Marvelous City - Rio de Janeiro

With a slight delay, due to the already prevailing chronic reluctance to write, here comes the report on Rio de Janeiro. For that, there are a few more paragraphs to read. Apologies in advance for any spelling errors, but the motivation to proofread the whole thing again is really low.

Also with a delay, but only about half an hour, the TAP plane took off the next day from Lisbon towards Brazil. Thanks to a window seat and an empty seat next to me, the flight was quite relaxed with enough legroom. However, the entertainment program at TAP leaves a lot to be desired, but a few beers and nearly 10 hours later, we were slowly descending towards the 'Cidade Maravilhosa', the marvelous city: Rio de Janeiro.

After breaking through the cloud cover, an endless sea of lights stretched out over the landscape. An incredible sight. So, here it was, the first time alone in South America, and if one were to believe the press and other horror stories circulating on the internet, I would have already been robbed at the airport and completely robbed on my way to the hostel. Fortunately, that didn't happen, and so I went through immigration control, and voila! The next stamp in my passport without much questioning.

Apart from a few persistent taxi drivers, everything was fine for now, and I went in search of an ATM. I briefly chatted with one of the drivers about the Copa America, who then showed me where the ATMs were, and surprisingly, both pockets were still filled with wallet and cellphone. However, when the money counting machine wanted to charge me almost 10€ in fees, I boycotted it and postponed the plan. Instead, I treated myself to an UBER ride to the accommodation in the Flamengo district, thanks to the free Wi-Fi and the fact that it was already dark. The app should and will be a loyal companion for me in the coming days and weeks in South America... easy, cheap, and safe.

After a quick check-in, I fell into bed, which offered uninterrupted sleep due to its capsule shape and was chosen for that reason. In the 6-bed dorm, there was only one other Colombian girl, all the other beds were empty, much to my delight. The only problem was the air conditioning that was prevalent throughout Rio and cooled the room down to what felt like 5 degrees, causing me to shiver slightly.

The next day started with a Brazilian breakfast, which I now know is typical and feels the same in every accommodation... soft rolls or toast, cheese and ham, a little fruit - mostly melon and papaya - and of course, a rich selection of cakes, that's it. Since it was the first rainy day in Rio since weeks, the movement radius was initially minimal. I went to the shopping center where the coveted SIM cards, which are difficult to obtain for tourists, were supposed to be available. After some running back and forth and with the help of Google Translator, I managed to get a card in the end. Here, there were finally ATMs that didn't eat up all your money and charged relatively low fees. Thanks to the now available mobile internet, I immediately ordered an UBER to take me back to the accommodation.

Due to the pouring rain and also due to the still considerable apprehension about going out alone, the activities were limited that day. There was a nearby restaurant where I could still get a huge plate of meat with fries, rice, and Feijoada, a typical bean and meat stew, for 6 euros, and a beer that already raised the first suspicion that Brazilians probably can do many things, but they can't brew beer.
Unfortunately, this initial suspicion was confirmed in the evening at the hostel bar, no matter which brand... it's just not good.

The next day, it was time to move to another hostel, which turned out to be a stroke of luck. But before that, there was a Free Walking Tour through the city center and Lapa, which ended at the famous Escadaria Selaron. Besides a few beautiful colonial buildings and churches, you also see a lot of poverty on the streets. Some people become a bit pushy, but who can blame them when tourists arrive with their expensive clothes and cameras. In some streets, you really have to be careful and avoid the many homeless people on the ground... However, it is unlikely that this will change much in the near future. During the tour, I mainly chatted with an older Dutch guy who has been staying in the country for a few weeks and has been attending Copa America games, including the final the next day. After visiting the famous staircase, which was almost impossible considering the huge crowds of people, we went to a bar for a beer. However, even the Brazilian railroad pilsner, despite its seal of "Brewed according to the German Purity Law," didn't really convince me.

We then took the metro back to the hostel and continued on foot to the next one. The atmosphere was already livelier in the evening, even though the majority of guests were Brazilians who only spoke Portuguese. Nevertheless, I played some card games and enjoyed Caipis with Ryan from Ireland and three girls from England.

The next morning started very relaxed, with enough sleep and a good breakfast. Thanks to the hostel's internal WhatsApp group, to which every new guest is added, which is a pretty ingenious idea but would probably fail due to data protection in Germany, you quickly get information about what's going on and who is interested in doing something. Thanks to the announcement in the chat, we went to the Hippie Fair that takes place every Sunday near Ipanema Beach. Well, it had a lot of useless stuff, and it wasn't really interesting to me. So, we headed straight to the beach, unfortunately, the weather wasn't great for a day at the beach, so we continued to Pedra do Arpoador, a large rock with a fantastic view of Ipanema beach. Then we made a short detour to the 'Forte de Copacabana' fortress and finally arrived at the famous Copacabana. And when the sun finally came out, it was just as you imagine it. Countless people on the promenade, small overpriced restaurants, flying Caipirinha and beer sellers, and just the pure Brazilian life on the beach. Especially here, you could already see many people with Brazilian flags or wearing Peru jerseys, getting ready for the Copa America final in the evening. So, I slowly made my way to Praça Maua in the city center, where I was going to meet Ryan and Pierre from France to watch the final at a public viewing event. I quickly grabbed a Brahma beer and walked along the waterfront until they arrived, and then it started. People constantly walked through the rows with trays full of Caipirinhas or coolers with beer, and the game also contributed to an amazing atmosphere. After Brazil scored the 3-1 goal, there was another beer shower from all sides, and beer cups were flying through the crowd. Satisfied and slightly soaked in beer, I made my way back to the streets of Rio. There, a collection of small mobile carts formed, offering Capirinha / Caipiroschka for 5 Real ~ 1.20€... You don't say no to that, so I immediately got one. At the subsequent celebrations in the huge square, a few clumsy samba steps were taken, which, of course, looked great in my own perception, before heading back towards Botafogo. Before going to bed, I treated myself to some falafel, shawarma, and köfte at the Arab restaurant.

Now that Monday had arrived and the weekend tourists were hopefully heading back home, I decided to go to Sugarloaf Mountain. Due to some lingering effects from the previous evening, I opted for the full cable car ride instead of hiking halfway. It cost 110 Real, but on Monday morning, I didn't have to wait two minutes to buy a ticket or get into the gondola. There are still a few very good viewpoints in Rio, but the view from up there over the city is truly breathtaking. Afterward, I lounged around a bit on the nearby beach with a perfect view of the Pão de Açúcar.

In the evening, the hostel had Caipirinha Happy Hour, so we had to indulge in a few drinks while getting beaten badly at pool billiards. Then, with Ryan, Ephraim from Brazil, and Marie from France, we went around the neighborhood to once again find out how bad Brazilian beer really is. Nothing has changed...

For the last full day, I had to make a difficult decision: either go up to the Christ the Redeemer statue, which can also be seen from the hostel terrace and various other points in the city, and where there are always crowded and lots of people, or take a tour of the Santa Marta favela. In the end, I decided to take the favela tour.

Just a 15-minute walk from the accommodation, I met Marco at the meeting point at the foot of the favela, as agreed beforehand. Marco has always lived in the favela and knows everyone here. First, he gave a history lesson about the development of the favela over the past decades and its structural organization. There is a president, a post office, small supermarkets, electricity, and water... actually everything you need to live. In essence, it is a self-governing city on the hills of Rio.

After that, we took the free cogwheel train high above the roofs of the favela, to the 'Michael Jackson Square', where a life-size replica of him was created after he filmed parts of his 'They Don't Care About Us' music video here. Furthermore, some scenes from Fast and Furios 5 were also shot in this favela. Afterwards, we went to the bar to drink cachaça and beer. It was quite enjoyable with the breathtaking view over the rest of the city and a shot in hand. He told me about the social projects here in the favela, especially about garbage collection activities, and about his five children... all from different women.

Afterwards, Marco invited me to his home, and at first, I thought it was a joke, but on the rooftop terrace, I actually saw his jacuzzi and grill - impressive! - the tourist business seems to be going well. He told me that he and his wife also run a hostel in the favela and immediately asked if I would be interested in working there with him. Maybe in the future...

On the way back down, we briefly greeted a few drug dealers holding machine guns in their hands, and children ran around with hammers, although he assured me that the crime rate here is zero, the whole situation was a bit strange. However, fear never arose at any time. When we arrived at the bottom, we had a beer, and Alemão (me, the German) was warmly greeted from all sides. I took a few more photos and then returned to the hostel..

In the evening, Ephraim took us to a craft beer bar, where we finally expected to find decent beer. He works as a graphic designer for a brewery near Rio, so we relied on his expertise. So, the seven of us set off, and actually, the beer at 'OverHops' was drinkable without making us feel sick. After losing badly at pool billiards, we went to the Lapa party district, where we entered a samba club after drinking Caipis and cachaça. It was a nice experience, but at some point, it was also enough, and around half-past three, we went home, because the next/same day at 12, the flight to Belo Horizonte would already depart...