Sunday, Rio March 24, 2013

Sunday, I went for a swim at 6 and met the others at 7:30 to take a long walk to the right out of the hotel.    I think the direction was west as I think the coast of Brazil runs more or less east/west at Rio.   We walked along the Copacabana beach, into Ipanema and along Ipanema beach.  It was about an 8 or 9 kilometer walk.  Here is one of many sand castles we encountered.  

Each day merchants set up on the beach renting chairs and umbrellas, selling merchandise or beverages, etc.  It is a lot of work to set up and break down each day.  Here are a couple of guys coming to set up along Ipanema Beach.

After our walk we returned for breakfast.

Next stop was the “hippy market” in Ipanema.   Ipanema is both a district and a beach.  Every Sunday in a park in the district, a craft market is set up.  It started informally years ago and has grown into to huge affair.  We were joined with our third local guide, this time Marco (same name as our trusty driver) who lives near one of the favelas that we will visit later in the day.

Next we visited a couple of museums in Santa Teresa winding up at  Aprazivel for lunch.  Here we met Eduardo and Christiana who were traveling with their bags and planned to head directly to the airport from the restaurant.  The restaurant was lovely having been built along and down the hillside with a number of little covered cabanas.  While it was possible to eat indoors, we choose an outdoor cabana.  We were eight for lunch with Dom, Marco, Eduardo and Christiana.  Here is a shot of our table with half of our group.

 By this time we are all wise about Brazilian serving sizes.  Ben and Gail shared  a meal and Caroline and I shared a grilled fish.  The food was delicious and we lingered while we waited out a rain storm that was inundating Ipanema and the favela we planned to visit.  By about 3:30 the rain subsided and we headed down Sta Teresa mountain and to Ipanema to visit Canto Galo, one of the 848 favelas in Rio.  Approximately 2 million people live in favelas in Rio we were told.

Marco explained to us that at the end of the 19^th century shortly after the slaves were freed (I think that happened in the mid 1880s) there was a popular revolt in the northeast in the Bahia state seeking to establish an independent country.  This is known as the Canudos War.  Former slaves were recruited to help the Central Government to suppress the rebellion.  In return for their help, they were promised jobs and housing.  Once the rebellion was quelled, the troops returned but the promised help did not materialize.   As a result the disappointed troops began to occupy the government owned hillsides in Rio and Sao Paulo.  The name favela itself, we were told, comes from the fava bean which was native to the area of the Canudos rebellion.  Somehow it became attached to the encampments.  Over time the inhabitants of these encampments began to improve them and they became permanent, cramped and crime infested neighborhoods.  With the advent of drugs, the favelas fell under the management of gangs and the police did not even venture in.  Unauthorized taps to transmission lines obtained electricity. 

Water and sewer were also purloined.  Without any presence of duly constituted authority there was not way for the utilities to collect for their services.

Brazil has a form of child support for the poor similar to the welfare subsidies employed by the United States and state governments prior to comprehensive reforms under the Clinton administration.  Many of the families were large and these payments constituted a principal form of income for the residents.

Spurred by the World Cup and Olympic bids of Brazil and Rio, a pacification program was launched.  At first the police efforts to go into and reclaim the favelas resulted in a bloody war in which police, gangs and innocent residents were injured and killed.  The police backed off and regrouped.  They created a specially trained pacification police force, announced specific dates on which they would be returning to a specific favela.  When they returned they returned in force, erected permanent police stations with community facilities such as classrooms, recreational facilities, community space, etc.  The police maintain a very visible presence and it seems to be working.  Rather than stand and fight the gangs have fled.  One unintended consequence has been the increase in crime rates in the suburbs and other parts of the country as the gangs have tried to relocate.

The favelas are largely located on hillsides encroaching on public forests.  Because of the steepness of the hills, the most desirable units have been at the bottom of the hills because less climbing of the hillside is necessary.  In Canto Galo (and other favelas that have been pacified) the government built elevators that go to the top of hillside.  This makes it easier for children to go to school outside of the favela and for the residents to get outside for work.  We were joined by Fabio (the guide from our first day in Rio).  He and his son Phillipe have volunteered in this favela. We took an elevator to a point near the top of Canto Galo and began to walk around.  We climbed steps to the very top of the favela where the police station/ community center was constructed.  Here is a photo of a part of the favela.

We also visited a museum and NGO that works with residents in various ways to preserve the history and culture of the people.  As most of the people are of African descent, there are plenty of signs of African culture.  Two men at the culture center gave us a demonstration of a performance on a congo drum and an instrument that look more like a bow and arrow than a string instrument.

After our visit to the favela we returned to the Copacabana Palace. After showering we went down the beach to Dom Camillo a very good Italian restaurant.  We were able to get tables on the sidewalk and had a pleasant evening and splurged on the wine for our last night together.

Monday,  March 25th.

Today we have to leave.  I arose early for my last swim.  Just as I was toweling off I saw Ben heading to the hotel fitness center and Dom arriving (he was staying at a hotel down the block as B&R guides often stay at more economical places). We all met at 7:30 for our last walk on the beach.  We headed east to the naval base at the edge of Copacabana and back.  Next breakfast, packing up and departure.  Ben and Gail had a later flight direct to DC with a stop in Sao Paulo and are scheduled to arrive about the same time as we.  There is a non-stop Delta from Rio but originally we were going on the Salvador an then flying to Brasilia to connect with Delta.  When we scrubbed Salvador in favor of staying another day in Rio, it became too expensive to switch to the Rio/Atl flight.  

Our route is TAM to Brasilia and then a late flight home.  I am writing this last post in the airport in Brasilia.  I must say for the airport of the capital city, the Brasilia airport is unimpressive.  We are still in the domestic portion of the airport as we wanted to check our bags here, reclaim them to be sure they arrived and then recheck since we have several hours to kill.  Apparently, the bags were checked through by TAM which we did not recognize until we waited at the luggage belt through emptying the entire plane.   

Delta does not staff its counters until later and there is only one restaurant on the outside of security.  I do not yet know what is on the other side of security.  So far, our experience suggests that connecting through Brasilia is suboptimal.

When Delta does show up we will try to get them to verify that they got the handover of the baggage.

For now, I will sign off until another trip gives me time to record my experiences.