BRAZIL: There is nothing like the playful weekend vibe on the beautiful beaches of Rio de Janeiro. The city is becoming more and more loved by travelers. And I do under stand why!
At the end of last year I visited Brazil for the first, but certainly not the last, time. I didn’t have much time to travel in the huge country, but spent all my time in Rio-state. There are a lot of nice resorts around the city of Rio de Janeiro, and I will post some travel stories from the perfect beaches of Búzios and Ilha Grande later on.
But for now, I just have to share some photos from the city of Rio, a perfect holiday spot. The city is beautiful unlike any other city I have seen, and I have seen many. The beaches stretch around most of the city for miles and miles. And the cariocas (as the people of Rio call them self) use the beaches as their playground always doing soccer, ping pong, surfing or kiting.
The city is vibrant and filled with music, culture, art and fun. And for sporty travelers there is a lot of tropical forest around the city for hiking.
The living standard among the people of Rio vary from high end luxury to immense poverty. But a lot have been done to secure the slum favela areas, and now most of the favelas are pacified.
My top list of things to do is to:
1. Hang out on Ipanema beach, it is nicer than Copacabana.
2. Dance samba.
3. See the city from above. From Sugar Loaf and/or Corcovado or/and from the favelas.
4. Experience the tropical nature.
5. Have some acai!
Click on the pictures to enter the gallery.
To see the beauty of Rio you have to se the city from above.
Thees pictures are from the Sugar Loaf top. You can hike up to this first level.
And then take the cable car up to the top. It is a perfect place to see the sunset, and the city.
The view of Rio from Corcovado, the mountain with the famous Christ the Redeemer statue.
The famous statue in the sun.
Rio is all about the beaches. Here the beach walk on Ipanema.
Where the cariocas gather every day, especially in the weekends.
The neighborhood was made famous world wide by the compositor Antonio Carlos Jobim and the song “Girl from Ipanema”. We stayed at the lovely posdada that was once his house.
Arpoador is the area in the far end of Ipanema, towards Copacabana. Cariocas gather here to see the sunset almost every evening.
They hike on the top.
They dance on the top.
They take pictures from the top.
It attracts all sorts of people.
Every night.
Arpoador is also a popular place for concerts.
A beautiful place for concerts.
Until the moon comes up.
But when the music stops in Arpoador, there is always another concert and live music all over Rio. At weekends the Rio Scenarium in Lapa is a must see. This huge club is like a museum with different exhibitions in each room. And they have live samba in the first floor.
There have always been a lot of parties around Lapa and its famous arches. It is crowded party area every night. But Lapa is not the safest area for tourists at night fall.
So to stroll around, its best at day time.
Then you can visit the famous Rio steps Escadaria Selarón close by. The steps take you up to the cultural area of Santa Teresa.
The view from Santa Teresa over the city is also amazing.
But we have to talk more about the beaches. The cariocas spend live their life on the beach.
They go there for training.
For vending.
For sculpting.
For drinking beer.
Or just to hang out.
The Lagoa is also worth a visit. The vast lake situated between the neighbourhoods of Ipanema, Leblon, Copacabana, Gávea and Jardim Botânico and Humaitá. Here you can rent bikes and ride around the lake. Or rent the pedal boats and spend some time on the lake in the sun.
Close by is the botanical garden.
It is huge, and very nice.
With a lot of tropical plants.
I think it was fun to visit.
And in Rio you have to eat acai. This super fruit berry is frozen after it is picked, and it is served as a frozen pulp, often with granola. Yummy and healthy.
And in Rio, do like Michael Jackson, visit the favelas.
You get to see the city from an other side.
You will meet poverty.
But also a lot of innovation.
Because Rio is all about the art, music and culture.
You must be logged in to post a comment.