May 18-21:
Name the most beautiful cities in the world and the top names are always Sydney, Hong Kong, Vancouver and Rio de Janeiro. Tony’s pick has always been Vancouver. Not any longer. Rio now gets the nod.
It’s hard to argue against billing. The city of 5-million people is a series of crescent-shaped bays filled with white-sand beaches, surrounded by mountains. The emerald waters of the Atlantic add even more color to the palate.
Our hotel is looking out on to the famous Copacabana beach. The beach runs about 5 kms long and has the cleanest, whitest sand you’ll find anywhere. It is so perfect we all thought we had stepped onto an artificial beach. The city takes care of its pride and joy with constant care. In the morning, machines and workers rake the sand. During the day the workers return to ensure any garbage dropped is quickly picked up. What is amazing is Copacabana isn’t Rio’s best beach! Locals prefer the beaches of Ipanema and Leblom, a short walk from Copacabana.
There is no better view of the city than the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain, reachable by taking two cable cars.
Another outstanding feature of the beaches is the lighting. At dusk giant stadium lights are turned on allowing for a 24-hour playground. There are endless games of soccer, beach volleyball and a strange soccer/volleyball game that features volleyball net and soccer ball but the players can’t touch the ball with their hands. The players are incredible athletes. Tony’s high school friends continue to argue almost 30 years later who was the best athlete in their youths. This game would settle the score.
In Rio you also can find one of the modern Seven Wonders of the World. Christ the Redeemer sits atop Corcovado Mountain, surrounded by the Tijuca National Park, looking over the city of. It was completed in 1931 to commemorate 100 years of Brazil’s independence from Portugal. We’ve now seen three of the Seven Wonders: Chichen Itza in Mexico, Machu Picchu in Peru and The Redeemer. They are all so different to choose a favorite so far. The Redeemer isn’t as grand as the other two but it truly leaves you wondering how they managed to erect at the very top of the mountain the 38 metre Christ with an arm span of 29 metres.
A day later we headed south to the Green Coast. Here are hundreds of tropical islands along a 100 kilometer stretch. The vegetation gives the Atlantic a green hue. We are on a tour boat with a dozen Aussies and Americans. We learn later the Aussies were out all night drinking and had only gotten back to their hotels minutes before the bus arrived. Our first stop is a small bay with a beach where four locals are partying at 11 in the morning. They are already half-cut, and the women are down to their bras. Alana and Tony are first in. Ruth follows with an Aussie gent beside her. Minutes later we hear screaming from the boat. Apparently, Ruth’s Aussie friend seized up on entering the water and was drowning. The two petite American men from St. Louis heard the screams first and by the time the rest of us got in the water from the beach, the Aussie was being pulled ashore, his life saved. The event cast a pall on the rest of the day.
During our last evening we experienced the true religion in Brazil – soccer. Brazil has won more World Cups (5) than any other country in the world and has born some of the most famous players ever – Pele, Romario, Ronaldo.
How important is soccer in Brazil? When the country hosted the World Cup in 1950 in the soccer stadium we visited, more than 200,000 crowded in to watch the final versus Uruguay. In a surprise, Uruguay won the game. Several people suffered heart attacks in the stadium after the defeat and one man even shot himself in the head, not able to face the world or Uruguay fans any longer.
We ditched a scheduled samba show for a Brazilian Cup play-off game between Rio’s Fluminese and archrival Corinthians from Sao Paulo. Ronaldo, in the twilight years of his career, is the striker for the Corinthians. He grew up in the shantytowns of Rio and vowed when in Europe that he would never play for a Sao Paulo team after returning to Brazil. He did the unthinkable.
With the exception of the raw wieners served in the concessions, you haven’t lived until you go to a game in Brazil. The giant stadium now has seats, but you wouldn’t know it. Everybody stood on the seats for the entire game, and the deafening roar continued. Children stood on the armrests. Flares were being lit and giant flags waved. All this is unimaginable at a Flames game.
For some unexplainable reason we ended up being seated with the visiting fans, surrounded on three sides by Rio fans. This turned out to be toxic when the Corinthians beat the home team. At the end of the headed out of the seats and our group gathered at Section 30 to wait for the guide. Suddenly, everybody around us was scattering like a gunman was amongst us. I looked behind the pillar to see burly police officers with three-foot billy clubs wailing on a hooligan who was trying to pick a fight with Corinthian fans. Seconds later, police – clearly jacked up on adrenaline – approached our group yelling in Portuguese for our guide. We were directed back to the stands for our safety. About 15 minutes later we headed again for the exits, boarded our waiting bus and left. Along the way we could see police surrounding the stadium, all carrying billy clubs and some with very large German Shepherds by their side.
Our final day in Brazil and South America was spent on Copacabana beach. Beautiful indeed, but we are use to hassle-free beach time in the Mayan Riviera, free from any peddlers. That is not the case in Copacabana. In four hours, we are approached by some 50 venders, selling everything from bikinis to shrimp on skewers to bags made out of only zippers. Time to head back to Mexico.