Rio baby!!

Christ the redeemer

Rio de Janeiro is definitely one of the most beautiful cities in the world. I don't know what it is. It could be the combination of a vibrant series of urban settlements laid out around a series of breathtaking mountains, lagoons and beaches. Is Christs' big embrace from the top of Corcovado, or the sugar loaf overlooking the bay of Guanabara. Or perhaps it is the beautiful girls, the “alegria brasileira”, the happy samba, the busy markets, the crumbling, yet beautiful colonial buildings. Maybe it is the sunsets on Ipanema with the dois hermaos and the pedra da gevao gracefully swallowing the burning orange sphere. The sunsets are so beautiful that people on the beach spontaneously start applauding and cheering. I almost started singing O Sole Mio with all the air in my lungs, which is something I often do when I am happy and it is something I have found myself doing more and more often over the past year.

Fried fish 15 Reals, sunset in Copacabana: priceless!

Or maybe, and most likely, it is just the fact that I am with old friends and I just feel absolutely free and happy. Soak in the beauty of it all. Life, Rio, Brazil, friendship, the way people sing “beleza” when they speak, the colours, the sunshine, the smile on a child's face. Everything.

I arrived in Rio at a very important moment of the citiy's history. Rio used to make the headlines for the violence in the favelas, the informal settlements that spread in impossible positions on the hills that surround the city. Things have changed in the past years, Rio will be hosting the 2016 Olympic games and will also be hosting the 2014 Fifa World Cup Final and the local government has decided that the time has come to clean up the city. The police has now gone where it never went in the past: the favelas. They have “pacified” the favelas by setting up camp in all of the favelas around town and fighting the drug lords. A couple of days ago they entered the Rocinha complex, one of the largest in Rio and they arrested the top dog, who was trying to escape hidden in the trunk of a car driven by two gangsters who claimed to be diplomats from Congo and invoked political immunity.

Films like “City of God (Ciudade de Deus)” and “Elite Troops (Tropas de Elite)” have portrayed the extreme violence that has surrounded Rio for so many years. There are still many issues that the government has to solve, but things are definitely moving forward. I hope that “a ciudade meravilhosa” can now make the headlines for its beauty, because this vibrant city definitely deserves better.

Meanwhile I have visited all the main tourist attractions and have sampled the amazing nightlife in the Lapa district. The night started off with live samba music on the stairs close to the Pedra do Sal (Salt Rock) and was followed by more samba dancing on the streets of the Lapa district. One big energy blast rocks Rio on a week end and it becomes the ultimate party place and even if you don't like parties it doesn't matter because the atmosphere swallows everyone and you cannot stop shuffling the feet and moving your hips to the sound of the samba.

The sun goes down but Rio doesn't sleep

This little fella wanted to steal our bananas at the Sugar Loaf

Friendly Brazilian dude helped us keep the banana out of the monkey's reach

Sugar Loaf

Jeroen and I on the Suger Loaf with Copacabana in the background

This is the view that Jesus has of the Sugar Loaf... not bad!

Copacabana and Praia Vermelha as seen from the top of the Sugar Loaf

My first month in Floripa was wonderful and relaxing, but something was missing and I could never quite could point out exactly what. I know now: Floripa is very European, it didn't feel like South America to me. The natural beauty of the island was stunning, but somehow I never felt I was on a different continent. Rio on the other hand was lively and eclectic, loud and colourful, it was order and chaos rolled into one, live samba music and crumbling colonial buildings. Stereotypes? I guess. Maybe I just wanted it to be that way and that it what I experienced, but I still think that the city has its very own special character. I really liked the fact that the geography of Rio has really created micro-cities. Rio is not one, there are many Rios and you just get to pick the one that suits you best.

Old part of downtown Rio

Havaianas, lots of them, in all shapes and colours. They even had a pair that glows in the dark (brilha no escuro!!!!)

I am approaching my last day in Rio, tomorrow I will make my way to Sao Paulo and two days after I will fly into Trujillo. I'm exited that I will soon be visiting old friends and cannot wait to see the children at USDA and Simon Bolivar.

Brazil was amazing. I met wonderful and interesting people all over the country. I will definitely be coming back! Obrigado Brasil. Obrigado amigos brasileiros! Thanks to all those that made my stay special: the friends and staff at Barra Beach Hostel and Hilltop hostel in Barra da Lagoa. I would like to especially thank Thiago,Luis, Gustavo, Joao Paulo, Binho and Amanda. Thiago obrigado for introducing me to Gustavo, Joao Paulo and Binho in Sao Paulo and hosting me in Copacabana. Gustavo, Joao Paulo, Binho, Luis and Amanda thank you for going out of your way to make me feel at home in Sao Paulo. I don't have enough words to express how grateful I am for this Brazilian hospitality! A ospidalidade brasileira foi o mais lindo presente que eu recebi no pais.