We made it to Rio

by Sophie · 11th August 2013

It is going to be difficult to fit Rio into one blog post. It is a city with much to see, and is also where our trip has changed a lot. We will try to cover the main points though!

The sights:

Rio is a city of contrasts. On our first day, we decided to take a tour of the largest and ‘safest’ favela, Rocinha. It is situated right next to one of the richest districts, where parents queue up in their landrovers outside the high walled private schools nearby. The favela itself was brightly coloured, crowded and a maze of constantly growing homes. It would be very easy to get lost! It is still a dangerous place to be, with a recent ‘disappearance’ of an innocent local, last seen being ‘interviewed’ by the police.

The beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema were exactly as we expected them to be. Long and busy, crammed with sellers, volleyball courts, fitness fanatics and of course, lots of Brazilians wearing very little! We took a hang glide from one of the hills and the views over the bays and city were breathtaking.

Christ the redeemer was impressive, a beautifully simple design, looking out over the city. We enjoyed a train ride to the top and stayed a little longer for a drink of the tasty guarana.

Finally, a climb and cable car up to Sugar Loaf mountain, and views of the city as the sun set made this our favourite sight.

The company:

Sadly we had to gradually say goodbye to members of our G group, who had been our family for the last 45 days. Some have gone on to travel further, but most have returned to their lives at home.

We also had new faces become a part of our trip! We were very lucky to stay with the family of our friends, Piotr and Isabella for our visit to Rio. They looked after us, and showed us what it is like to actually live in one of the world’s most famous cities! We were able to explore their neighbourhood with a great bakery, and quieter beaches as well as being taken to a street party where we saw dancers, tasted coconut treats and of course, enjoyed some cachaça! Thank you again for being perfect hosts!

The food:

As a rule, the food is central Rio was expensive/overpriced… We had plenty which made us smile though. Our farewell meal with the G group was at a Brazilian BBQ, this has been one of our favourite meals of the trip so far, and açai on the beach was great as well.

We had some lovely treats with Piotr and Isabella too – plenty of cachaça, a fantastic homemade BBQ, balls de quesa (we fell in love with these), macqueca and cheese ice cream!

Our gripes:

They’ve got to be included! Rio really brought out the moaners in us! As soon as you leave the strip, organised tours and central tube stops, everything is incredibly difficult to find. The bus system is difficult to follow, with no maps or information (such as bus numbers) at stops, and some stops having no indication except a few people standing at the kerb. Major attractions aren’t marked clearly on maps, nor in the nearby streets, so we wasted a lot of time just trying to find the main entrances and figuring out the closest tube/bus stops. Traffic jams are bad too, one day we spent 6 hours on buses!