Since my last entry I have left the homely surroundings of Tom and Manuela´s apartment in Gloria which is an area in Rio and firmly cemented my step into the travelling world by staying in hostels...something I know many of you were wondering how Id cope with but you'll be surprised to know the answer is fine. Apart from the first night when I went to the bathroom in the middle of the night and almost gagged when I lifted the toilet lid (has no one heard of the courtesy flush?) Apart from that I'm pleased to report that my experience so far has been good. I've met some really lovely people and everyone has been so friendly. I'm also not the oldest person staying in the hostel which is reassuring!
The last few days have been spent visiting various different parts of Rio including Santa Teresa which was just up the hill from Tom & Manuela´s apartment. Its quite bohemian and reminded me a little of Haight Ashbury in San Francisco which I visited this year. We ate this local dish called Acarajé which originates from Bahia in Northern Brazil. It was being cooked by this women dressed in traditional clothing. My host Tom has more details on how to make Acarajé and the origin on his blog here .
Being Brazil, the Acarajé was just an appetiser, so afterwards we went and had lunch at this place called Bar do Mineiro which serves traditional Brazilian food including a dish called Feijoada which is a stew of beans, beef and pork served with rice, greens, farofa and peeled and sliced orange (to cut through the flavour I think). It tastes great although it is a heavy dish for lunch and does just sit in your stomach for the rest of the day.
In addition to scoffing my face with local Brazilian and not quite so Brazilian food, I've been visiting the rest of the sights Rio has to offer including the Escadaria Selarón which are some steps that the Chilean born artist Jorge Selaró decrated with coloured tiles as a tribute to the Brazilian people. I was quite amused to see there was one of Princess Di stuck up there!
Whilst walking through Lapa which is the area where these steps are, I couldn't understand why there were so many Carioca´s (local Rio people) just on the street watching TV and shouting. It transpired that there was a Derby match between the two local football teams Flamengo and Vasco de Gama. Flamengo is Brazil´s most popular foootball team, with over 36 million followers, they're especially poplar amongst the inhabitants of the Favelas. They go crazy for football here, you could hear shouting every where you went followed by fireworks going off every time Flamengo scored a goal - literally the first time I heard this I thought a bomb had gone off it was so loud.
The weather in Rio has been pretty unpredictable the last few days which has made visiting the sights quite tricky as the two main attractions, Sugar Loaf mountain and Corcovado which is where Mr JC is, are quite high and can get shrouded by the clouds -which incidentally are the most incredible clouds Ive ever seen - they look like smoke from a fire at times.
Luckily the weather brightened up for our visit to Sugar Loaf mountain which was incredible, the cable cars give the most spectacular views of the city which is great once you get over the vertigo. You normally get the cable car back down again but we chose to walk down which on reflection was not the best idea when you're wearing flip flops...
We also visited Rios Botanical Gardens which looked as though it were straight out of Jurassic Park with its fascinating trees and plants. It also had some great graffiti on the walls outside which I took much pleasure in papping with my camera.
My visit to see Mr JC (Jesus Christ) was a long awaited one as the weather kept changing. The bus ride up to Corcovado seemed to take forever and in true Rio style was as bumpy as ever. Once there we took the train up the steepest hill to the top where you then get a lift followed by an escalator (I wonder if its like this going up to Heaven?) until finally you see the big guy himself...I use this term loosely here as actually I was slightly disappointed by the size of him as he is much shorter compared to the perception you have when you're down in the city looking up at him. Either way the views are amazing and it was great to be above the clouds and feel like you're on top of the world.
My last evening in Rio was spent visiting a Samba School called Salgueiro. They are the nine time champions of the Rio de Janeiro Carnival (Loads of schools compete each year). Everyone who performs here is pretty much from a local favela and they start practising six months before Carnival which tends to fall forty days before Easter each year.
The atmosphere in the stadium was electric, I've never seen so many people dancing and singing and looking so genuinely happy in one place - my face ended up aching from smiling so much.The sound of the drums literally reverberated through our chests and instantly made everyone start to dance - it was infectious, no one person was able to keep still. Everyone was in awe of the small troupe of dancers who were dressed (barely) in red and white outfits to reflect the Schools colours. They all danced so fast, legs and arms blurring in front of our eyes. It was the closest chance I´ll get to Carnival in Rio for now which is frustrating as its made me want to go even more!
Afterwards it was inevitable that we would go out dancing, we started off in a Samba club and then ended up in a club in an area called Lapa which is a must see if you're ever out in Rio. People dance in the streets and the bars are great albeit a little strange the way they make you pay for your drinks on your way out of the bar?
This morning was needless to say slightly difficult, I hadn't slept and had to get a taxi to the airport at 4am to fly to Florianopolis which is a town by the sea in Southern Brazil with stunning beaches and lagunas for four days. From here I then fly to Iguazu Falls for a couple of days before heading into Buenos Aires in Argentina to begin my journey there.
Ill try not to leave the updates too long next time around... : )
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