Rio de Janeiro In Retrospect

There were are few things that just did not fit in the previous posts about our trip to Rio de Janeiro, which I thought were important. So I have rounded them up in this post.

Rio de Janeiro is a lot larger than Teresina. More people, more cars, more money, more of most things. What surprised me about the culture, though, is that people were more polite. And not just a little.

The Public Transportation System

In Teresina the idea of getting in line for something does not exist (unless there is someone to enforce it). In order to get on the bus here, if there are more than three people at the bus stop, one must fight just to get to the door. No blood no foul.

In Rio de Janeiro people were orderly, and even polite, about getting in line.

I was also impressed that the equipment (the buses and subway trains) was in very good condition, and often had air conditioning. In Teresina the buses are generally pretty old—or at least get to looking that way in a very short time. Air conditioned buses would be a dream.

The bus / Metrô combination worked really well for us. If you don't know Portuguese it might not work as well for you, but a great many people there speak English, so I recommend trying it. Besides, the Metrô website is available in English, so almost anyone could get their route planned easily.

I like riding the bus around to get a feel for a new city. While it isn't always the best form of transportation it does help one familiarize oneself with the basic layout.

Feel

As I mentioned in the second paragraph, as a whole people were a lot more polite than here in Teresina. Many people said "Hi," as we passed on the sidewalk. And almost everyone we asked for help was happy to guide us on our way. It struck me as odd that in such a big city people would do that, while in Teresina people can be a lot more cold. Maybe it is the heat here.

For being so full of people, Rio really felt like a much smaller town most of the time—just sprawled over a lot of area. The geography of the city could have something to do with that. The city is built within the vales of these granite hills that rise from just above sea level to 2000 feet and fall back down to sea level, all within a couple of miles. There is a lot of getting around the mountains to be done.

Our expectation was that we would constantly be hearing "bolas perdidos" (stray bullets) flying around, in some ways. That is the sense of Rio de Janeiro that the national news portrays. I did not hear any. Though, the favelas are different where most of this takes place, and we had no reason or desire to go into any of them.

On a side note, I have found a couple of great blogs by some Americans living and working among the favelas of Rio de Janeiro.

I never felt like we were in any immanent danger, but knowing that crime is a huge problem there kept us alert. We also avoided using English at all times, and I avoided speaking at all in buses and on the sidewalks. While my accent might not give me away, a) I don't trust that I don't have an accent, and b) A simple grammatical mistake would be a giveaway that I am a foreigner. Foreigners are often the target of choice for the local banditos, who generally just want to make off with some cash or nice jewelry.

Recommendations

The following are a few things that one might consider while planning a trip to Rio de Janeiro. It is not complete, but I think covers the major things.

• If you are planning a visit to this great city, then do not miss Sugar Loaf, or Christ the Redeemer. Each of these costs R$ 35.00 per person currently, but well worth the trip.


• Know the basic distance (in kilometers) between your various destinations if you are using a taxi, as well as how much it will likely cost. Taxi drivers pick up the little things that give you away as a foreigner very well, and will sometimes "take you for a ride."


• Museums seemed to be plentiful, but we never had time or energy to visit one. When we do return I would like to spend some time seeing the various memorials and museums around the city. Patrick and Nyna visited at least one that looked really interesting from the photos. Maybe Patrick can write a little more about that (hint, hint)?


• Maracanã [*] is one of the largest football stadiums in the world—soccer, if you are in the US. Patrick and Nyna took a tour. From the pictures I saw, I would say this is on the list of must-see things, though maybe toward the bottom.


• Follow basic travel-safety guidelines. Keep your wallet in your front pocket. If you are lost or scared (or both) do not act that way, it is the best way to become prey. Do not carry to much cash with you (and not in your shoe, as you could end up barefoot and broke!).

Closing

Though the primary purpose of our trip was to do Nádya's visa interview at the US Consulate, we did get to do some of the fun things there are to do in Rio de Janeiro. We noticed a big difference in the cultures of Rio and Teresina, and really enjoyed ourselves once the stress was over. If you are considering a trip to Rio de Janeiro, stop considering and go. By far, it is one of the most interesting cities I have visited.

I am open to questions or comments if anyone has something you want to know. Hope you enjoyed the series! (And if you did feel free to share it with others.)

This entry is the closing segment of "Rio de Janeiro: A Series." All the published entries are linked from that entry. If you liked the series, try subscribing to the RSS feed or getting updates via email.

Rio de Janeiro Day Six: Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf)

Getting To Sugar Loaf Mountain

On Friday, the 28th of March we went to visit yet another highly significant landmark in Rio de Janeiro: Sugar Loaf (in Portuguese it is called Pão de Açúcar). After our experience with Cristo Redentor the previous day, we decided that maybe we would have better luck later in the day.

(One of the things we really missed in our apartment was some way of hearing or seeing the news, there were no TVs or radios there. By the same token it was really nice, though weather reports are sort of important in this type of adventuring.)

We found ourselves catching the bus after a nice lunch. Then the Metrô, and finally another bus. The first bus and the Metrô were not bad at all, but the last bus was overcrowded. I was holding Kylie, and the driver took one look at me and told me to enter through the back door. This happened a couple of times while in Rio. I think it is so we didn't have to deal with passing the turnstile and the crowded aisle. Nádya still had to go through the front and pay for us.

I was holding on for dear life while standing and holding Kylie near the back door, and Nádya had started a conversation with someone at the front. Soon she motioned for me to get off at the next stop. She had asked a student at the nearby university where to get off, and the student had a shortcut for us.

What our guide did not know is that we had a child with us who is over 9 kilos and does not yet walk. It was a bit longer than we expected. On the upside, we did walk by this very interesting tree:

Pão de Açúcar

Once we wandered around enough to find our way to the parking lot of Sugar Loaf Mountain (Hill? I have seen it both ways.) we were treated to this sight:

Our timing had been great. No clouds for miles. It was not even that hot in the afternoon sun (well, at least for those coming from Teresina). We really enjoyed our visit to Sugar Loaf, for me it was the best day of the trip by far. Very cool scenery, great weather, and wonderful company.

I took so many pictures that I want to talk about, but I think I will let them speak for themselves. If you have any questions or comments, though, do feel free to write them in the comment box on the individual photo in the gallery. I will reply as soon as I can.

Do be sure and look at the panoramas of Rio de Janeiro. There are three at the very end, probably my favorite photos from the day. There are full-size versions you can download if you wish (though only of the panoramas). Here is my favorite panorama from the day:

It is quite small as it appears here, but if you click on it to visit the larger version it is quite a treat, if I do say so myself. ;)

We also had a great view of Cristo Redentor, and took full advantage of that fact. I probably got better pictures of the statue from here than I did up there!

The Trip Home

This was a story in and of itself. Rio de Janeiro is a city of 11 million people. Cities half that size (and smaller) have traffic jams. At the very peak of rush hour we headed home. We had heard that Rio can become a very dangerous place at night, and so wanted to be home at, or around dark.

We caught our bus to the Metrô without any trouble, but when we got to the subway station there were all kinds of people. We crowded into a car and found only standing room left. Again I found myself hanging on for dear life with one hand, and trying to keep hold of Kylie with the other.

I did that for a couple of harrowing stops before a man graciously gave up his seat so I could sit down. That was good. I felt very fortunate—until I realized that Nádya was at the other side of the car, and we could not see each other. I even wondered if she knew where I had gone.

We had heard a story or two about the crowded subways, but I brushed them off as exaggerations of the truth after riding a couple times. It turns out the stories we heard were pretty mild.

The car got more and more full. I felt crowded even though I was seated. Having studied the map a bit, I knew that there was a transfer station shortly after the Centro (downtown) stop, and figured a great many people would disembark there.

Have you ever seen masses of people push so hard against other people that it looks like the waves of the ocean? Maybe a mosh pit (sans music)? That is what it was like at this stop. I was worried that Kylie and I would get carried away out the door, and onto the platform. That was the scariest thing that has happened to me for a very long time.

Nádya fared less well than we did. She had been standing between the doors because there was no other place to go. She nearly got piled out of the car and onto the platform by this mob of people exiting the train. Somehow she was fortunate enough to remain inside the car.

The rest of the journey home was much more peaceful, for which we were glad. I do wonder, though, how all the little old ladies I saw in that car fared. How do they even survive with all the jostling, and cajoling?

If you wish, you can view a slideshow of all the photos from our Pão de Açúcar trip. It may take a few moments to load, but it is full screen, and quite good quality. I recommend it.

This entry is part of "Rio de Janeiro: A Series." All the published entries are linked from that entry. Don't want to miss out on the coming entries? Try the RSS feed, or getting updates via email.