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Romantic Journeys


Ready for Rio?

What an enticing trio: Sugarloaf Mountain, Copacabana, and Rio, with its Carnival. A mountain, a bay, and an exotic city nestled on the coast amid spectacular scenery. The idea conjures up images of white sandy beaches, palm trees rustling in the breeze, and the sun beating down on tanned, shapely bodies. Copacabana sounds like a world invented by advertising executives, designed to awaken burning desires and promise of their fulfilment. For decades, writers around the globe have called Copacabana “probably the most famous beach in the world”. Seen from Sugarloaf Mountain’s summit, Rio, whether bathed in sunlight or sparkling in the lights at night, still looks surreally beautiful.

Rio’s spectacular setting with Sugarloaf Mountain in the background

Rio is divided into a north zone and a south zone by the Serra da Carioca, steep mountains that are a part of the national park of Tijuca. The view from the top of the Cocovado, the 750 metre mountain peak with the statue of Christ The Redeemer at its summit offers the best possible way to become geographically familiar with the city. Traditionally, climbers have scaled the walls of these mounts, and still do. There are now cable cars which take less ambitious visitors to the summits, which makes the trip less exhausting.

The Carnival in Rio is a festivity that unites enthusiasts of all classes on the streets. One of the things which makes the atmosphere so unique is that the Brazilians celebrate this special event entirely for themselves, and not in order to put on a show for the multitudes of tourists who fly in from North America especially to see this extraordinary event. Surely many of us have seen the news shows on television each year which feature camera shots of bare-breasted beauties dancing ecstatically to samba rhythms. But truthfully, Rio’s most glitzy festival may be the worst time to be in the city. It is a fantastic spectacle, but everyone comes a bit unglued at that time of year, taxi fares quadruple, accommodation rates triple, and masses of visitors descend on the area to get drunk, high and exchange exotic diseases.

This “lady’s” cups are full of beer and everyone is invited to take a sip during Carnival

The Rio portrayed by the tourist agencies, beckoning with blue skies and favourable exchange rates, certainly does exist. Jammed into the world’s most beautiful setting, the Cariocas, as Rio’s locals are called, seem to pursue pleasure like no other people. Beaches and the ‘body beautiful’, samba and beer, football and the local firewater called cachaca are a way of life here.

Behind the famous beach, however, skyscrapers tower, while the streets suffocate in dust and noise. To the rear of those modern office buildings and elegant apartments, the slums of more than 10 million people’s shanty towns (flavelas) and villages cling precariously to the edge of the hills, and are creeping toward the city’s centre. Poverty and crime are endemic here. This definitely is not a place for the casual tourist. And don’t forget, that Portuguese is the national language of Brazil, so even if you are fluent in Spanish, it may not be of much help in dealing on the street with the locals.

Cable car on the way to Sugarloaf Mountain summit

A little caution is recommended in this city and on the magnificent beaches for which it is famous. ‘Snatch and grab’ rascals can turn a tourist’s romantic holiday into an unhappy experience, so best keep valuables such as money, jewellery and other valuables well protected from these petty thieves. They can be daring, innovating in their original approach to scams, and certainly fleet of foot. One often sees the police on foot patrol wearing expensive imported gym shoes which help to run down these pesky robbers. Rio is a place with a two-sided reputation: dangerous and intimidating, and glamorous and exciting.

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