One of the most interesting things about Brazil besides the beaches is THE JUNGLE!!! (cue Guns & Roses.) Conveniently enough, a number of protected areas and national parks have kept large swaths of jungle around and in the major metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro. In other words, I did not have to travel far at all in order to reach dense, thick regions of rain forest, with waterfalls…
… and monkeys, yes: real, live, monkeys, just chilling out in the forest.
Probably the most iconic image of Brazil, set atop a towering mountain, is Christ the Redeemer. He stands with his arms open to the incoming ship traffic into Rio’s port, welcoming them to the city. Here I traveled up the mountain to give him a hug.
One thing I really wanted to experience, and which Rafael was not so keen about, was visiting one of Rio’s favelas, or slums, another icon (unfortunately) of the city. He did finally, reluctantly, take me through one. The favelas, which have been quite in the news recently, are made up of a bunch of squatters living in the hilly areas of Rio, where they build little shacks and lean-tos, and live in crumbling buildings amongst narrow, craggy alleys and treacherous streets. It’s really neat! In this picture you can start to get an idea of houses with corroding paint, rotting wood, and lack of cohesion of the neighborhood. Also note the differences in emotions between Rafael and myself.
We took a plane trip up to the city of Natal, near the equator, where we stayed in a hotel overlooking the beach. Natal is a much quieter, cheaper, relaxed place to be, where many of the local country folk still use horses and carriages for personal and commercial transportation.
While there we went dune-buggying on some of the extensive sand dunes located throughout the region. While the Brazilians still call the vehicle a “buggy,” they pronounce it “boogie,” or perhaps more like “booogie.” Anyhow, it was a load of fun. We had the option of riding “with or without emotion,” and of course we chose the former, sliding straight down dunes and crevices; we also stopped at a number of nice vista points, secluded beaches, etc.
Notice how, in this post about things that were not beaches, I have already mentioned beaches twice? Here’s a third: another famous landmark, a contemporary art museum in Rio’s next-door-neighbor city; one of the most noteworthy things, besides its fantastical architecture, is its remarkable view of the beaches.
One of the most pleasant surprises for me in Brazil was the prevalence and quality of fresh fruit juices, everywhere you turn. Beachside kiosks abound, where you can order truly fresh fruit smoothies.
Everywhere else there are scores of vendors selling you all sorts of beverages, including chilled coconut water, straight from the coconut.
And at our hotel in Natal, we were greeted in the morning to a breakfast buffet of a dozen choices of fresh fruit, a half a dozen fresh fruit juices, and a table overlooking the seaside.
Finally, and most importantly, none of these good times in Rio would have happened without the more-than-generous hospitality of Rafael’s family, who were extremely gracious, helpful and friendly, cooking for me, buying me food, driving me places, etc. etc. etc. So here is one last shout-out to Rafael, my fantastic tour guide, and the Demarco family, my gracious hosts. Salud!
