Tuesday, January 22, 2019

Brazil, everybody so crazy about it...and me? May be

Would I recommend Brazil? Probably I would not put it on top of your bucket list, if you still have other countries to visit in this wonderful world :-)
In my opinion, Brazil, and especially Rio, are very much overrated, and my expectations certainly didn't match the reality, at least when it comes the places I visited. 
To be completely honest with you, I was never really attracted to this country...however I had to decide where to go for my winter break and a friend of mine living in Brussels told me that she would go there, and why not to meet in Rio and spend some days together? Another friend from Naples spent in Brazil many winters in the past, working only for the summer season in Italy. He simply loved it and still had a very good friend in Arraial Do Cabo -  who runs a hostel and could host me - apparently one of the most beautiful coasts of Brazil. The day I would arrive in Arraial, it would also be his birthday and I was already invited on a boat party, even before booking my ticket! ☺☺☺☺☺
Not to speak about another dear friend from Naples - who I had met in Vietnam back in 2014 - and now living in Paraguay, who would join me at the Iguazu Falls just to say hello and have dinner together...this would be a solo trip but with a lot of nice people to meet and moments to share, so I was easily in: let's book a ticket to Rio!

The trip: Rome-Casablanca-Rio with the worse company you can fly with, Royal Air Maroc  

I booked a quite cheap ticket, but you get what you pay for, and in this case I wish I'd paid more to avoid the trouble!
My flight from Rome to Casablanca was right on time, however, once arrived in Morocco, the plane kept on flying over Casablanca's sky for over 40 minutes, making the coincidence to Rio VERY challenging to take! I asked to the staff on board and they reassured me that we would make it, that it was the same airline and the plane would NEVER leave without us on board. We land, run to the gate and discover that all our tickets have been CANCELLED and the plane to Rio is about to take off, leaving back in Casablanca 10 people (including me) that were supposed to be on that plane! There were also many other people going to San Paolo who had missed their coincidence and, in that transit area, there was just a big chaos, as I had never seen before in an airport. People arguing, the ground staff unable to speak  English nor to help, people crying as they had flights booked from Brazil to other countries of South America, which they would not be able to take...and the options that the airline offered were terrible: option 1: stay 2 days!!! in Casablanca and take the next flight to Rio; option 2: fly the day after to San Paolo and then take another flight to Rio or get there by bus! I didn't feel as any of these options were feasible and got hope when someone from the staff told us that there were 2 seats on an AirFrance flight leaving in the evening from Casablanca and going to Paris and then Rio. The problem was that we were 10 people versus 2 tickets. One of the tickets went to an Italian doctor, who said that he had to perform a surgery in Rio that could not be postponed (only later I found out that it was not true). And the second ticket? I needed to come up with something in order to make sure it would be mine...and enlightenment came: I proposed to take into account the date in which we booked the original flight - it was March and I had booked mine in early February, therefore I had good chances...and...indeed! Following this criteria the ticket to Rio was mine! I would arrive in Rio with 7 hours delay, better than 2 days! 
The flight to Rio was made interesting, indeed, by the Italian doctor, who admitted that he had no surgery in Rio and just wanted to get there ASAP. He worked between Italy and Brazil his entire life, and got divorced when, some years ago, the Italian news showed on TV the Carnival in Rio and his wife saw him drunk, dancing samba in the middle of the crowd, when he was supposed to be in a medical congress in the US! After the divorce, he bought an attic in Ipanema and since then visited Rio many times a year...

Finally landed: Rio!           
    
Once landed, I took a local bus who brought me to Ipanema, where I had booked my hostel. If you're traveling alone, I can definitely recommend the Mango Tree, as the facilities are very good and it's located in one of the safest neighborhood of Rio, just one block away from Ipanema beach. 
The first day I went to the beach, walked all the way to Copacabana and ate a huge Açai cream bowl, which would become my favorite breakfast, lunch, dinner during all my stay in Brazil :-)


Açai cream bowl - BEST EVER
What I loved the most about Rio De Janeiro:

1. Visiting the Rocinha Favela

I didn't want to leave Rio without going to one of its Favelas and visiting the biggest one of South America seemed to me the best option to try to understand the reality of this place and people living in it. I was fortunate enough to visit Rocinha with a guy who grew up in that Favela, who was able to tell me where to go and where not to, what to take picture of and what to avoid, he brought me in some narrow streets where I would never have ventured alone, explained to me the various charity activities in the Favela, told me about all the foreigners volunteering and living in it. We went there on a Sunday and it was quite nice to see people barbecuing, kids playing in the streets and festive vibes. To me, it didn't seem a place known for tremendous violence and crime. 

If you want to visit this Favela, you can contact Junior via Instagram, he speaks very good English and is a trustworthy guy :-)






 



2. Going to the BIP BIP bar in Copacabana: 


This bar opened in 1968 and has made the story of bossa nova music and samba in Rio. All major singers and bands have performed there at least once, and every night you can find established or emerging artists performing in a relaxed, local atmosphere. The bar has only few tables inside and few outside, so the majority of people just stand and listen to live music. There is a fridge inside where you can grab as many beers as you want, indicating to the owner, Alfredinho, sitting outside on his old wooden desk, every time you take one. He writes the number down in a very old book and, at the end of the evening, you get your bill. Another peculiar thing of the BIP BIP bar is that it is forbidden to clap while artists perform. According to Alfredinho, clapping produces too much noise and this can distract people playing. As alternative, people can show their appreciation by snapping fingers, definitely more discreet.

BIP BIP - The cutest Bossa Nova bar in Rio
3. Live samba in Pedra do Sal on Monday evening 

I had read about this event before going to Rio and once arrived at the hostel, I asked to the guy at the Reception about it. He told me that going there was dangerous for foreigners, it was far away, and he would not advise me to go. In the meanwhile, my friend from Brussels had arrived in Rio and, of course, we decided to rent an Uber - which I totally recommend - and go dance samba in the center! Pedra do Sal is indeed quite far from Ipanema, maybe 30 minutes drive, but that place on Monday evening is bustling with energy! Lots of locals out of the office just going there to have a drink and dance, lots of foreigners having fun and experiencing local vibes, lots of bands playing in the tiny streets of that area, and I remember thinking: "what a wonderful place is South America and how many things to explore which give us happiness outside of our comfort zone!"


These 2 neighborhoods are located in the center of Rio. 
Santa Teresa is quite nice to visit during the day, as you can take the historical tram (bondinho, as they call it locally) and hop off in the different areas of the neighbor. There are a lot of hand-craft local shops and a nice architecture, being this a liberty area. In Santa Teresa you can also find the very colorful and overcrowded Escadaria Selaron and I wish you good luck in taking pics without people on your back! Be careful in going to the this area during the night, as it becomes quite dangerous and minor crimes happen on a regular basis. 
On the contrary, during the night you can go to Lapa, where you can still find nice liberty architecture, which reminds Europe very much, and lots of clubs and bar where you cal chill and have a drink accompanied by local live music.

Lapa by night

Bondinho :)
Liberty in Santa Teresa
5. Cristo Redentor, Pão de Açúcar and the views!



Of course, if you go to Rio, you can't miss the Cristo Redentor, the most touristic attraction ever and one of the New 7 Wonders of the World! In reality, it's not really the statue which is charming, at least not to me - we've got a very similar one in Italy, in Maratea - nor the crowd that you find once on the top, nor the hundreds souvenir shops, not the fight that you need to have in order to get a picture with the statue and/or the landscape without having someone else's nose in your cheek. The very nice thing about this visit is the way to get up there: you take a small funicular that brings you all the way up to the Corcovado Mountain , passing literally thru a tropical rain forest, the Tijuca Forest, where you see crazy nature and animals. The view from the top is amazing, of course! Same thing goes for the Sugarloaf mountain, the views on the entire city and the nature up there are marvelous! Both visits are really nice to do, even if you need to prepare yourself to big crowds, which I don't particularly enjoy...


From Cristo Redentor
From Sugarloaf 

6. The nature 

Rio has developed among mountains and rain forests and while walking on the street you don't know anymore if you are in a city or in a jungle! Huge trees, plants, flowers are all over the city, it was the first time that I saw orchids growing directly out of the trunk of trees! 


Nature in Rio
Ipanema's streets
7. Shopping havaianas flip-flops like there is no tomorrow! 

Obviously, you can choose among all types of havaianas, they're cheap and you can't find the same models outside of Brazil! 💖

What I was disappointed about in Rio de Janeiro:      

1. Ipanema and Copacabana beaches

Crazy to say, one of the things that disappointed me the most in Rio were Ipanema and Copacabana. I believe that we all have the myth of these two beaches, and once I got there I was super disappointed by the state of them. They were dirty, overcrowded, with vendors trying to sell you anything from sarong to caipirinha, from massages to icecreams, from beach dresses to music speakers, as a result, you have people constantly shouting in your ears. In addition, you have to pay constant attention to your belongings - better not to bring anything to the beach if not little money and a towel. Unfortunately, these beaches are the hot-spot for thieves and people from favelas, who pick up empty cans left by other people on the beach, with big black garbage bags, going back and forth all day, who might stop and take stuff from you, if given the occasion. This is the way the world goes, it can happen everywhere, however being not able to relax when you are alone at the beach and nobody can watch your stuff is quite annoying. In Rio, you just have to pay some extra attention. 

2. The food

Thanks God I am not a vegetarian! There is very little variety in Brazilian food - based mostly on meat - and even if I am not a vegetarian, after few days, I was kind of bored of eating meat or, in alternative, spinach, especially when it comes to quick snacks! I remember asking to someone: "would you have something without meat?" and the guy: "sure, I have this, cheese and ham!"... 
However, I was able to eat very good fish dishes in other parts of Brazil, so this mostly applies to Rio - Thanks God for Açai bowls and international Sushi! 
Speaking about meat, if you want to eat a very good picanha, probably the best of Rio, I advise you to go to the Garota de Ipanema, historical restaurant in Ipanema neighbor. 

3. The Westernization of Rio

Never have expectations when visiting a new country! This was, definitely, my mistake :-) 
I thought I would find more local culture, local shops, hand-crafts, something different from what I am used to...I hoped I would "concretely" feel in another world, which is the feeling that I love the most when traveling so far away from home and especially to South America! But nope, Rio feels like any other Western city, big shopping malls, chains of shops one after the other, you can find pretty much anything you are used to, so, from that point of view, not much emotion.  

4. The markets

When I visit a new city, I never miss local markets. I find them the best way to watch local people and their habits, to understand what they eat, what they wear, how they interact, how they negotiate based on local prices etc...in Rio, local markets, i.e. Copacabana, were mostly for tourists and they sold lots of Chinese stuff, pretty kitsch, so I was quite disappointed, as I love buying local hand-made traditional stuff and bring it home with me. 

The only market which I really enjoyed was the Sunday Hippie Market in Ipanema, totally recommended and with lots of nice stuff!

Next stop: the unbelievable Iguazu Falls! 

I took an internal flight from Rio to Foz do Iguaçu, in the Brazilian state of Paraná, in order to see one of the most magnificent natural wonders on this planet: the Iguazu Falls! This was, without any doubts, my favorite part of the trip! 

I went to the Iguazu Falls by myself and the next morning I met with my friend from Naples and his Brazilian girlfriend who now both live in Asunción, Paraguay. They drove all night to Iguazu just to see me and spend the day together. We went to the Brazilian side of the Falls, and I thought it was amazing, so much powerful nature! This because I still hadn't seen the Argentinian side, where I would go the day after, by myself, and that brought me to tears for how beautiful, powerful, touching it was. To go to Puerto Iguazu (Argentinian side), there are local buses from Foz that leave you at the border, then you have to cross it, get your passport stamped, and then take another local bus that brings you to the bus terminal and then take another bus to the Falls (approximately 40 minutes). I have to say that everything goes quite smoothly, it is a line that works all day long and you always find coincidences going to both sides. In Puerto Iguazu you have about the 80% of the Falls. I decided to walk, approximately 3 hours, and explore the different parts of this natural reserve. What I remember are the endless and colorful butterflies, the numerous rainbows, the powerful noise of the waters and magnificent views of the cataratas! If you go either to Brazil or to Argentina, you can't miss this!
In Foz do Iguaçu I was staying in a super cool, clean, modern hostel (Concept Design Hostel), which also has a swimming pool where to chill in the afternoon and it is located in the center of Foz, where you have all the buses going to the Falls. Totally recommended!  
Brazilian side, imagine the Argentinian one! Must be seen with your own eyes
From water to water: Foz do Iguaçu to Arraial do Cabo

Flight from Foz to Rio, bus from Rio airport to Rio bus terminal, bus from Rio bus terminal to Arraial do Cabo bus terminal! 
NEVER have expectations about a place! This time though, it was not my fault! My friend from Naples, who had spent many winter seasons in Arraial, had always told me that this place was paradise on earth...deserted beaches, turtles swimming in crystal clear waters, only few locals spending their holidays there, in simple worlds: pristine nature and quietness. Too bad that 10 years had passed since last time my friend was in Arraial and MANY things had changed. The beaches were overcrowded, full of umbrellas from beach resorts, vendors of any kind, families with their portable fridges eating all together and listening to loud music...not that I have anything in contrary to that, but I can find exactly the same things in the South of Italy, without having to go so far ;-) When I travel to exotic destinations, especially involving the sea element, it is usually to find silence, stillness and as little, little humanity. So, if you go Praia Do Forno, you know what to expect. Forget about the Instagram pics you saw so far. And also be aware that because of the hill on the back of the beach, the sun goes away around 4pm, at least in March. I was supposed to stay in Arraial 5 nights, I only spent there 2.   
The day after Praia Do Forno, I bought a ticket for a boat trip that would bring me island hopping. I arrived at the harbor and I found hell on earth, instead of paradise! Sooo many of these boats leaving to do exactly the same tour, they gave you a colored card and asked to wait in "line", which, obviously, wasn't a line but just a big mess of people. Once your color was called via a microphone - because of the huge crowd, you really had to pay extra attention in order not to miss your color and boat! -  you could jump on the boat, which clearly carried more people than it could, and I barely had space to seat. The entire boat trip was an alternation of too-loud-for-my-taste reggaeton songs, half-naked women drinking beers, taking selfies and posting instantaneously on social medias, while their little kids looked like they wanted to be anywhere but there, given also the heat of that day. Generally speaking, I didn't find the waters in Arraial so astonishing as they are described. Actually, I didn't find waters in that specific coast of Brazil particularly beautiful, however, I did see a turtle swimming! However, I do have a very good memory of Arraial do Cabo, which is the boat b-day party of Tulio, who was my contact in Arraial. A very local, private boat party: we jumped on the boat around 2pm, ate all sorts of grilled meat, drank all sorts of super tasty caipirinhas, tasted all sorts of local sweets, danced all sorts of reggaeton music - including 1 to 1 lessons on how to shake asses the Brazilian way - and jumped off the boat at I don't remember exactly what time of the night...that was fun!

Goodbye Arraial, Hello Ilha Grande and Paraty 


Ilha Grande was, together with the Iguazu Falls, the only place that I really wanted to visit. The island is entirely made of jungle, there are no cars, no roads, only jungle and wild paths to get to the beaches. The reflection of the jungle into the sea waters, makes the sea itself totally green, and this is the most peculiar aspect of the island. However, the beaches that can be reached by foot, and also some of those reachable by boat, are, in my opinion, quite disappointing. Not the beach itself, with palm trees and clear sand, but the waters...not crystal clear as I imagined, also because of all the boats going around packed with tourists  and the fact that I saw, with my own eyes, people washing them with very heavy soaps right on the shore, making the waters polluted and bubbly without taking into any consideration the preservation of the environment and people swimming right next to them! But Ilha Grande is linked to what made my trip to Brazil not so enjoyable...one night I was going back to the hostel when I saw a BIG sign saying that on that island there was yellow fever and that people not vaccinated should not be there. I had met an Italian living in Rio during my first days in Brazil who told me that there had been a yellow fever outbreak that same year, a lot of people died and I should get the vaccine while I was still in Rio, as it was free, also for travelers. I thought that Italians are always dramatic, and totally disregarded that information. I wish I didn't...actually I wish I'd informed myself before leaving to Brazil! Once I read that sign, I run into the hostel and asked to the owner about it...she looked at me in shock:"are you not vaccinated?! on the island everybody is, last month 17 people died, including foreigners that didn't get the vaccination!" The worse thing was that nowhere I had slept, I saw mosquitoes nets, nor anybody local, apart from the Italian guy, had told me anything about this. Obviously, I panicked big time, also because I had been bitten by mosquitoes on the island! The day after I took the first boat to the mainland - not before having bought the most powerful and quite poisoning repellent ever - where the first guy I met at the bus stop asked me: "are you coming from the island? it's dangerous there, there is yellow fever, are you vaccinated?". Then I thought that the situation was really BAD. I jumped on the first local bus to Paraty, 3 hours drive in the middle of the fields, with rain pouring into the bus, and the driver protected behind a sort of cage...I arrived in Paraty in the evening and spent there a couple of nights. Paraty is super nice and safe, the most colonial city of Brazil, which I would definitely include if you travel to this country :)
After Paraty, I went back to Rio for a couple of days and then back home.


Paraty
Ilha Grande
Interesting people I met during this trip:

- The Italian doctor who faked to have a surgery to perform in Rio in order to get one of the two Air France tickets;
- The Italian guy who lived in Rio for the past 10 years and had just opened a snack in the center, who was so kind to give me all the info on where to get vaccinated against yellow fever. We had a nice chat about Rio and how much it had changed in the past years;
- An Argentinian girl from Patagonia who was so nice to adopt me in her double private room at the hostel - when I came back to Rio from Paraty I only found a place in a 12 people dorm - and she saved me big time by having me stay with her. We spent together the last few days in Rio and we are still in contact;
- A Brazilian doctor who came from a small village and hadn't had yet the courage to confess to his family and friends that he was gay, for the fear of being judged and not accepted. I had once more the confirmation that the world is very similar, and so are human beings;
- A Canadian guy who had lived basically everywhere, trading precious gems.
     

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