6 weeks in Rio

THE STORY SO FAR.

I've been in Rio for 7 weeks now and seen loads. I should have set up a blog before this, but better late than never. I'll just do a recap post on the story so far and then do posts whenever something interesting happens which will probably be quite often.

I arrived in Rio on November 4th 2008 with Ben, my fellow would-be English teacher. After a tiring 16 hour trip (including a stop in Sao Paulo) we got to Rio and Che Lagarto Hostel in Ipanema. The first thing we did was ask the staff for a good place to eat steak. They recommended Garrota de Ipanema (Girl from Ipanema), the steak-house where Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes penned the classic Bossa Nova track of the same name - amazing coincidence I thought as I swiftly devoured the chunks of prime Brazilian beef. Best steak ever? Until I visit Argentina, it'll take some beating.



IPANEMA

We spent the first week mingling with other tourists, seeing the sights and lazing on Ipanema beach. Seeing the sun again for the first time in two years came as a bit of a shock and within about 2 days I was pretty dark. Ben went red.

Praia de Ipanema is considered by many to be Rio's best beach. There are more beautiful shores, better waves and calmer suroundings elswhere in the city, but nowhere other than Ipanema can boast such a complete display of Rio's facinating inhabitants. Favela kids and rich Leblon fashionistas sit side-by-side on the sand. Old and young, strictly religious and openly gay, conservative and liberal - all are drawn to the praia for the same reason. This more than anywhere else in Rio is the place to show off. Weather its mesmorising football juggling, the latests labels or some new silicone implants, almost everyone at Ipanema has something to offer the eye. The beach itself, unlike the larger, curved one at Copacabana, is almost straight. Stretching from Arpoador to Leblon and beyond to the limits of Zona Sul, the beach is the perfect catwalk for its flamboyant worshipers. They come from all around, Zona Norte, the mountain-top favelas, Barra de Tijuca in the West and Copacabana. It is testament to its popularity and general air of cool that citizens from nice or more famous beaches make the long journey to sample is loud vibrant atmosphere. It certainly made an impression on us. The beach is divided into sections - almost colonies - by different sub-cultures. The hippies, steroid-heads, gays, fashionistas and others all plant their flags in the sand and claim their very own peice.


COPACABANA

We stayed in Ipanema for 2 weeks, lazing in the hostel or the beach, making friends with gringos and cariocas (Rio residents) and getting to grips with the city. Luckily we got a good day for the Christo Redentor statue and Sugar Loaf Mountain, both of which had amazing views over Rio. After 2 weeks and after seeing all the main attractions, we decided on a change of scenery and moved to Che Legarto Copacabana. This neighbourhood, adjacent to Ipanema, is a bit more down-market, sketchy and real. Ipanema's class and swagger pretty much ends at Praça General Osorio and the designer stores become juice bars and burger stalls. The smells become more affordable and the sights tougher to digest. Suddenly we were aware of people we hadn't encountered in Ipanema. The wandering urchins know only as street-children have a strange, almost semi-mythical aurora about them - people speak of them as if they don't really exist as humans. The children, of all ages, seem to all look the same. Light brown, matted afro hair, indistinguishable in colour from their faces and light brown or blue eyes, the street-children could all be brothers and sisters - a race of their own.

The hostel at Copacabana was nice and spacious, less rushed and hectic than its sister-hostel and about 10 minutes walk from the famous Praia de Copacabana. Walking along Avenida Atlantica for the first time, whistling Barry Manilow and sipping a suco maracuja (passion-fruit juice) I finally realised where I was. Ipanema had been a nice break with its own character, but this was the image of Rio I had come with. The fantastic curved sea front, watched over by Christo, Sugar Loaf and the surrounding hill-top favelas, grand old hotels and pent-house apartments was the picture I'd longed for and it didn't dissapoint.


We stayed in Copacabana at the hostel for 5 weeks while we looked for work and an apartment. This proved more difficult than we had first assumed. For one, it was the wrong time of year. With Christmas holidays fast aproaching, the little private teaching we had got soon dried up as locals took vacations or spent time with family. Work starts again in mid-January. Recently, Ben has decided to leave Rio and abandon the teaching plan in favour of touring the continent. I would love to do this, but my aim has always been to stick it out in Rio for as long as I can and learn Portuguese. With New Year coming up, finding an apartment became the priority. Over the summer season, landords push up the rent and take full advantage of the willing tourists that flock to the Cidade Marvilhosa. This fact made it vital that we find somewhere before the extorsion began. Luckily I met two cool guys staying at the Che Lagarto in Ipanema when I went back there to visit a friend. Jess, from Johannesberg is in town to sample the surfing and live for 6 months, working in bars and hostels. Mike, from Stockholm is training in Brazilian Ju-Jit-Tsu. A few days after meeting the guys, we found a nice flat in Copacabana, one block from the beach and moved in on Monday.
There are loads of stories and cool things I could talk about from the 7 weeks like favela funk-parties, trips to the hill-top bohemian suburbs, football at Maracana stadium and more, but there will be loads more to come in the next 4 months too. So this is the story so far, keep posted for further instalments.

Josh.