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| Sunrise over Rio |
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| Rio's Beaches painting |
A visit to Rio without visiting its famous beaches would not
be a complete visit. I headed for Ipanema with the good intention to walk all
the way to Copacabana, which seemed not that far according to the map.
However, pre-midday heat and humidity were such that after
trudging along the beach promenade tiled with characteristic Portuguese designs
(each beach has its own graphics) for a little while, my good intentions
evaporated in the heat.
It was more comfortable to take advantage of one of the many
beach side benches and to watch the sunbathers playing their interminable beach
volley. Hardly anybody took advantage of the water. I understand that the
purpose of going to the beach is not so much to swim (the water is rather cool)
but for to cultivate a deep tan to contrast around bikini lines. A most females
wear bikini bottoms shaped like bum floss, their rear ends look darkly and
completely toasted.
Similar to many cities, Rio de Janeiro is a city of
contrasts. Modern and colonial architecture live side by side, wealth and
poverty as well. One walks past the super exclusive Copacabana Palace hotel and
then through the still decrepit port area, or underneath highway over-paths and
bridges which serve as semi-permanent roofs for homeless people. A chasm
between rich and poor is evident at every corner.
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| Man and his dog... |
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| Port scene |
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| Artistic representation of a Favela (Slum) |
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| Roof housing |
The houses with the best ‘views’ are those belonging to the
poorest citizens. Favelas, slums, crawl up in profusion on the steep slopes of
the many mountains, whereas the valleys are filled with expensive condo
buildings, hotels and exclusive homes. The views may be fantastic from the
Favelas, however, every rainfall brings devastating landslides and many shacks
finish up being swept downhill in a river of mud. Hundreds of thousands of
Cariocans (locals) live in these neighbourhoods, where crime is rife and life
is hard.
The Favelas are also the original ‘home’ of Carnival. Many
inhabitants are working year-round creating, building and sewing costumes and
parade floats, they hold dance and music practise, to be ready for a couple of
weeks of nonstop Carnival activities, which have their Grand Finale with a huge
competition of all the ‘Samba-Schools’ in the Samba Drome.
The Samba Drome holds about 75.000 people, and is a stretch
of dedicated narrow avenue of about a kilometer in length, which has spectator stands
on either side. Carnival floats take about an hour and fifteen minutes to
progress through the stretch, to give the public and the judges time to admire and
judge the performance of different ‘classes’ of Samba Schools, ranging from the
star groups to relative newcomers to the game.
Apparently only one
piece of music is played at maximum decibels for the duration of the parade –
and nobody gets sick of it. Preparation and venue cost a fortune, but the
‘carnival industry’ keeps thousands of people employed, brings a huge amount of
TV revenue, entertains hundreds of thousands of locals and tourists alike, and
makes up a large portion of the local economy.
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| Sunset over Rio |
Six p.m. and Prinsendam slowly made her way out of the port.
The aft pool deck offered the best view of the panoramic city slowly settling
into dusk, however, despite balmy and dry temperatures the pool bar had closed
already and ship life had settled back into ‘normal’. A few die hard
photographers captured the last glimpses of Rio de Janeiro, before heading for
dinner and cabin.
