Rio

I haven't posted for a while and this one is rather lengthy, not because I have much to say, but rather I took a lot of pics and kept adding them to the post.  I just got back from another week in Rio in search of an elusive VISA, which, if all goes well, should finally arrive sometime in the near future.

I stayed at a couple of hotels this trip but rather than review them here I'll put something up on trip advisor in the next couple of days.

Opposite the balcony of the Sheraton, is the beach and to the left, a smallish favella ( forgot the name). Suffice to say the different circumstances of myself and the folk who live there isn't lost on me.

Its largely "pacified" now but in the past its people suffered from the misery of being firmly in the grip of gun toting drug dealers. Corrupt police were a problem then and from some accounts are still part of the sad story..

My one reason for coming again and again to Rio.

No need to explain myself here.....

We spent my last day wandering around the Botanical Gardens which sit smack in the middle of the city.

I need to get my ass to the gym.

Its a lovely oasis in the urban sprawl and crawling traffic.

We spent one evening in Lapa, an area close to downtown famous for bars and nightlife.

Its important to keep your wits about you here. Though the bad old days of violence and mayhem seem to have taken a respite, its still a rather dodgy place and you need to take care.

A surreal moment whilst having a drink:. I looked up to see the Detroit Red Wings on TV.
Strange to see this in a bar in Lapa as I'm sure there wasn't a person there who'd ever skated let alone watched a hockey game.

This is not the sort of place you should stumble around drunk.

Its autumn in Rio and the weather was changeable at best.  Rain and cold winds ( "cold means 21 degrees Celsius) meant the beaches were left to the surfers. They were in the water from 5:30 am everyday regardless of the rain. Surfers everywhere are crazy I think but in Rio they take it to a new level. The prime spot seemed to be cheek by jowl against the rocks at the end of Ipanema. Red flags warning against treacherous currents kept any swimmers ( and there were very few) to knee deep. The surfers attacked the water with reckless abandon.

That's it for today.

Not much in the way of startling insight I grant you but some interesting pictures none the less.

Stay well everyone

T