Chapter 3

Brazil – Rio de Janeiro

It was not a planned destination on my trip, but you have to be spontaneous to have great adventures =) I booked ten days in Rio de Janeiro.

First I have to say this city is not a beautiful place for me. There are about eight million inhabitants in the city, many poor people, high crime and a lot of trash. I could not understand the big difference between wealth and poverty.

I met many people who told me that they have been robbed, cheated or abducted (true story). I experienced it myself. I have a debit on my credit card about 2000€. I don´t know who and how they did it. I hope I get my money back =/

But there are also nice and beautiful places there, friendly people and lot of things to do and see.

For the first five days I booked a hostel in the centre of Rio. During the day the center is the financial and economic center but in the evening it´s the living and sleeping “room” of the homeless people. The smell is abysmal. Now I know the smell of the pest. Really ugly, there is everywhere the smell of shit, piss, sweat, rotten food and garbage. If you are walking around the tourist route you will see the beautiful buildings, monuments, nice parks and touristic attractions. But if you are going out of these areas, like in favelas, you will see the truth of Rio. Poverty, destroyed or unfinished buildings and crime. The homeless people are not dangerous, I spoke with many of them, smoke cigarettes and drank some beer which I gave them. I had some good conversations and I met many friendly and helpful people there. The beaches and the people around there are dangerous and criminal. They are very professional, it is her profession and they do it every day and very well. One guy told me that I should not to go to the beach when the sunset is going on. Because after the sunset there are the bad guys with knife and guns there and at this time there is a high rate of crime.
Another short experience: I ate something near the Theatro Municipal. I saw on the one hand the really rich person how came with the private chauffeur close to the main entrance. Expensive clothes and a lot of jewellery. On the other hand, five meters next to it or directly on the steps of the theatre, the homeless people were sleeping there. Many of them were emaciated and they were not healthy. I promise you, you cannot enjoy your food. You have a bad conscience.

After the first days of my own walking tours I decided to make a guided daytrip. And yeahhh that was a good decision. In such tours you always meet new people. So I found our Mafia Gang =) it was a community of a Mexican, British, Brazilian and German guy =) it was really funny with them =) and after one, two, three (I don´t remember exactly how many it was) caipirinhas the trip was getting funnier and funnier =) I am sure that I will see some people at my trip again. Edrei, I will see you at your hometown in Mexico =) and Enver, we will see us in Germany or Austria =) The tour was also nice and interesting. The tour started with the Christ the Redeemer statue on Corcovado, the legendary Sambódromo and Maracaná stadium, the famous colourful tiles of the Selarón steps in Lapa, lunch in a typical steakhouse, visit the metropolitan cathedral of Rio, up to the sugar loaf mountain with the cable car. Thanks for this nice day!!

The next five days I had my accommodation near Copacabana. It was cleaner and more beautiful. Chilling days at the Copacabana, Ipanema and Leblon beach. Copacabana beach is the most famous beach in the world. It is completely overcrowded. Lying side by side and every two minutes some people come to you and want to sell something, and they sell everything!!

I had one situation that was funny and scared to =) I bought a caipirinha for 100 Real. She told me that she will come again, and the second one is for free. The stupid tourist from Austria thought “ohh it is a good deal” =) but it wasn´t =) normally you pay for one caipirinha about 10 to 30 Real, so it was too much. Some people got my fault. Fátima, a really nice woman from Lisbon came to me and told me, that I paid too much and after ten minutes there was a group about 10 people around me. Some guys from France, some Brazilian people and Fátima. The caipirinha girl didn´t come again but she was walking around the beach. My people went to her, made a circle around her and told her that it was not okay and they will call the police. The hard conversation lasted about 15 minutes. Ten people from my side vs three people of the caipirinha side =) I was a little bit afraid because I thought, when I go home alone, they will get me. Nothing happened!! Contrary, I got all in all three caipirinha for the 100 Real. I will never forget!! Thanks again for your help!!

In the last days the weather got worse, cloudy and sometimes rain. I wanted to go to the Waterfall Garden and to the Vista Chinesa. But in the middle of the way the street was closed. The street was destroyed by the rain. I was lucky because I could enter the street until the landslide =) it was a little bit a feeling like in “walking dead”. There was no human being, foliage on the street and sometimes I heard monkeys in the trees. On the way back I met a Swedish couple and a friend of theirs. We walked together through the jungle to another small waterfall. The water was very nice, so I decided to take a bath. Nice day and nice people!!

The second hostel was quite good. The boss was a Frenchman who traveled a lot. About ten years around the world. He showed me photos of his travels and told me many interesting stories while many caipirinhas! He was my hero =)

In the end, I have to say that I also liked Rio more and more. You just must give the places more time. Thanks for all nice and helpful people there but I am thinking that I will not come back.