a hike trough the jungle for about one more hour and a half. First we walked steep uphill along a path mostly used by the inhabitants of the old favela on the hill side. This is not one of the huge very crowded favelas like the one you find in the city centre but seems more to be old farm worker’s houses that by the growth of the city started to develop into a favela, but as it was in the jungle you did not really see it and we did not meet any people, just heard some in the distance and saw the tracks from the horses used for transportation along the muddy path. It was pretty muddy indeed, but my friend said it was dry in comparison to what it can be like.
We walked uphill a long way and saw the most beautiful plants and flowers, quite many of them I recognised as potted plants, but here they were everywhere, and huge. We didn’t see any monkeys but beautiful and colourful butterflies.




When we reached the crest of the hill we immediately noticed a difference in the air, the wind was fresher and clearer and further down the path, trough a opening in the vegetation we saw the goal of our hike. The beautiful beach of Grumari. Half an hour later we were there and had an absolutely lovely day on the almost empty beach and had some very well deserved beers.



Arriving at this beach

The way back became an interesting mix of means of transportation. Our original plan was to walk along the beach to catch a bus back to Ipanema. But we didn’t get very far until the staff from the beach bar where we had been sitting picked us up and took us a part of the way. From there we waited for the bus. But as no bus came we started looking for other ways of transportation and happened to hail a favela-bus. It took us along a part of the way, dropped us of at a bus-station where we got into another minibus. This minibus was filled with young gay guys from the favela. I don’t know if they or we were most surprised to find us in the bus. But we had quite fun.

We were not exactly clear about where they were going but had an idea of where we wanted to go so we kept watch along the road and were ready to tell them to stop at a suitable place. The funny thing is they were also very clear about that we most probably did not want to go with them into the favela so when they were getting closer they turned around and asked us if maybe we should get out there. Very good idea!!

Very fascinating to have jungle, beach, city and adventure in one day. Is Rio maybe something of a Kinder egg?

Breakfast by the pool

Having breakfast by the pool.
Well I have to admit that probably sounds much fancier that it actually is. Don’t think of it as having breakfast by the poolside in a very fancy hotel or all-inclusive resort. There is nothing fancy about this place, but it is nice, very relaxed and laid back- And it is quite funky, at least in two very definite ways. It is all dark pink and it was once the home of Antonio Carlos Jobim, who wrote the song Garota de Ipanema, The Girl from Ipanema. That is cool!

Back to the pool. Yes the place has a pool, but it is actually more like an oversized bathtub and right now it is full of mangoes. There is this huge mango tree shading the yard and terraces very nicely, but it is not only casting its shade over the whole place but also mangoes. I think they will remove them from the pool quite soon, but in the little backyard outside my window no one seem to care, hence the sweet smell of rotten mango. Actually it could have been worse. One little extra sweet thing is the little cat or maybe still a kitten walking around the yard at breakfast, made my day!

The guests seem mostly to be young Brazilian and the staff is also young which gives it somewhat of a familiar touch, like the guests taking their dishes into the kitchen sink after having had breakfast. Well, maybe it is time to go to the beach!

Sign of civilisation

I noticed during my morning jog that Rio is a quite civilised place. People even pick up the poop after their dogs.

Rio calling

So, I have arrived in a foreign country again. Foreign in the sense that it is the first time I am here. I have never been to Rio or Brazil before. However foreign is not the first impression I had. In many ways it feels very “normal” but then again, I still haven’t seen anything, just the drive in from the airport a few blocks of Ipanema and Ipanema beach. But from what I have seen so far; I like it!
As always I felt it immediately stepping out of the plane, the soft, humid, tropical heat that I so love. All of the sudden my winter jacket that I had been wearing when I left Stockholm and was now tucking away in a plastic bag, felt like the most absurd piece of clothing. How can that be that we wear those things? It can not be meant to be!
The drive in from the airport showed me a very varied cityscape; high-rises, slums, industry, parks, hills, water and beaches in a complete mix. I look forward to explore it more!

My room is very small, I think the smallest I have ever stayed in and unfortunately it also has a smell of urine, but outside the window there are rotten mangoes with there specific smell. But the area where it is very nice and as far as I have understood hotels are both expensive and hard to get so it is ok. AND the writer if The Girl from Ipanema has lived In this very houds. How cool isn’t that!?

Well, now I am tired and will try to get some sleep. Tomorrow is a new day and I didn’t get much sleep last night. Was asking my self a couple of times during the flight tonight why we do these things to us, I dislike flying more and more, but then again this morning it felt good again!