Rio De Janeiro

Nov. 3   2010
      I have begun another adventure which starts in one of the most well known cities in the world, Rio De Janeiro. Contrary to popular belief, Rio is not the capital of Brazil. That distinction goes to the inland futuristic city of Brasilia. I took 2 flights to get here and everything went smooth. The last flight was a 10 hour overnighter from Atlanta to Rio. I tried and did sleep a little but when I couldn't sleep I watched a couple of movies. I had already been mistaken for Brazilian twice before even getting on the plane! This never happens. The only nationality I get mistaken for is American. Once I was in Brazil I saw why I was asked if I was Brazilian. The people of the country range from very white to very dark, fat, skinny, tall, short and everything in between. This just might be the first country where I don't stand out as a tourist, that is until I open my mouth! To me this is has its pros and cons. Sometimes I like standing out in a crowd and like the attention I get. Blending into the crowd is something I can do in Canada! But I'm not complaining, it is nice too not being noticed.  I tried to learn a little Portuguese before I left but found it difficult. I still have memories of Spanish I used 10 years ago when I was last in South America and I'm hoping this will help. Speaking spanish has led people to ask me if I'm from Argentina or another spanish speaking country, but I guess I brought that on myself!
     I booked 3 nights in El Misti hostel and this qualified me for a free pickup from the airport. The Rio airport is kind of small and there was no hassle or chaos at all when I left the airport. I had to wait 15 minutes for my ride and no one bothered me. Driving the streets into the city I took in the warm (30C) and humid air like a bird to flight. As I looked around and saw the familiar tropical landscape of fig trees, bouganvillea, mangos, papayas and palm trees, I felt very comfortable. I feel as at home surrounding by tropical flora as I do surrounded by pines, maples and spruce trees in Canada.  The traffic was busy but the roads were in decent condition. Rio is mountainous and we drove through 4 tunnels on the way to the hostel. We stopped to get gas and I was surprised when the driver lifted his hood and they put some fancy looking gas pump inside. Now, I don't know a lot about cars, gasoline, etc, but I have never seen this done before.
       At the hostel I took a bed in a 9 bed dorm room, 3 sets of 3 high bunkbeds in a tiny room. Normally I never go for dorms, as I don't like most things about them, but here it was the cheapest way to get a bed and I could book it online. December is high season in Brazil and I didn't want to be lugging my backpacks around looking for a place. The staff at the hostel are super friendly and speak english, spanish and portuguese. I was utterly wrecked from the flying and lack of sleep and slept from noon till almost 4. I got up and walked 400m to the famous Copacabana beach. I walked the streets for a bit and then chilled with a fruit smoothie. There are lots of juice/fruit bars. People seemed friendly and I didn't feel like my safety was threatened. Rio has a terrible reputation for violence, some of it justified, but most of this violence occurs in the slums/favelas on the hills surrounding the city.
       I showered and washed the clothes I was wearing and then went out for dinner, looking for a reasonably priced meal. Brazil is not cheap as it is and Rio is probably one of its most expensive cities. I'm not going to go on and on about how expensive Brazil is compared to the other countries I traveled in but I will give some examples from time to time. For one, my dorm bed is more expensive than any hotel I had on my entire trip last year, and that was when my room had hot water, private bathroom and satellite TV!
     I found a small hole in the wall type place and had chicken, rice and french fries, washed down with a Chopp draft beer. It was all good and the portions were huge. I have been following a semi vegetarian diet ( I eat chicken or fish, maybe once a month) for a year and a half, but as with my trip last year, I won't be as strict on that diet while I'm on the road. It's easy to eat veggie at home, but trying to keep it up while traveling is not a challenge I'm up for. I will say that is was easy to eat veggie in India though, but everywhere else it can be very tough.
   There was a bit of a party back at the hostel but I wasn't feeling up for it. I just read for a while and then slept.