#packyoursunglasses

[maxro]

Summer set #cntraveler #packyoursunglasses #travel #summer

[thewanderingswede]

Rio de Janeiro

It was an amazing weekend in Rio. Yes, it is all it is cracked up to be. In many ways I was reminded of Nice. Perhaps it was the broad boardwalks along which scantily clothed pedestrians and cyclists exercised. Perhaps it was the 80degree weather. Perhaps it was the warm strawberries on the beach for lunch. In any case, it was a brief taste of a city to which I will most certainly be returning.

We arrived Thursday late afternoon, as the sun was just starting to set behind the Copacabana skyscrapers, casting a chilly shadow over the easterly facing beach. After settling more or less into our cheap hostel - the room shared with six other girls, bunk beds stacked three high - we caught the last glimpse of sun for the day before dinner. We then got beers on the beach before going to bed relatively early.

Friday was a full day in the historic center, Lapa, and the infamous Ipanema. In the historic center we tagged along with a tour group of high school students from all over the world, learning about the city theatre house in heavily accented English.

We then made our way over to the famous staircase in one of Rio's centrally located favelas. Each person in the group took turns getting their photo taken on the colorfully tiled staircase and while it was amusing to see all of the various tiles from different places - Kazakhstan, Paris, San Francisco - quite frankly the dynamic of a bunch of camera-equipped tourists coming to this favela without speaking to any of the residents made me feel a little uncomfortable. Although we'd been reassured that this spot in particular was extremely safe, we were quick to leave with the rest of the group when it was time. Quite the opposite experience from the other times I've visited favelas in São Paulo. This stark contrast between rich and poor, tourist and local, was echoed by the amount of homeless people I saw (and was accosted by). In São Paulo there are certainly homeless, but they mostly keep to themselves along the larger avenues. Plus, the colder weather makes for a more silent crowd at nighttime.

In Rio, however, even the "winter" nights are pleasant, and the beach is free. There are also a lot more people, well, like me, who look and act like tourists. Thus, there was a lot of begging for money; a lot of young, dreadlocked people coming up to us at dinner time to sell hemp bracelets; and one homeless man who had to be escorted away by police because he pooped on our bus (yes, I'm serious). Yet at the same time there was a definite mixing of the classes that doesn't exist in São Paulo, thanks to the large public square that is the beach. And with the physical differentiation of clothing removed - meaning, everyone was wearing skimpy bathing suits that left little to the imagination - it was even more of an equalizer between socioeconomic spheres.

Anyways, this observation aside, the rest of Friday was absolutely beautiful. We spent the afternoon sunning ourselves in the glory that was Ipanema, reveling in the surrounding environment of bronze skin and 'futevole', and walking from Ipanema back to Copacabana. There is little I can say to do the view justice, so I'll let the pictures do the talking. The evening was a jumbled zigzag of caipirinhas at the hostel, walking to a samba bar in Ipanema, deciding not to go in because it was pricy and old-people-looking, walking back to Copacabana, then going out to a club in Lapa that played a mixture of young, top 40s songs and live bossa nova songs. Can you guess which I preferred? It was pretty amazing to listen to samba music (and sort of learn how to samba) in the place where it all began several decades ago. And the coolest part was that the other people in the club were my age and a little older, yet knew the words to these songs I have heard only in my grandparents' house.

Saturday we played tourists. Well, I was a tourist and Lari obliged (shoutout to Larissa for taking approximately 35672 photos of me during my time in Brazil). We waited in line for way too long to ascend to the Christ the Redeemer statue, along with apparently every other gringo in Rio. The 360 degree view was spectacular and worth the fee, but the crowd and the statue itself were underwhelming. Despite being high up in the clouds I felt a little claustrophobic.

By the time we descended we had spent the entire morning basically in one long line and were eager for a little more air, so we visited the gorgeous botanical garden that acts as an Amazonian oasis in an already green city. I kept having flashbacks to Ecuador when I saw cecropia trees or the orchid greenhouse, the natural riches being one of the few threads of commonality I've seen between these two incredibly different South American countries.

We decided to walk back from the gardens to our hostel in Copacabana, which was not an unsubstantial trek, only this time we took a route along the lake in the middle of the city. I have never been a lake person, always preferring the roar of waves and call of gulls to what I usually consider to be glorified puddles, but the lagoa in Rio was an exception. With the mountains in the distance and palm trees in the foreground, the view was undoubtedly picture-worthy. I tried without success to capture the magic, but alas, some sights are better remembered. We paused at an Arabic restaurant for dinner that let us soak in the sunset behind the iconic horizon.

Sunday was basically spent on the beach, our bus leaving in the afternoon. It's funny how quickly time passes when you aren't keeping track. Funny how easy it is to get sunburnt when that happens, too. (Thankfully I was diligent about reapplying sunscreen so am only mildly bronzed, albeit with a very distinct tan line from my Brazilian bikini.) Most of the calories I consumed this weekend were either in the form of fruit or dessert - or both (açaí, see below).

I feel so spoiled to have experiences like this on multiple continents. Although the water was too cold to fully swim in, even dipping my toes in the ocean felt like coming home. One week, I thought. And indeed, I will be back in Oregon less than a week from this moment. I will try to update the blog at least once more before I leave, but no promises. Of course, as always happens with research I am suddenly encountering half a dozen more people I need to interview this week but I shan't complain. Work hard play hard, am I right? Thanks for reading... A

[marklehnphotos]

#packyoursunglasses    Packing for next weeks photo shoot in Broome, Western Australia!

[condenasttraveler]

#packyoursunglasses from @irenekly--have fun in NYC! #totewell #newyorkcity (at Times Square NYC)

[californiatraveltips]

Keeping it simple in San Clemente. #nook #sunscreen #packyoursunglasses #water #towel #beach (at San Clemente State Beach Campground)

[sullivanandrew]

Need to head to the northern hemisphere to chase the sun. Along with a good book don't forget to #packyoursunglasses #thedontforgettravelgroup #alwaysworking #travel #adventure @cntraveler (at The Don't Forget Travel Group)

[wander-elsewhere]

[condenasttraveler]

Cute! Thanks for tagging #packyoursunglasses @thesovereign916.

[condenasttraveler]

#packyoursunglasses from @maxwastler at Au Cheval in Chicago! #dispatchfrom #aucheval #chicago

[condenasttraveler]

#vintagepersol #packyoursunglasses from @wmbrownproject in Brooklyn. Tag us this weekend #packyoursunglasses! (at Barclay Center)

[condenasttraveler]

Photographed by @kellyemshea in Montauk. Check out CNTraveler.com to see if your #packyoursunglasses photo was included in our round-up! #montauk

[condenasttraveler]

#packyoursunglasses from @bydavina enjoying coffee at @mariestellamaris_official in Amsterdam. Thanks for tagging! #amsterdam #mariestellamaris #takemethere

[condenasttraveler]

Travel essentials from @leslie_parrott in Rio de Janeiro. #packyoursunglasses #rio #brazil

[condenasttraveler]

#packyoursunglasses from @stacea12 in Nice, France on her honeymoon--Thanks for tagging! #france #nice #beachview

[condenasttraveler]

#packyoursunglasses from @jimgl in Chicago! Thanks for tagging. Share with us where you're headed with your shades and tag us. #Chicago #cameralens #passport

[condenasttraveler]

#packyoursunglasses from @thesnm, and she didn't forget her #clarevivier! Thanks for tagging. #myclarev