Rio de Janiero in Photos

My one weekend in Brazil was all about seeing the city of Rio de Janiero. I was lucky enough to do it two ways. First I met up with a family from Canada who live there now. They showed me parts of the city you don't get to see on the regular tours. The second day was a full fledged commercial tour complete with local guide and a minibus. It was great too, but the differences were apparent. I'm glad I got to do both.

Let's start with the beach. I got up early on Saturday and headed to the beach. The place was busy with runners and surfers. Everyone seems to use the beach for something. The most amazing were the footvolley players. These guys play volleyball with soccer rules on the beach with a regulation volleyball court and net. They are amazing to watch not using their hands at all.

This is the view from the hill in front of the Atlantico Sul Hotel where I stayed. The beach goes on to the right for about 10 miles. It's pretty spectacular. The waves were good too and the water was warm. I did that just after taking this picture. First swim in the South Atlantic for me.

Here are some lifeguards practicing. The water was beautiful blue and clear all the way to the sandy bottom. Although the beach was a little dirty with litter and plastic the water seemed clean enough, although I did come home with a little head cold...

At 10:00 my "guide" picked me up and we were off to his apartment for a quick stop before heading into the city. We dropped off his son and a friend at the yacht club and then headed into town. Centro is downtown and is the financial heart of the city. It also hosts the museums and cultural spots as well as some interesting architecture.

Some of the interesting architecture, along with the cathedral below. I think this one is the police headquarters.

A very traditional street in the downtown which reminded me of Europe. On Saturday everyone goes out for lunch and eats on the streets. By the time noon rolled around you could hardly walk for all the tables and chairs.

We had lunch at the Imperial Palace. It had a nice little cafe with quiche and salads. Add a bottle of wine and life is good. The few exhibits showed some of the history of the city and the country. The influences of Napoleon when he invaded Portugal, the Spanish and Portuguese and the slavery, and the rise and fall of democracies and dictatorships.

Here a view of the Imperial Palace. It really wasn't much of anything but it did have a neat story to tell.

The Banco de Brazil building is now part of a larger cultural center and had some interesting exhibits on everything from cartoons to early Brazilian exploration.

The exhibit that really caught my eye was one by Ziraldo. He is a modern artist who is not afraid to push the bounds of art. His work pushed the envelope of sexuality and race while remaining light. The cartoons were amazing but unlike the locals I didn't take any pictures so I can't show you. The link does have a few of his works.

We also went to another exhibit of work by a well known Brazilian designer: Sergio Rodrigues. I was not familiar with his work but it was along the lines of what I like in the way of furniture. Have a look here for some of what he does.

One of the more interesting buildings near Centro is Rio de Janiero Cathedral. It is a modern building built in the 60s and 70s. It has some incredible stained glass which extends from floor to ceiling. We were there as the sun was coming out and it was impressive.

Here is the building from the outside with several views of the stained glass from the inside below.

A panorama of the inside of the cathedral. Amazing. (Remember you can click on most of the pictures here for a larger image.)

After the cathedral we headed for the concert hall. The plan was to see a Schumann concert, but first I had to get past the ticket takers. I had bought a ticket earlier but there was some concern over my apparel. I had been told to wear trousers for the concert (rather than shorts) but had not anticipated an issue with my footwear. After a consult with some other security personnel I was allowed to enter with my sandals.

The building sits downtown in front of a large square. It faces the harbour and by the decor and facade you can see how important the arts are to the Brazilian culture.

The building has a amazing interior. The whole thing was recently refurbished.

Before the concert we took a little tour of the place.

The view from the terrace on the second floor of the Theatro Municipal. Note the architecture on the right where old and new buildings are side by side, very typical in Rio. In the distance you can see Sugarloaf as well as the WWII memorial.

So usually classical music isn't my thing. I wasn't sure what to expect from Schumann but generally had a good experience. I say generally since the first performer was a little off putting. Once we got past the operatic component and got on to the violins, clarinets and horns I was fine. The other thing was that I was seated right behind a young twenty something couple who could not keep their hands off each other. It was almost entertaining but for the sake of the music I moved for the second half of the concert - too distracting.

After a quick trip back to the hotel and a meal in the hotel restaurant I was exhausted. A good sleep and on to day two of the weekend. We started at the hotel around noon, waiting for the rest of the team to get in for the conference. Once everyone was there we hit the road.

The first stop was a beach where the hang gliders and parasailers land. They launch from a nearby mountain and land ever so softly on the beach. There were also many kite surfers. They are the ones you see in the picture below on the left (imagine being strapped to a surfboard and a parachute at the same time and you get the idea).

Below is the Sheraton Hotel with the Flavela Vidigal behind it. Flavela is essentially a Portuguese word for slum but these have a little more of a story than that. They are more organized and came into being due to migration rather than poverty. Have look here for a better description. Some would say the Sheraton below the best hotel in the city, complete with its own Private beach, but it is also right next door to some of the toughest neighborhoods.

Ipanema Beach from Avenue Niemeyer, the same Ipanema as the song by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes.

Next we were on to Sugaloaf again. This time we also took a ride up the cable cars and had a good look around. I even managed to find time to have ice cream, complete with kiwi, strawberries, papaya, honey, and cashew nut sprinkles. It really hit the spot.

Above is a view of Corcovado from the top of Sugarloaf. If you squint you can see the giant statue of Jesus. More on that later.

The harbour mouth from Sugarloaf or Pão de Açúcar as it is called in Portuguese. Can you imagine the first French and Portuguese explorers arriving here? The city is named for what was thought to be a river found in January. In fact there is no river, just a very large harbour, but the name stuck.

The view above is of Urca, a small part of Rio nestled below Sugarloaf. It has some interesting houses. Of particular note for me are the kayaks. They certainly didn't outnumber the surfers but it made me a little homesick. Rio would be a great place to paddle. It has lots of coastline, islands, surf, and history. Maybe someday...

The last big thing was Corcovado and the statue of Christ the Redeemer or Cristo Redentor which stands atop of it. We arrived just as the sun was setting and took the 30 minute trip up the mountain on the tram.

A better view of Cristo Redentor.

The view from Corcovado looking towards Centro, or downtown. On the right is Sugarloaf with the harbour behind it.

Another view from Corcovado looking south. The lake is Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas and the lights on the right are the horse racing track and Jockey Club. After that it was home for the night, but not before a huge feed of pizza at a great buffet. Even the desert pizza was good.

Finally a view of the plant parking lot and surroundings. I was there for work after all. It reminded me very much of Southern California since the weather was clear and dry and there was always a breeze. The hills by the ocean also made it feel like the San Diego area.

Later I will go over three points which aren't covered in this post. One: Driving. Two: Drinking. Three: Eating.

Now for my next trip...