After some hiking on and lounging on the beaches of Ilha Grande on Wednesday evening we arrived in Rio, which was supposed to be the highlight of the South American journey. While Ilha Grande was lovelier each day, Rio after charming welcome turned out worse day by day as we simply did not feel safe.
Ilha Grande – 102 beaches
We spent only 4 days in Ilha Grande and visited not more than 2% of the island. It is definitely a place where you could hang out for whole 2 weeks and go to a different beach every day, either hiking or by boat and not be bored at all or if you like to be bored on holidays you can pick your favourite beach and just hang out there every day too. They are all wonderful. One day we went on the short walk around the main village of Abraao passing by small waterfall with the natural bathing pond, aqueduct and ended on the Praia Preta (Black Beach) with a black sand of course. The next day we walked 8km to the main beach Praia Lopes Mendes but luckily the lady who sold us the ticket for the return by boat told us about the detour to the neighbouring beach Praia San Antonio, where for some time we were the only people on the soft white sun under the shade of the trees and swimming in the crystal clear water between some interesting rock formations. Praia Lopes Mendes was nice, very long but being the highlight of the island turned out to be slightly crowded but in any event the 8km walk to the beach was well rewarded. In any event Ilha Grande is wonderful place for holiday, the only thing that was lacking was wi-fi so we had to use internet cafes (aka locutorios) that were not that plentiful either, but hey it is a remote island, former prison and leper colony. Getting out of the island to Rio was also very easy with the tourist agency offering boat/minibus service door to door for a very reasonable price.
Rio de Janeiro – Cidade Maravilhosa (Marvellous City) but only from outside
We arrived in Rio in the afternoon rain which was a regular weather pattern throughout the week and as we reached the beach of Copacabana a large rainbow appeared between the coast and outlying islands. We got the keys to our apartment that turned out to only half a block from Ipanema beach and 3 blocks from Copacabana in the neighbourhood Arpoador, a convenient location if you cannot decide your preference between Copacabana and Ipanema. Now I know the difference: Copacabana has nicer beach but Ipanema is a nicer neighbourhood. The apartment turned out to be cute and comfortable studio with a laundry machine (a very important feature for a long term travellers) though not very well equipped with cooking utensils so instead of staying in as planned we had to venture out for dinner. Without any plan, research, lonely planet suggestion etc. we found our way to the corner restaurant Garota de Ipanema, which is exactly the place where Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes wrote Garota de Ipanema or as we all know it The Girl from Ipanema. What a charming welcome indeed! As we were walking through Ipanema streets that afternoon, we immediately noticed that security is a real concern. Literally every building, residential or commercial is behind a metal or sometimes glass gate and has at least one security guard; it takes off a bit of charm from Cidade Maravilhosa.
The key to the visit in Rio is to plan when to visit the Christo Redentor and Pao de Azucar so that you do not end up there on the clouded day as the view from the top of both is really stunning and that’s when Rio is at its best, from the top of the mountain! We were lucky with our Sunday trip up Corcovado to Christo Redentor whenthe sky was blue, the sun was shining and for a good while we saw the full statue and the panorama of the city but later the Christo and the bay were covered in clouds and we left leaving the Christo and the crowds fighting for a photo spots behind. We were not that lucky with our Saturday afternoon on Pao de Azucar though the weather really changed while we spent 1 hour in the ticket queue but we still got some grey views of the bay and the city.
Rio looks really beautiful from the top: the beaches, surrounding mountains and the blue waters of the ocean & the bridge across the bay. From the top you can see how the small colourful houses of favelas on the hills come down to join white highrises of the richer class which makes the view beautiful and interesting but makes Rio as a city rather a sad place of very visible social division all under the arms of Christo Redentor. 
As much as the view of Rio from the top is beautiful it is hard to say the same about streets of Rio. The centre, which is a commercial and historical centre of Rio dividing posh Zona Sul (south side with Ipanema and Copacabana) from Zona Norte (working class part of town home to the famous Maracana Stadium) is a mix of modern not necessarily beautiful buildings and some remaining colonial houses or churches, not necessarily well maintained. It is really busy during the working day but a no-go-zone after working hours or weekends again because of the security concern. Even as we trotted Lonely Planet designed walking tour we ended up on rather unwelcoming streets and we did not even venture to any favelas. The highlight in the centre is the Cathedral; a modern structure that from outside looks rather controversial like an up-side-down bucket but the lighting and the stain glass windows inside make it really and impressive construction.
The neighbourhoods that is supposed to be a heart of Rio’s art and music Lapa that everybody raves about, is simply shabby and as we walked through it during the day we decided that we’ll skip the evening visit as even in the daylight it was not very inviting; so no samba experience in Rio for us. What makes Lapa worth a visit is an interesting piece of art: stairs covered with colourful tiles from all over the world that are the living creation of the Chilean artist in Brazil. Parque Flamengo, that stretches along the coast and overlooks the Pao de Azucar would make a wonderful walk if it would not be a dangerous place, again the charm has been taken away from Rio by security concern. And such is Rio, marvellous from outside but not very pleasant inside.
One highlight of Rio worth mentioning that no travel guide or tourist information would warn the visitor about are the city buses. I do not think that any speed limits apply to them as they seem to be the fastest vehicles on the Rio streets and there are many of them cruising the city with at least one a minute frequency. So if you look at my photos and see a bus obstructing the view it simply means that there was no other way but to take a picture with the passing bus. I would never jaywalk in Rio fearing the speeding bus. In the bus one should always get a seat or hold firmly with both hands otherwise you’ll get flying to the satisfaction of pickpockets.
We will be leaving Rio on Tuesday next week slightly disappointed… I hope that all the World Cup and Olympics visitors in few years will feel much better in this city.
Ilha Grande – 102 beaches
We spent only 4 days in Ilha Grande and visited not more than 2% of the island. It is definitely a place where you could hang out for whole 2 weeks and go to a different beach every day, either hiking or by boat and not be bored at all or if you like to be bored on holidays you can pick your favourite beach and just hang out there every day too. They are all wonderful. One day we went on the short walk around the main village of Abraao passing by small waterfall with the natural bathing pond, aqueduct and ended on the Praia Preta (Black Beach) with a black sand of course. The next day we walked 8km to the main beach Praia Lopes Mendes but luckily the lady who sold us the ticket for the return by boat told us about the detour to the neighbouring beach Praia San Antonio, where for some time we were the only people on the soft white sun under the shade of the trees and swimming in the crystal clear water between some interesting rock formations. Praia Lopes Mendes was nice, very long but being the highlight of the island turned out to be slightly crowded but in any event the 8km walk to the beach was well rewarded. In any event Ilha Grande is wonderful place for holiday, the only thing that was lacking was wi-fi so we had to use internet cafes (aka locutorios) that were not that plentiful either, but hey it is a remote island, former prison and leper colony. Getting out of the island to Rio was also very easy with the tourist agency offering boat/minibus service door to door for a very reasonable price.
Rio de Janeiro – Cidade Maravilhosa (Marvellous City) but only from outside
We arrived in Rio in the afternoon rain which was a regular weather pattern throughout the week and as we reached the beach of Copacabana a large rainbow appeared between the coast and outlying islands. We got the keys to our apartment that turned out to only half a block from Ipanema beach and 3 blocks from Copacabana in the neighbourhood Arpoador, a convenient location if you cannot decide your preference between Copacabana and Ipanema. Now I know the difference: Copacabana has nicer beach but Ipanema is a nicer neighbourhood. The apartment turned out to be cute and comfortable studio with a laundry machine (a very important feature for a long term travellers) though not very well equipped with cooking utensils so instead of staying in as planned we had to venture out for dinner. Without any plan, research, lonely planet suggestion etc. we found our way to the corner restaurant Garota de Ipanema, which is exactly the place where Tom Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes wrote Garota de Ipanema or as we all know it The Girl from Ipanema. What a charming welcome indeed! As we were walking through Ipanema streets that afternoon, we immediately noticed that security is a real concern. Literally every building, residential or commercial is behind a metal or sometimes glass gate and has at least one security guard; it takes off a bit of charm from Cidade Maravilhosa. |
Rio looks really beautiful from the top: the beaches, surrounding mountains and the blue waters of the ocean & the bridge across the bay. From the top you can see how the small colourful houses of favelas on the hills come down to join white highrises of the richer class which makes the view beautiful and interesting but makes Rio as a city rather a sad place of very visible social division all under the arms of Christo Redentor. 
As much as the view of Rio from the top is beautiful it is hard to say the same about streets of Rio. The centre, which is a commercial and historical centre of Rio dividing posh Zona Sul (south side with Ipanema and Copacabana) from Zona Norte (working class part of town home to the famous Maracana Stadium) is a mix of modern not necessarily beautiful buildings and some remaining colonial houses or churches, not necessarily well maintained. It is really busy during the working day but a no-go-zone after working hours or weekends again because of the security concern. Even as we trotted Lonely Planet designed walking tour we ended up on rather unwelcoming streets and we did not even venture to any favelas. The highlight in the centre is the Cathedral; a modern structure that from outside looks rather controversial like an up-side-down bucket but the lighting and the stain glass windows inside make it really and impressive construction. 
The neighbourhoods that is supposed to be a heart of Rio’s art and music Lapa that everybody raves about, is simply shabby and as we walked through it during the day we decided that we’ll skip the evening visit as even in the daylight it was not very inviting; so no samba experience in Rio for us. What makes Lapa worth a visit is an interesting piece of art: stairs covered with colourful tiles from all over the world that are the living creation of the Chilean artist in Brazil. Parque Flamengo, that stretches along the coast and overlooks the Pao de Azucar would make a wonderful walk if it would not be a dangerous place, again the charm has been taken away from Rio by security concern. And such is Rio, marvellous from outside but not very pleasant inside.
One highlight of Rio worth mentioning that no travel guide or tourist information would warn the visitor about are the city buses. I do not think that any speed limits apply to them as they seem to be the fastest vehicles on the Rio streets and there are many of them cruising the city with at least one a minute frequency. So if you look at my photos and see a bus obstructing the view it simply means that there was no other way but to take a picture with the passing bus. I would never jaywalk in Rio fearing the speeding bus. In the bus one should always get a seat or hold firmly with both hands otherwise you’ll get flying to the satisfaction of pickpockets. We will be leaving Rio on Tuesday next week slightly disappointed… I hope that all the World Cup and Olympics visitors in few years will feel much better in this city.
What a sad perspective and ignorant blog. How many times do you have to mention "security concerns"? You missed your opportunity to see some real beauty and meet some amazing people because you were too caught up with protecting your possessions. THis little story is a great example of the ugly part of tourism.
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