Wow!!!! 5 days in and I´m having the time of my life. Rio is an amazing city. Although the plane was delayed, the man sitting across from us got peed on by his 2 year old daughter and we arrived to 2 days of terrential rain the energy of the city more than made up for it. Our hostel, The Mango Tree, was situated in Ipenema just one street away from the beach. It´s bright white and blue exterior, swinging hammocks, free buffet breakfast and friendly staff and guests made it the perfect first stay for the trip.
So.... what we have been up to in Rio?
We spent time visiting 2 of the 750 favelas in Rio (yes 750!). It was a hugely eye opening and educational experience. Our guide, Miranda, explained the history of favelas, how they came to be and the way life is for people living in them. Subject to popular belief only 10% of people living in favelas are involved in organised crime and drugs. The majority of people work within the main Rio City, but are paid so little that they cannot afford to move away from the favelas. And strangely enough, due to the organised crime favelas can actually be safer places to be than the main city, where the police are corrupt and robberies and pick pocketing is common. In favelas it is an unwritten rule that no one robs from anyone - the only crime taking place is the crime that is organised.
Whilst in a favela called Vila Canoas we spent some time in a small school, Para Ti. The school is a non government organisation that was set up in 1994 to help get the kids of the favela off the streets and away from crime. A total of 350 children attend the school at various times throughout the week - the children I met were absolutlely gorgeous. So happy and lively and fascinated with digital cameras!!
Watching the Brazil vs Bolivia world cup qualifying match was great fun! Seated in amongst the Brazilian crowd we had out faces painted and learnt the chants. We also learnt that all Brazilians hate Ronaldinhio and love Robhino (not sure if I spelt the names right???!). I did feel sorry for the Bolivian fans though... I counted 10 in the whole stadium, very proudly holding up their flag!
We have, of course, also spent time on Ipenema beach and yesterday morning Rachael (a fellow traveller who we have adopted!) and I went for a run along a beach and did yoga on the cliff top before breakfast. The wind was so strong I thought I might end up in the sea rather than looking at it so decided against doing the one legged balances! It was so interesting watching the city come to life.
Visiting Cristo Redentor (Christ Redeemer or The Big JC as we like to call him) was amazing... For the first two days he wasn´t visible because of the low cloud so I was so excited to finally see the famous statue... and even more excited to be getting the old cog train (the same one used to transport the building materials when making the statue) up the mountain to see it.
The most ´wow´ moment so far was Thursday evening. I had one of those ´I can´t believe I´m actually here´ moments. We had just hiked up the side of Morro da Urca (taking a few wrong turns and making the walk last a lot longer than it needed to) and reached the summit - a little sweaty and red cheeked - just in time to watch the sunset behind Cristo Redentor. Stunning. Beautiful. Breathtaking. So Kat, Melissa, Rachael and I sat atop a mountain, watching the sunset and sipping (very strong) caipirinhas. Not a bad way to spend an evening!!
We have now left Rio de Janeiro and arrived at Arraial d´Ajuda, a small bohemian village on the coast between Rio and Salvador. It was a long 18 hour bus journey here... I´ll let you know in a few days if it was worth it!
Bye for now xxx
So.... what we have been up to in Rio?
We spent time visiting 2 of the 750 favelas in Rio (yes 750!). It was a hugely eye opening and educational experience. Our guide, Miranda, explained the history of favelas, how they came to be and the way life is for people living in them. Subject to popular belief only 10% of people living in favelas are involved in organised crime and drugs. The majority of people work within the main Rio City, but are paid so little that they cannot afford to move away from the favelas. And strangely enough, due to the organised crime favelas can actually be safer places to be than the main city, where the police are corrupt and robberies and pick pocketing is common. In favelas it is an unwritten rule that no one robs from anyone - the only crime taking place is the crime that is organised.
Whilst in a favela called Vila Canoas we spent some time in a small school, Para Ti. The school is a non government organisation that was set up in 1994 to help get the kids of the favela off the streets and away from crime. A total of 350 children attend the school at various times throughout the week - the children I met were absolutlely gorgeous. So happy and lively and fascinated with digital cameras!!
Watching the Brazil vs Bolivia world cup qualifying match was great fun! Seated in amongst the Brazilian crowd we had out faces painted and learnt the chants. We also learnt that all Brazilians hate Ronaldinhio and love Robhino (not sure if I spelt the names right???!). I did feel sorry for the Bolivian fans though... I counted 10 in the whole stadium, very proudly holding up their flag!
We have, of course, also spent time on Ipenema beach and yesterday morning Rachael (a fellow traveller who we have adopted!) and I went for a run along a beach and did yoga on the cliff top before breakfast. The wind was so strong I thought I might end up in the sea rather than looking at it so decided against doing the one legged balances! It was so interesting watching the city come to life.
Visiting Cristo Redentor (Christ Redeemer or The Big JC as we like to call him) was amazing... For the first two days he wasn´t visible because of the low cloud so I was so excited to finally see the famous statue... and even more excited to be getting the old cog train (the same one used to transport the building materials when making the statue) up the mountain to see it.
The most ´wow´ moment so far was Thursday evening. I had one of those ´I can´t believe I´m actually here´ moments. We had just hiked up the side of Morro da Urca (taking a few wrong turns and making the walk last a lot longer than it needed to) and reached the summit - a little sweaty and red cheeked - just in time to watch the sunset behind Cristo Redentor. Stunning. Beautiful. Breathtaking. So Kat, Melissa, Rachael and I sat atop a mountain, watching the sunset and sipping (very strong) caipirinhas. Not a bad way to spend an evening!!
We have now left Rio de Janeiro and arrived at Arraial d´Ajuda, a small bohemian village on the coast between Rio and Salvador. It was a long 18 hour bus journey here... I´ll let you know in a few days if it was worth it!
Bye for now xxx
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