Novice blues and a (slightly) false start

After the first day we sat about planning the next two. We came up with a detailed plan allowing us to explore the city relatively thoroughly (well, at least as thorough as possible in two days during day-light hours only- we are warned against wandering about Rio at night looking like tourists!)

Of course, as is our wont, the plan was derailed first thing in the morning when the after effects of 3 straight days of packing, moving and stressing about the trip led to us waking up only at 10 am. Of course, I had no small part of the blame since I set the alarm to 7 and then forgot to turn it on. Sigh.

After breakfast and some careful calculations we decided to hop onto a city tour which would take us on a quick round of a few of the places we wanted to visit at what seemed like a reasonable price. Bad choice and we´ve learned to know better. The tour was a little bit rushed and not to our tastes. We much prefer walking about, taking our time and soaking it in. What better way, no? What we did get in the bargain though, was an easy way to Corcovado, atop which is the now iconic statue of Cristo Redentor. I must admit, we were not prepared for the gorgeous city-scape that awaited us. Rio´s setting is fairytale-esque, amidst sheer cliffs covered with tropical forests while on the other side is the ocean and scattered islands.



The economic chasm though is apparent between the well-heeled cariocas (beautiful, wealthy, young Rio de Janeirians) and the large population that lives in poverty in the favelas. Again (this time, sadly) a reminder of Indian cities. Hopefully though, Lula´s policies could be making things better. There is now much more support for the economically underprivileged - like free school education, reservations in universities, scholarships and lunch money. There were visibly apparent signs as children trooped back with school-bags.

We also drove through the pretty and boho neighbourhood of Santa Teresa. If we lived in Rio, this is where we´d like to be! Art galleries, great food and music all with a little bit of an edge. Faded colonial houses mingled with expensively maintained and restored ones. Ivy dripping down their sides and wooden or brightly coloured window panes in white-walled homes. We immediately decided to revisit the area the next day.

The trip ended with a visit to the kooky and slightly off-kilter Escadaria de Selaron. A staircase in Lapa covered with brightly coloured tiles from all over the world. The staircase is a project in seemingly eternal progress under the aegis of a Chilean artist living in Rio. If the international nature of the project was in doubt - remember, U2 shot a single-cover over there!