Carioca favourites

Top ten Rio (not counting the Sugar loaf and the Christ and Ipanema beach etc. etc.)

1. Olha che bacana! Landing with a hand glider directly on the beach

2. Pao de queijo. Top snack

3. Cachaça Magnifica. And Caipirinha at sunset at Urca

4. Experiencia 5 etapas @ Irajá restaurant, with the best chef in Rio

5. Chama o sommelier - but not quite for Brazilian wine

6. Havaianas. Loads of them

7. Saude, the forgotten slave trade neighbourhood. And Rocinha, favela pacificada

8. Vasco de Gama, winner of the Carioca league (Botafogo is nobody)

9. Water and salt against malignant influences

10. Cariocas

The city

There are two ways one can talk about Rio. 

Say for example that when getting there you are greeted by green hills of impossible shapes rising above busy streets, bustling beaches, loud bars and colourful favelas on top of wealthy neighborhoods. That it is divided in zona norte, where a foreigner would rarely go, if not for the Maracana vibe, and zona sul, with its Ipanema, Copacabana, Botafogo, Flamengo, Urca, Santa Teresa, Rocinha, Saude, each name bearing a different flavour to the visitor.

Or say, like that man from Ipanema, that as a young man, on a warm autumn afternoon, he landed in a city where looking from Pao de Açucar beaches were glowing in gold, where beautiful people were smiling and kind, and beach vendors offered bikinis, caipirinhas, pasteles, handbags, jewelry and nearly anything else.

All while Christ the Redeemer kept an eye on drinks, dances, thefts, chats and loves.

And that on that afternoon, many good things could happen to him. That many roads opened up to him there. And that whichever road he would take, it would be certainly one of those Rio had offered to him.

From the sky

If Sao Paolo is a horizontal city where you keep on going and it never seems to end, my Rio is completely vertical, up to the sky and back.

A red train takes you to the top of the Corcovado, to spend some time in the clouds waiting for the sky to clear and give you some stunning views of the city (tickets not reimbursed in case of change of weather once up to the Christ).

Two cableways (or a good rope and climbing shoes) to conquer the Pao de Açucar and sink in saudade over the sunset.

A good dose of adrenaline and a sort of military instructor bearing the name of Mosquito, and you can jump, breathless, from 500 mt with a hand glider. If you are scared, run fast down the ramp; if you are not scared, run even faster. And land on the Sao Conrado beach on time for some suco verde or agua de coco.

If there is a place to do an helicopter ride, that would be Rio, friends said. The Heliponto da Lagoa is the place to start, for yet more vertical views of Ipanema, Copacabana, Urca and Lagoa.

And then, with the Cariocas, rise to the sky with life lusting zeal.

Cataratas

My friend told me a few times how many cubic metres of furious water pour down every hour (or was it every day?). I just kept staring at those cubic metres, unable to retain the information.

Brazilian side or Argentinian side, either way overwhelming.

Like a wound inflicted in the peaceful flow of the river, it screams of pain and anger. The end of the world, aptly bearing the name of Garganta do diablo.

And a most hypnotic sight, from up, from down, from far, from close. Or breathtakingly from the sky.

Going Paulista

Packing like you are going to the Caribbeans and landing in the Brazilian autumn instead. Recipe for getting a cold. The fourth this year. That makes it once a month. Great record.
Rio's mild temperatures in a few days might help at least shortening it. While hoping for Rio, hopping through Sao Paulo.

I'm not sure Sao Paulo is a city I can fall in love with, but it is not either that monster people have been portraying. A gigantic metropolis, not necessarily well cared, chocked by traffic jams times and again. But not the safety threat some would expect, with pleasant walks during the day and fun bars for the night - provided you take taxis and use your common sense - if you have to switch off common sense, maybe Sampa is not the place.

Favourite sights: a shoestring vendor, a street artist improvising a dance with an old lady dressed in green and yellow, the automatic distributor of bouquets, a table football at the museum do futebol where you can choose your configuration (4-4-2 works the best).

And Pinhero nights.