Rio 2

The day started off hazy and got worse. So I had to abandon plans to visit Corcovado and Cristo Redentor later in the day. With mist there would be nothing worth seeing. There was talk about the "Pope Effect" bringing rain to Brazil.


I went to the Hippie Market in Ipanema. Wood, stone and other artisan products were sold there. I came away with a memento of a tiny parrot made from coloured stones. I also tried acarajé and cocada (coconut candy). The latter was very sweet.

In one of the few (there aren't many because the coastal strip between the ocean and the lagoon is narrow) back streets of Ipanema parallel to the beach, I found the Garôta de Ipanema (Girl from Ipanema) bar. The 17 year old Heloísa Pinheiro walked past the bar (then named Veloso) everyday, attracting admiration for her slim beauty. Jobim and de Moraes were inspired to pen the melody and lyrics and the song went on to become a perennial bossa nova standard. For a few years the identity of the girl was unknown, even to the subject, until the authors revealed their inspiration. Helô subsequently married her fiancee and settled down to the life of a housewife. She might have gone into obscurity, but when her husband lost his job, she availed herself of her fame to support her family through modelling and a boutique business. Today she is a successful businesswoman and still a great looker (as is her daughter, who also became a model), as the photos at her site attest. In an interview she said that the song had changed her life because of the confidence it gave her. As a teenager she thought that she was physically awkward. The first few bars of the song are displayed on the building. I had a chopp (draft beer) at the bar and it was priced normally.

I walked partway around the Lagoa, then took a Minas Gerais lunch. I was no wiser about what the characteristics of Minas cuisine were after the lunch. (I see today that pão de queijo is from Minas.) In the afternoon I rented a bike to be able to move around Ipanema quicker to take more photos. You can see the Portuguese influence in the design of the promenade here.


That evening I had dinner at a por quilo (by kilo, i.e. pay by weight) buffet restaurant, finished with a chopp. These restaurants were lifesavers in Brazil. There would always be some dish to your taste (perhaps too many) and the prices were reasonable. I browsed at an elegant bookshop for a while, then went to the Piano Bar Vinicius. I nursed a caipirinha while they played funk and straight ahead jazz standards such Phase Dance by Pat Metheny, Affirmation by José Feliciano, popularised by George Benson, and Wave by Jobim. At some point, a guest vocalist and a guest guitarist came on stage. It was around midnight when I caught a taxi back to the hotel. It was walking distance, but walking was not recommended in the streets of Rio at late hours.