"What!!! Are you out of you mind?" , that was my reaction when my husband told me that he was taking up a job in Rio de Janeiro. I was not ready to fly 14 hrs with an infant to a country far away from family and friends. Ok maybe I can deal with the journey and distance but was not ready to deal with the fact that Brazil is a Portuguese speaking country and no one speaks English there. I was worried about finding an English speaking pediatrician,friends etc etc ..
Anyways whatever said and done on the first week of November 2013, I was in Rio de Janeiro. To my surprise my son who just turned one on October handled the flight journey quiet well .
The airport is not at all posh or anything and of course no one speaks English in the immigration too but after I took the luggage we were offered help to handle the luggage by few people there because I was with an infant.My first encounter with the locals and I learned that Brazilians are very helpful in nature . I have traveled to so many countries and no one ever offered help unless I requested.
So let me begin my short lived (close to a year) Brazilian life ..I have lived only in Rio and did not see or experience any other parts of Brazil so my topic will revolve around places in Rio like Laranjeiras ,Botafogo and Miracema.
Laranjeiras (meaning Orange Trees ) is an upper middle class neighbourhood in Rio .Its a very beautiful residential neighbourhood. The specialty of this area is every Saturday there is a fair known as the ( Feira e roda de chorinho ). They sell fresh fruits and vegetables and meat produce. Its a festive mood on Saturdays with music and dance and merry making . I must say I have had the best of fruits and veggies in Rio.
After a couple of months we moved to Botofogo. Its a beach front neighbourhood and a small commercial area too. The Sugar Loaf Mountain (Pao de Acucar) is a big attraction there. We had a beautiful view of the mountain from our apartment. There are two ways to get there by either using a cable car from base to the first hill or you can walk up and then buy tickets for cable car from first to second hill. We took the cable car from the base. Its an amazing experience from up the mountain. There are restaurants and snack bars and there is also a little interactive museum
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| The beautiful sugar loaf mountain |
While in Botofogo, we used to frequently go to the Copacabana beach as it is only 10 mins by cab. This is one of the most beautiful beaches I have been to . The energy there is amazing with flurry of activities stretching its length. There are kids and adults playing football, beach volley, skating, walking ,running etc etc Its a positive feeling just walking along the Praie de copacabana .(Copacabana Promenade). Every Sundays the road stretching the beach is closed from 6am till 6 pm making it fully safe and accessible to people to move freely along the beach area.There are tourists and locals lining up for capririnhas (local drink) , fresh coconut water and beer .Let me warn you one has to be alert and not to walk around there in the dark to avoid being robbed. I cannot move further this post without mentioning about the beautiful Copacabana Palace Hotel. If you ever go to Rio you must dine at the restaurant Pergula. The food is amazing and so is the staff and view overlooking the beach . Its rated as one of the best hotels in Rio and South America's premier hotel. |
| (Sand art done at Copacabana Beach) |
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| Gorgeous sunset at Copacabana |
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| My little boy & I happy at the beach :) |
Well how could I live in Rio and not visit the Statue of Christ the Redeemer. One of the wonders of the world ,it is 98 ft tall and is situated on top of the Corcovado mountain. The best way to get there is by train as you can take advantage of the scenic route through the Tijuca National Park . You can go there by road too as there are bus and van services too . We took the train from Corcovado station and you can buy tickets from the station or its even sold at some malls or Riotur kiosque on Copacabana beach. There are train services every 20 mins. I was absolutely blown away with the breathtaking view from the top .
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| (Start point from Corcovado Station to Christ the Redeemer) |
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View of the Tijuca National Park
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| Breathtaking view from the top of the mountain |
See you in Part 2 hopefully not after another long gap :)
