Friday, 8 June 2007
Yesterday at Salvador I woke up at 5:30am, today I stayed in bed an extra hour, a sign that my biological clock is slowly getting used to the (not that big, after all), time difference between Europe and Brazil. I have to wait until 8 to have breakfast, before taking the Metro to Copacabana. I take advantage of the situation to stroll around Botafogo, the area where my hostel is at. Last night I saw this very same neighbourhood all dark and… weird, with people fighting in the middle of the street, others having transformed little corners to small “shops” selling anything from food to fake CDs/DVDs, people getting all the time in and out of some store selling all sorts of (electrical, basically) stuff, a store that has the speakers loud, with a rather… persuasive male voice calling in, I guess, customers, to take advantage of the incredibly low prices (or so they advertise…). Now… everything is bright and sunny, I can see how many trees the coastal avenue has, it is pleasantly warm, around 20 Celsius (it is only 7:10, after all), and… what’s in the air is that certain atmosphere a megalopolis has early in the morning, when you know that millions of people are getting ready to go to work. The city is waking up…
8:10
7:10am
Yesterday at Salvador I woke up at 5:30am, today I stayed in bed an extra hour, a sign that my biological clock is slowly getting used to the (not that big, after all), time difference between Europe and Brazil. I have to wait until 8 to have breakfast, before taking the Metro to Copacabana. I take advantage of the situation to stroll around Botafogo, the area where my hostel is at. Last night I saw this very same neighbourhood all dark and… weird, with people fighting in the middle of the street, others having transformed little corners to small “shops” selling anything from food to fake CDs/DVDs, people getting all the time in and out of some store selling all sorts of (electrical, basically) stuff, a store that has the speakers loud, with a rather… persuasive male voice calling in, I guess, customers, to take advantage of the incredibly low prices (or so they advertise…). Now… everything is bright and sunny, I can see how many trees the coastal avenue has, it is pleasantly warm, around 20 Celsius (it is only 7:10, after all), and… what’s in the air is that certain atmosphere a megalopolis has early in the morning, when you know that millions of people are getting ready to go to work. The city is waking up…
7:20
Baía (bay) de Guanabara, Urca (the area on the other side), Morro (hill) da Urca (in the middle and on the right, this “thing” that looks like an oversized belly of someone who is lying down), and last, but most certainly not least, Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain, in the middle and on the left, this thing that looks like… well, YOU pick. My pick is rather shocking ;-)). On my right, some ten teens are playing football. Other than that, the wide beach is empty. I can walk to the sea and escape from the noise coming from the busy avenue behind my back. Isn’t this something or what? You can be in the middle of a huge city, in the heart of an area millions are passing from to go to work, especially early in the morning, and still, the beach at Botafogo is wide enough to supply you with a… natural pair of ear plugs, against the cars’ noise…
Baía (bay) de Guanabara, Urca (the area on the other side), Morro (hill) da Urca (in the middle and on the right, this “thing” that looks like an oversized belly of someone who is lying down), and last, but most certainly not least, Pão de Açúcar (Sugarloaf Mountain, in the middle and on the left, this thing that looks like… well, YOU pick. My pick is rather shocking ;-)). On my right, some ten teens are playing football. Other than that, the wide beach is empty. I can walk to the sea and escape from the noise coming from the busy avenue behind my back. Isn’t this something or what? You can be in the middle of a huge city, in the heart of an area millions are passing from to go to work, especially early in the morning, and still, the beach at Botafogo is wide enough to supply you with a… natural pair of ear plugs, against the cars’ noise…
7:30 
I wonder how come three people got licences to build these three anything but architecturally attractive monsters, while there seems to be a general height limit which all the rest of the buildings have adopted… Details… Talking about details, look on the right and you’ll see Corcovado. The white figure at the very top is nothing else but Cristo Redentor, Christ the Redeemer, possibly Rio’s number one trademark, to which I grew a love/hate relation during my few days in Rio…
I wonder how come three people got licences to build these three anything but architecturally attractive monsters, while there seems to be a general height limit which all the rest of the buildings have adopted… Details… Talking about details, look on the right and you’ll see Corcovado. The white figure at the very top is nothing else but Cristo Redentor, Christ the Redeemer, possibly Rio’s number one trademark, to which I grew a love/hate relation during my few days in Rio…
8:10
I admit it, I’m a sucker for rainbows, I don’t get to see one that often, so when even tiny chances like this are presented to me, I don’t think twice before shooting a picture. My hourly stroll before having breakfast has come to an end, I get more and more excited that in about an hour I will see for the first time ever, with my very own eyes, Copacabana, one of those names that are much more than places’ names, more like… legends.
9:10 
I’m here, and before taking any photos, I need to stop and stand still for a minute or so, just long enough to… let it sink in, realize that I AM actually at Copacabana. I’ll never forget those five something minutes it took me to walk from Cardeal Arcoverde (the name of the Metro station I got off at), to Avenida Atlântica (the name of the coastal avenue at Copacabana). I would compare the feeling with the one you have while walking the last dozens of meters before meeting a girl on your very first date. Huge excitement, little butterflies jumping around my stomach, legs picking up the pace as THE moment comes closer and closer...
I’m here, and before taking any photos, I need to stop and stand still for a minute or so, just long enough to… let it sink in, realize that I AM actually at Copacabana. I’ll never forget those five something minutes it took me to walk from Cardeal Arcoverde (the name of the Metro station I got off at), to Avenida Atlântica (the name of the coastal avenue at Copacabana). I would compare the feeling with the one you have while walking the last dozens of meters before meeting a girl on your very first date. Huge excitement, little butterflies jumping around my stomach, legs picking up the pace as THE moment comes closer and closer...
9:30 
I must look lost… This is how I will, I guess, feel, when I first go to... New York, for example, some day, and look up, surrounded by countless impressive skyscrapers… I crossed the road having put my legs to auto-pilot function, lost in my dream, looking around speechless, feeling like jumping high up, before kissing the sand. Is Copacabana THAT impressive? I cannot know, I have just come, but that’s not the point. The point is that I am here, it’s a dream coming true, and always when a dream comes true, you have a reason to be indescribably happy, emotional too. Having dreams itself is important, is a reason to live, someone could say. But from time to time you need one to become reality, you need hand proof that if you put something in your stubborn mind and if you make countless sacrifices to make it happen, it CAN and WILL happen. That’s my reason for feeling the way I feel right now…
I must look lost… This is how I will, I guess, feel, when I first go to... New York, for example, some day, and look up, surrounded by countless impressive skyscrapers… I crossed the road having put my legs to auto-pilot function, lost in my dream, looking around speechless, feeling like jumping high up, before kissing the sand. Is Copacabana THAT impressive? I cannot know, I have just come, but that’s not the point. The point is that I am here, it’s a dream coming true, and always when a dream comes true, you have a reason to be indescribably happy, emotional too. Having dreams itself is important, is a reason to live, someone could say. But from time to time you need one to become reality, you need hand proof that if you put something in your stubborn mind and if you make countless sacrifices to make it happen, it CAN and WILL happen. That’s my reason for feeling the way I feel right now…
9:50 
Shoes off. I’m not a big fan of swimming, and especially here I wouldn’t leave my stuff unattended to go for a dip, but walking barefoot on sandy beaches is something we all love, don’t we?, and I am no exception. The beach is not crowded, guys selling all sorts of stuff pass me by every now and then, way more people are either lying on the sand or walking on it rather than swimming, I “examine” thoroughly everyone that passes by me (I’m an avid people watcher, but I’m always discrete, or so I hope), and another reason to feel good is that I have the sun on my side. What I mean is that, when possible, I try to plan my strolls in such a way, that I always have the sun on my back, because this maximizes my chances to take pictures with as nice sky colours as possible. A photo freak?! Oh well, maybe just a little…
Shoes off. I’m not a big fan of swimming, and especially here I wouldn’t leave my stuff unattended to go for a dip, but walking barefoot on sandy beaches is something we all love, don’t we?, and I am no exception. The beach is not crowded, guys selling all sorts of stuff pass me by every now and then, way more people are either lying on the sand or walking on it rather than swimming, I “examine” thoroughly everyone that passes by me (I’m an avid people watcher, but I’m always discrete, or so I hope), and another reason to feel good is that I have the sun on my side. What I mean is that, when possible, I try to plan my strolls in such a way, that I always have the sun on my back, because this maximizes my chances to take pictures with as nice sky colours as possible. A photo freak?! Oh well, maybe just a little…
10:40 
So close to Copacabana, so different to it. Ipanema, as seen from Ponta do Arpoador, a small hill at the easternmost tip of the beach. In Copacabana, because of how wide it is (in its biggest length), I had the impression that I could sit on the sand and hardly have a soul pass close by me for minutes and minutes. Seeing Ipanema from the top of this small hill, I can see why it’s described as more… intimate and warm, let’s say. It’s a narrow strip of sand, where it is impossible not to overhear the conversation a group of people next to you is having. As in Copacabana, there are “postos”. See that “7” on the right? That’s a number of a “posto”. Copacabana and Ipanema combined, have twelve of those, and according to my guidebook, certain type of people frequent certain “postos”. I think it’ll be interesting to spot the differences between “family” oriented postos, and… say… the one which is supposed to attract members of Rio’s gay community(!).
So close to Copacabana, so different to it. Ipanema, as seen from Ponta do Arpoador, a small hill at the easternmost tip of the beach. In Copacabana, because of how wide it is (in its biggest length), I had the impression that I could sit on the sand and hardly have a soul pass close by me for minutes and minutes. Seeing Ipanema from the top of this small hill, I can see why it’s described as more… intimate and warm, let’s say. It’s a narrow strip of sand, where it is impossible not to overhear the conversation a group of people next to you is having. As in Copacabana, there are “postos”. See that “7” on the right? That’s a number of a “posto”. Copacabana and Ipanema combined, have twelve of those, and according to my guidebook, certain type of people frequent certain “postos”. I think it’ll be interesting to spot the differences between “family” oriented postos, and… say… the one which is supposed to attract members of Rio’s gay community(!).
10:50 
Of course, I have no reason to hurry. What can I hear?... That’s a question I often ask myself when travelling. From time to time I… pull the brake, stop walking, take a seat, close my eyes, and just… listen. Then, I write what kind of sounds I could hear. Why? I don’t know… If some of you does the same thing and has figured out why, let me know… I just… do it. I feel like it, and when I do, I let myself go, relax, and just… listen. Here, I can listen to waves crashing on the rocks under my feet. People talking, some kids laughing and screaming on my right, more waves crashing, more talks, more kids’ laughter and screams, plus the engine of a small aircraft that is flying above our heads, and can’t be seen in the picture. A paradise in the shape of a huge city… If not for the people who permanently live here and have to deal with a long series of troubles that are rather well known to most of us not residing here, then definitely for me, a short time visitor…
Of course, I have no reason to hurry. What can I hear?... That’s a question I often ask myself when travelling. From time to time I… pull the brake, stop walking, take a seat, close my eyes, and just… listen. Then, I write what kind of sounds I could hear. Why? I don’t know… If some of you does the same thing and has figured out why, let me know… I just… do it. I feel like it, and when I do, I let myself go, relax, and just… listen. Here, I can listen to waves crashing on the rocks under my feet. People talking, some kids laughing and screaming on my right, more waves crashing, more talks, more kids’ laughter and screams, plus the engine of a small aircraft that is flying above our heads, and can’t be seen in the picture. A paradise in the shape of a huge city… If not for the people who permanently live here and have to deal with a long series of troubles that are rather well known to most of us not residing here, then definitely for me, a short time visitor…
12:10 
Almost an hour and a half later, I have reached Ipanema’s westernmost tip, the only part of the beach which, as you can see, is not crowded. I reward myself with some coconut water ("água de coco" in Portuguese), the first one I ever try. Seven months ago I avoided tasting one in India, for some reason… I sit on a bench, a few guys are exercising on my left, a small group of locals is taking the sun in front of me, and as time passes, I get pleasantly surprised by how much water such a small coconut can have(!). I’m in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, and all I have to “worry” about, is how I will spend the rest of my day… Yeeeaaah, it’s a tough-tough job, but I have to do it… Any words of support (like “bloody smart-ass"), mostly welcomed…
Almost an hour and a half later, I have reached Ipanema’s westernmost tip, the only part of the beach which, as you can see, is not crowded. I reward myself with some coconut water ("água de coco" in Portuguese), the first one I ever try. Seven months ago I avoided tasting one in India, for some reason… I sit on a bench, a few guys are exercising on my left, a small group of locals is taking the sun in front of me, and as time passes, I get pleasantly surprised by how much water such a small coconut can have(!). I’m in Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro, and all I have to “worry” about, is how I will spend the rest of my day… Yeeeaaah, it’s a tough-tough job, but I have to do it… Any words of support (like “bloody smart-ass"), mostly welcomed…
4:30pm 
Four and a half hours later, I have walked back all of Ipanema, all of Copacabana, I have made a beer stop, and finally I have reached Ponta do Leme, the… end of the line called “Copacabana”. For some reason, I consider this one of my top ten favourite photos from Brazil, not because there is something really spectacular about it, but because it was shot at the end of an unforgettable walk, the time of the day I consider my favourite, the time that the sun starts hiding behind hills, a mountain, tall buildings… An almost eight hours’ stroll has come to an end, and this picture was for me the perfect way to… wrap it up, pull the brake, turn the lights off…
Four and a half hours later, I have walked back all of Ipanema, all of Copacabana, I have made a beer stop, and finally I have reached Ponta do Leme, the… end of the line called “Copacabana”. For some reason, I consider this one of my top ten favourite photos from Brazil, not because there is something really spectacular about it, but because it was shot at the end of an unforgettable walk, the time of the day I consider my favourite, the time that the sun starts hiding behind hills, a mountain, tall buildings… An almost eight hours’ stroll has come to an end, and this picture was for me the perfect way to… wrap it up, pull the brake, turn the lights off…
5:10 
Still, I can’t say no to a weird photo chance. That’s something I have never seen before, a “shop” where people take their pets to be taken care off, and as you can see I am not talking about a veterinarian’s, but a pets’… beauty salon!
Still, I can’t say no to a weird photo chance. That’s something I have never seen before, a “shop” where people take their pets to be taken care off, and as you can see I am not talking about a veterinarian’s, but a pets’… beauty salon!
5:15 
I thought I was surprised to see that pets’ salon a while ago, but an even bigger surprise was waiting for me a few meters further on. This is a hairdresser’s, nothing weird about it, sure, but honestly, you should see the LINE, and how crowded the place was inside, something I have never seen in any similar place in Greece, or anywhere else in the world. I stand and watch for a couple of minutes, and I realize that it’s not that simple as “going to a hairdresser’s to cut my hair”. I notice that groups of people are talking to each other inside, looking as if they know each other, as if going to this place is a… group thing, something either friends or relatives do together, which, once again, I know, I know, may not look that weird to some of you, but it sure does to this impressed Greek…
I thought I was surprised to see that pets’ salon a while ago, but an even bigger surprise was waiting for me a few meters further on. This is a hairdresser’s, nothing weird about it, sure, but honestly, you should see the LINE, and how crowded the place was inside, something I have never seen in any similar place in Greece, or anywhere else in the world. I stand and watch for a couple of minutes, and I realize that it’s not that simple as “going to a hairdresser’s to cut my hair”. I notice that groups of people are talking to each other inside, looking as if they know each other, as if going to this place is a… group thing, something either friends or relatives do together, which, once again, I know, I know, may not look that weird to some of you, but it sure does to this impressed Greek…
8:20 
Back at Botafogo, taking advantage of buses’ and cars’ lights to pull up silly photo tricks… I needed a shower, and some new clothes on me. Having a shower at my hostel is not that simple and easy as, “hey hon, going to the grocery shop to buy a coupla things”… There are only a few showers (I knew so when I booked my bed), so I need to wait, and even when my turn comes, I realize that I have to keep it REALLY short, not only because I have other people waiting in line, but also because the water runs only for a couple of seconds once you push the… I don’t know the word in English. Then, you need to push it again, water runs for two more seconds, and then again, again, again… First I laugh, then I get pissed, then I laugh again, and when I feel that I no longer stink, I’m out of there… As I mentioned yesterday, the hostel (El Misti) does have some downsides, but quite truly, I like it, not only because it’s cheap, but also because it has a really cool atmosphere, one I had to wait for three weeks to find again in a Brazilian hostel, at Salvador da Bahia, my last days in Brazil.
Back at Botafogo, taking advantage of buses’ and cars’ lights to pull up silly photo tricks… I needed a shower, and some new clothes on me. Having a shower at my hostel is not that simple and easy as, “hey hon, going to the grocery shop to buy a coupla things”… There are only a few showers (I knew so when I booked my bed), so I need to wait, and even when my turn comes, I realize that I have to keep it REALLY short, not only because I have other people waiting in line, but also because the water runs only for a couple of seconds once you push the… I don’t know the word in English. Then, you need to push it again, water runs for two more seconds, and then again, again, again… First I laugh, then I get pissed, then I laugh again, and when I feel that I no longer stink, I’m out of there… As I mentioned yesterday, the hostel (El Misti) does have some downsides, but quite truly, I like it, not only because it’s cheap, but also because it has a really cool atmosphere, one I had to wait for three weeks to find again in a Brazilian hostel, at Salvador da Bahia, my last days in Brazil.
9:20
Sure, I've already spent a whole day in Copacabana and Ipanema, but I liked it THAT much that I feel as if that part of the city is... dragging me back, so I hop on the Metro again and in no time I am back to Copacabana. I have read in my guidebook that part of the coastal avenue hosts a night street market, and it is so. I... "eye-shop", buy nothing, but have fun seeing what kind of souvenirs they sell. The atmosphere is tooooootally laid back, feels like this city has been created so people can chill out... I know, I know, that's far from the truth, but then again, I spent the day seeing thousands of women in bikinis, and guys playing all sorts of beach sports. Now it's night, and still the same "chill out" smell is in the air... After all my reading, all my anxiety to see how things would be, safety-wise, coming here and seeing that things are not that bad after all (not bad at all, I say, at least judging by my own experience), it feels as if... I am taking a goooood shower, getting rid of all the "dirt" I have picked up, stressing out about my safety in Rio...
9:30
My guidebook makes it quite clear than in the night it is unwise to walk on the sea's side of Avenida Atlântica, at Copacabana. Tourists are advised to stay on the hotels' side of the coastal avenue, but I can't see why. Sure, only a handful of people are on the beach, but still, there are lights. I don't know... Maybe I am just overestimating the "infallibility" of my common sense, but honestly, I feel perfectly safe, even holding a photo camera, making little effort to hide it...
10pm
The famous pavement of Copacabana beach. One of the things I liked here, is how... tidy it looks. It's clean, spotlessly clean, you don't have cars occupying illegitimately parts of the pavement, police couples can be seen once in a while, and above all, the atmosphere, this chill out atmosphere I mentioned earlier. It's June, anything but the heart of summer in Rio de Janeiro, and it's night, but the temperature is perfect, warm enough to walk around in shorts, not too hot, not sweating like crazy. Perfect...
A... lonely set of goalposts. Before coming to Brazil, I read Alex Bellos' "Futebol". Are you (my reader) a woman? Are you planning to visit Brazil? You want to read a book about the country and its people but you find all football talk toooooo boring? Well, take my word for it, this book yes, IS about football (it IS called "Futebol", after all), but at the same time it's a... fun Bible of what Brazilians are mostly passionate about, a fun eye-opener of a hundred aspects of Brazilian society that yes, have to do with football, but not only. A jewel of a book, one that has earned a spot in my top favourite books' list, a spot I see it occupying indefinitely...
10:40
My 4 reais' night snack, bought from a middle aged lady who has a tiny carriage close to my Botagofo hostel. When I stay at some town/city for 3-4 days, I always try to taste food from different places, but I also pick one to be my... steady "pal" throughout my stay there. Last night I had the same thing before going to bed, and tonight the lady remembered me. With my broken Portuguese I ordered, and then sat at some chair she has, practically on the street. At the same time, I satisfy my hunger and I enjoy Botafogo's night people watching. All this, for a euro and a half... Not a bad deal... Not a bad deal at all... My first full day at Rio has almost come to an end, and what a day it has been. For tomorrow I have three "musts". Meet, for lunch, Maria Teresa, a Brazilian with whom we have been in email touch for a couple of months now, buy the music CDs I have promised myself to buy, preferably from FNAC, and last, but definitely not least, go to Vasco da Gama's football match, against Gremio. The guy who runs my hostel says that the area around São Januário, the stadium of Vasco, is rough, and we are talking about a night game, but I don't care, I'm going, nothing can come between me and watching my first ever Brazilian match...
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