Rio by Helicopter

Decent weather at dawn means I could finally get a chance to take a helicopter around the city, something I've been denied because of weather 3 or 4 times before.

We went on the last ride of the day and though the light wasn't ideal for pictures, the views were amazing.

Christ the Redeemer from a helicopter is obviously the centre piece of the trip and I took an embarrassment of shots most of which were blown out by the sun. 

The trip takes around 10 minutes and runs $120 a person. That may seem expensive on the surface but its pretty hard to think of a cooler perspective from which to see the city.

After the ride I went to the airport on Friday night and started a 30 hour journey/ordeal which ended on Sunday in Finland.

I  took a few pictures in Helsinki though I haven't looked at them yet. I'll post a couple if any of them turn out.

Stay well everyone.

T

Brazil

I never get tired of taking a picture of the dude on the mountain.
I'm on my last day of a whirlwind trip to Brazil having been in 3 cities over 5 days.
Pretty much all of the time its been raining.
The day that I leave, the sun comes out.

I'm going to try to fit in a helicopter ride this afternoon before my flight and if I do you can be sure there'll be more pictures of this guy.
Stay well and stay tuned.
T

RIO

I'm in Rio this week and getting married tomorrow (!). Wedding pics will doubtlessly feature in future posts. What follows are a few from the past week in the lead up to Sunday.

The  temperatures are a cool 24 C during the day and dip down to about 18 at night. The dudes surfing are a hardy lot as the water is freezing.
With my folks here a quick whip around key sites was in order.
First stop; the iconic image and symbol of the city.
I've posted pictures of Christ the Redeemer many times on this blog, but it would have felt wrong not to have documented this visit with parents and sister in tow.

Sugar loaf was also on the agenda.

Its on the tourist trail for good reason.

The views are amazing.

Vast deep water oil deposits have been discovered  off the coast and platforms are begining to feature in the landscape. Many people are of two minds regarding this  windfall. Given the recent spill in the Gulf and the devestating impact on the tourist industry, there's concern here for the fate of thecity's famous beaches. There are also worries concerning the impact on everyday live as a result of the flow of petro dollars. One need only look at Nigeria to see that such a windfall can have a transformative negative impact and turn society on its head.

Money fosters corruption.

Corruption is already a problem.



The Favellas are an ongoing issue in Rio. They're slums but not in the way such places exist in India or Africa. The communities are made up of substantial structures- mortar and brick with pirated electricity and water and sit cheek by jowel beside million dollar neighborhoods.  This is where maids, labourers and service workers live.

Its also home to violent drug dealers who hold the population hostage.

The people of the favellas arent the consumers of drugs- they have no money.

Its the rich who live by the beach who are the primarey market and generate the money that keeps the whole sorry cycle going. 

Over the past year or so the Government has embarked on a "pacification" scheme. In former "no-go" areas, police have installed heavily fortified stations ands pushed the drug dealers out. This hasn't happened without incident.

Helicopters have been shot down.

Firefights involving military grade ordinace have raged.

People have been killled

The campaign is by no means over, but progress is being made.

Thats it for now.
I'm getting married in 5 hours.....wish me luck!
Love to all

T