Edited by Rocky Grove, Saturday, 5 Oct 2013, 12:09
Continuing the theme of long forgotten records - don't worry I won't be able to keep it up - my main aim on Monday was to visit the Sugar Loaf. However, it is best seen at sunset so I went via the city centre.
My first stop was a quick visit to Ipanema Beach, what a difference from Sunday, not at all crowded.
I then took the metro into the centre of Rio - it was such a contrast with affluent Copocabana and Ipenema! My first stop was a lovely peaceful park - which I found out was home to quite a few people! Though why they were asleep at midday, I wasn't quite sure - siesta?
I then wondered though a street market, very like Arab souks, every imaginable thing for sale, though most of the street stalls where actually extensions of fairly normal shops. The major difference to me was that I wasn't once hassled, even when I stopped to look, something I was initially very wary of doing, bearing in mind my souk experiences.
I took the circular bus tour to have an overview of the city - not a tourist bus, surprising there wasn't one but a regular inner circle past interesting spots.
Finally I headed for the Sugar Loaf getting there at around 5pm. It must cover half the Brasilian National Debt as it cost nearly £20 to go up in the cable car, but it's the only way up unless you are a rock climber and you can't come to Rio without ascending the Sugar Loaf. One thing I was disappointed about - the James Bond film where he fights with Oddjob on a pylon descending the Sugar Loaf - it's a fake!! There are two separate cable cars and both having a continuous run with no pylons at all .
The view from the top was spectacular, my photos don't really do it justice unfortunately. I stayed until 7pm and then caught the bus going the wrong way in a circular route so it took me about 90 minutes to get back, after I'd had a meal I had been out over eleven hours.
On Tuesday I spent a quiet morning relaxing by the hotel's roof top pool and then took a tour to Rio's favela. Some people refer to them as Rio's slums, but the guide - who lives in one - says they are not, they are for poorer people. He said there is a tremendous sense of community and they have all the normal facilities like doctors, schools, lawyers etc. "No one sleeps on the streets, they do that in the city centre!
It appears that when someone comes from the provinces to make their fortune they pursuade someone to let them build a house, probably on someone else's roof. We saw up to elevn stories, not necessarily of the same building style but all made of brick or concrete, no wood.
Some of the dwellings on the actual hillside are in danger of mud slides and interestingly the when the guide referred to mud slides, I commented yes we heard about them unfortunately. He said no they were last April and only when pressed did he comment about the mud slides of January 2011 which happened 85 km away.
The Rio city council is becoming more involved in providing things for the favelas, they have built some new apartment blocks and are forcibly moving people from the most dangerous houses on the hillside. The guy seemed to have a very ambivalent attitude to authority. He thought Lula had done a good job as was elected fairly by 85% but felt it was too early to judge the new president Dilma Rousseff. He talked about all the things the state was doing for the favela but then went on to talk about the poor state of public schooling and health provision - the middle class pay for this. As a result on 3% of the "poor" go to university and there is still 7% illiteracy.
It was a fascinating glimpse of life, I felt completely safe, tired from climbing numerous steps and amazed at how close one favela was to a very rich neighbourhood - across the street.
Sugar, Sugar and Favelas
Continuing the theme of long forgotten records - don't worry I won't be able to keep it up - my main aim on Monday was to visit the Sugar Loaf. However, it is best seen at sunset so I went via the city centre.
My first stop was a quick visit to Ipanema Beach, what a difference from Sunday, not at all crowded.
I then took the metro into the centre of Rio - it was such a contrast with affluent Copocabana and Ipenema! My first stop was a lovely peaceful park - which I found out was home to quite a few people! Though why they were asleep at midday, I wasn't quite sure - siesta?
I then wondered though a street market, very like Arab souks, every imaginable thing for sale, though most of the street stalls where actually extensions of fairly normal shops. The major difference to me was that I wasn't once hassled, even when I stopped to look, something I was initially very wary of doing, bearing in mind my souk experiences.
I took the circular bus tour to have an overview of the city - not a tourist bus, surprising there wasn't one but a regular inner circle past interesting spots.
Finally I headed for the Sugar Loaf getting there at around 5pm. It must cover half the Brasilian National Debt as it cost nearly £20 to go up in the cable car, but it's the only way up unless you are a rock climber and you can't come to Rio without ascending the Sugar Loaf. One thing I was disappointed about - the James Bond film where he fights with Oddjob on a pylon descending the Sugar Loaf - it's a fake!! There are two separate cable cars and both having a continuous run with no pylons at all
.
The view from the top was spectacular, my photos don't really do it justice unfortunately. I stayed until 7pm and then caught the bus going the wrong way in a circular route so it took me about 90 minutes to get back, after I'd had a meal I had been out over eleven hours.
On Tuesday I spent a quiet morning relaxing by the hotel's roof top pool and then took a tour to Rio's favela. Some people refer to them as Rio's slums, but the guide - who lives in one - says they are not, they are for poorer people. He said there is a tremendous sense of community and they have all the normal facilities like doctors, schools, lawyers etc. "No one sleeps on the streets, they do that in the city centre!
It appears that when someone comes from the provinces to make their fortune they pursuade someone to let them build a house, probably on someone else's roof. We saw up to elevn stories, not necessarily of the same building style but all made of brick or concrete, no wood.
Some of the dwellings on the actual hillside are in danger of mud slides and interestingly the when the guide referred to mud slides, I commented yes we heard about them unfortunately. He said no they were last April and only when pressed did he comment about the mud slides of January 2011 which happened 85 km away.
The Rio city council is becoming more involved in providing things for the favelas, they have built some new apartment blocks and are forcibly moving people from the most dangerous houses on the hillside. The guy seemed to have a very ambivalent attitude to authority. He thought Lula had done a good job as was elected fairly by 85% but felt it was too early to judge the new president Dilma Rousseff. He talked about all the things the state was doing for the favela but then went on to talk about the poor state of public schooling and health provision - the middle class pay for this. As a result on 3% of the "poor" go to university and there is still 7% illiteracy.
It was a fascinating glimpse of life, I felt completely safe, tired from climbing numerous steps and amazed at how close one favela was to a very rich neighbourhood - across the street.