Rio 1

Well, here I am in Rio de Janeiro, after all those years of plotting. Part of the reason for starting in São Paulo was that the available flights to Rio arrived late in the day which I didn't like. I prefer to overnight in the plane and arrive fresh in the morning. Another reason was wanting to ride the Trem de Prata. At Rio station authorities had taken precautions to ensure the safety of the tourists by escorting us directly from the train to the taxi rank. The streets were quiet as it was a Saturday morning and people were sleeping off Friday night's fun.


My hotel was a couple of streets back from the beachfront of Copacabana. (Note from future: It doesn't seem to exist any more, and Google Street View shows that the roads have changed. It was 15 years ago, after all.) From my window I had a lateral peek of the beach. There was a strong onshore wind which roiled the waves and deposited sand on Avenida Atlântica.

Copacabana beach runs north-south, and meets Ipanema beach which runs east-west, at a headland called Arpoador. Dotted along the length of these two beaches are postos (lifeguard stations) which have toilets and vending machines. I noted that the logo for the female toilet was three triangles and a dot in between representing a bikini and bellybutton. The last posto on Copacabana before Arpoador is 6. I took it upon myself to walk the length of Ipanema to Leblon.

Old and young thronged the promenades and the beach. The beach is where Cariocas socialise and entertain. Loudspeaker trucks booming music went past. There were also many cyclists on the road. Keeping an eye on public security were military police.


One thing I liked about Brazilians was their open displays of affection. It wasn't just the young and hot, even old couples embraced and kissed in public.

It was Saturday, the traditional day for a feijoada lunch. I found a restaurant for it and by the end of the meal I was truly stuffed, and didn't have much for dinner that evening. Somehow I found room for coconut juice from a cold fresh nut from a beachside vendor.


Ipanema is an expensive suburb. I noted many boutiques and fashion houses in the back streets.


In the evening a night market took over the median strip of Avenida Atlântica, the beachfront of Copacabana. I bought 3 T-shirts for R10 (reais). At an ice-cream shop I had 4 flavours: chocolate, nuts, guava and lemon. It was sold by weight.