I don't know if anybody reading this has been to Rio, but
if they have then they will agree with what i'm about to say next. Rio is
beautiful. Unreal city. What a location. It's a clear sunny day (well received
after the continual wet and greyness of SP) and the city looks in fine form.
The nature surrounding the place looks incredible. After a rather dicy (imo)
low flying episode to get us on land I taxi it over to the apartment where i'll
be staying to the next 2.5 days. I just can't really do hostels anymore. Used
to love them but now I just actually want my own space so I can walk around in
the buff whenever I feel...actually some folk do that in hostels. Anyway I
scored a tidy wee apartment right on the front of Copacabana beach. I was sure
that the owner could speak english due to our previous exchanges. But it turns
out she was infact just a handy user of google translate. Nevertheless we got
all the details sorted and I kicked off my shoes and had a wee rest in the
indoor hammock while listening to the sound of the neighboring beach
action.
Whenever I go somewhere new I usually try to link up with
some locals and get a few details from friends of friends. I think I probably
bit off more than I could chew for the time I was there. that coupled with some
lax Brazilian time keeping meant a lot of missed opportunities ensued. I
was a bit knackered but felt it would be nice to link up with some bboys around
here. I got in touch with one guy called Lucio (thanks Ella). We had arranged
to meet out on the shore front opp my apartment. Some miscommunication and bad
time keeping meant we actually met about 3hrs later. By that time there was no
danger I was gonna do any training but I figured I could at least check out the
spot. So start to walk away from the beach area and into town. We begin
climbing a hill. He had suggested hiring some mopeds but since many of my
encounters with motorised vehicles end up in accidents and since I ain't got
much clue about how to ride a bike...I felt it was best just to use the tools
god gave us in this situation. So we start walking up this hill. And we're
chatting away about breaking and what he does and what I do blah blah...all
good. As we're walking, i'm looking around and i'm starting to get the sense
that we're heading into the Favelas. Now I hadn't really intended to go there.
It wasn't really on my to do list and certainly not at around midnight. But we
were going there. I don't mind admitting feeling a little bit anxious about
that. I figured I could pass for a Brazilian but as all the street sellers who
wouldn't leave me alone demonstrated, I was not passing as a Brazilian. But
Lucio seemed to be the man about town, saying hello to everyone as we climbed
further. It turns out he works for an NGO that promotes cultural activities in
these areas. The same group our compadres Bad Taste Cru worked for (who did
actually get robbed once while there). But I gotta say...the Favelas is
definitely where the action is. It's pretty lively up there. We hit the spot
and first of all we're greeted by young feisty kids thrashing about a football
with some Brazilian swagger and all barefoot. Inside, there's a handful of
bboys getting down. It's all concrete but not a bad space at all. We go out
onto the balcony and the view is amazing. And this was another case of bad
timing. The air was so clear that night, you could see the full moon (which had
a slight orange tint to it) sitting effortlessly on the edge of the
horizon...with it's reflection shimmering in the calm seas. And all the lights
of the favela's illuminating the hillsides of Rio. It was a sight...but I had
forgotten to charge my camera. So when I went to take a picture...nada! So
that's just one for the memory banks. Lucio put me in the hands of a capable
young lad to take me back down the road. We managed to pass the time with a
menagerie of portuguese, french and english. All the while i'm just trying to
look like i'm one of the boys you know what i'm saying.
The next day I met up with a friend who I had met on my
Blaze Russian adventure, Natalia. A reporter who is now pole dancing and
writing her way around South America. We managed to get some tanning and beach
time before she had to head off and pack for Chile and I wanted to go and see
old Christ the Redeemer. I did waste a lot of time that morning searching for a
coffee on the beach. You can get pretty much anything on the beaches in
Rio...but not a coffee? I don't understand. After very poor coffee in SP I was
pleasantly surprised at the perky wee espresso com leite I ordered at the
restaurant just outside the apartment. Solid taste, good depth and texture with
some rich flavour. I liked. So once i'd satisfied my coffee addiction and said
goodbye to Natalia, I was all sorted for seeing Christo. I could do it in a few
hours then be back in time to meet with another friend of a friend who was
going to take me along to see some capoeira. I was running low on funds due to
the rather high cost of doing your laundry at the Golden Tower Hotel in SP
(first person to comment with a suitable pun gets a free t-shirt). So I went to a bank to stock up, but my card was not being accepted. I tried several banks.
All turned me down. I did actually need cash or else I would have been
struggling to get to the airport the following day. So after an long process of
skype calls back home and several visits to the same bank the problem finally
got sorted. But I had lost too much time and it would have been too tight to
head out to see Cristo and get back in time for some capoeira. So I thought I
would do Cristo first thing in the morning. So the time came around when I was
supposed to meet this capoeira dude. But nothing...no facebook no text. So I
text him. He had forgotten about out appointment....who could forget about
meeting Tony Thrills you know...????? beggars belief. So he suggested making my
own way there and would send me the address. The address never came but if it
had been too far away I probably would have given it the slip anyway as I
didn't fancy trying to negotiate my way around late night Rio. I had another
invitation to meet with someone else but by that time I was simply too tired
and thought I would save my energy for Cristo.
BAM!!!!! RATATATATAT!!! BOOM!!!! ....these are the sounds
that woke me up in the middle of the night. Now i'm no expert on guns (i'm
pretty good with a .22 air rifle though) but these sounded like gun shots to
me. A mixture of automatic fire and single shot. The flashes and the noises
that went with indicated they were fairly close as well and probably not out of
place in this town. This went on for a fair bit of time also. There were no
police sirens to follow so perhaps I was wrong or perhaps it was some young
bucks shooting ammo up in the air. That late night mystery remains unsolved.
The next thing that woke me up was my alarm. Time to get myself over to see the
redeemer. I have a look out the window and it's not looking good weather wise.
The previous 2 days were clear and sunny. Today was humid and misty. I may well
not get the stunning views i've read and heard about but this was my only
chance to go...so off I went. While researching it, getting there seemed to be
a bit of a headache but actually it was pretty simple. The drive up was almost
as impressive as standing on the top. Some people have some lush houses on the
hills. As suspected the view was nullified by the weather. My penultimate case
of bad timing in Rio. Still it's an impressive monument and well worth going to
if you get the chance.
I managed to squeeze in a final dip n the sea before
packing my bags and catching a bus to Rio's International airport...which fyi
is frigging miles away! So due to not being as flush as I would have liked
taking the bus seemed to be the cheapest option. I had heard and read that it
takes about 1 hr from the beach areas. Ok then. I gave myself 2 hrs. I don't
like to be late if I can help it. I can only be thankful that I was not traveling
at peak times because the whole journey took about 1hr 45. I just about
made it before check in closed. It could have been the final nail in the timing
coffin. My problem in this type of situation is that I try to pack too much
in...meet as many people...check out as many things. Nah. I should opt
for the more just-let-it-happen approach I think. I guess that just means i'll
have to have another crack at Rio.
The wandering continues and I have touched down in St
Petersburg for a week of performances and teaching for Open Look Festival. It's kicked off with
me having to sleep in a sofa bed for the week so let's hope things go on the up
from here.
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