Saturday, March 23, 2013

Rio.

Saturday morning we arose early even though we had been up late 9at least for us) the night before with Edwardo and Christianna.  I went for a swim about 6:30 and we had planned to meet the others at 8 in the lobby for a walk along the beach.  Caroline came down to the pool with me and Dom showed up while I was finishing my swim.  We all had coffee together.  We returned to the room to change into something more suitable for walking than my wet swim trunks. 

We had a lovely walk along the Copacabana Beach to the left all the way the end at a granite hill.  At the end is a public exercise park with various exercise manchines.  Here I tried my hand (or rather feet) at one.  

Many men were on a narrow ledge along the granite hill  fishing.  We saw one man pull in his line that had three hooks on it and he had a catch on all three hooks.

After the walk, we had breakfast and left the hotel in our van driven by Marco.   This morning Christian was no longer with us (he had a test this morning in a course on tourism he is taking) but we were joined by Walter.  We went to the top of Tijuca Forest for a good view of the Corcovado Hill and the statue of Christ the Redeemer atop of Corcovado.  

The lookout point afforded a great view of Rio in 360 degrees.  The view allowed us to really see the magnificence of the harbor.  From the open sea a ship would encounter several islands and then a mouth to a bay.  The Portuguese built forts on both sides of the mouth thus controlling access.  When they entered the bay it was so deep that they thought it was a river, thus the name they gave to the city River of January/Rio de Janeiro.

 Walter pointed out some of the favelas we could see.  He told us that the police were pacifying these slums by announcing in advance when they were coming and then on that day moving in.  They build a police station and a permanent presence there.  There are over 800 favelas and approximately 20 percent of the city lives in them.  The land is government land that has been occupied by the poor.  They get their electricity and wate by illegally tapping into the lines.  Walter told us the history of these places goes all the way back to the emancipation of the slaves.  He explained that when the slaves were freed, they had no place to live or work.  The government and the people of European stock were happy for them to go to the hills. It kept them out of way. Here is a picture of one favela.  You can see how it is built into forests owned by the government. 

Then we went to the elegant and expensive neighborhood of Leblon and its adjoining beach  Here we had fresh coconut juice an coconut.  Afterwards the ladies went shopping in Ipenema with Ben and me just tagging along.  Lunch was at a restaurant and shopping center on the Lagoon.  Here are four of Rio’s most favorite restaurants co-located.  We sat on the patio overlooking the lagoon and were able to order from any one of the restaurants.  It was a grand idea and very pleasant a seseme encrusted salmon with a mango salad  Ben and Gail had the same.  Caroline had a different salmon preparation.

We returned to the hotel and I found Eduardo and Christianna having lunch with the Egyptian consul.  I visited with them for a while and then headed up to do these notes and prepare for the evening.  It will start at an opening for a new museum and then dinner and nightclubs.  I will report on that later.