The Rio World

Rio de Janeiro was love at first sight. We arrived planning to spend six days in the city, and ended up completely altering our itinerary in order to spend nearly two weeks in Rio. It is that special. I can say without doubt that the city had a pull on us unlike any other city on our trip. There is some kind of magic in the air that is ridiculously easy to fall in love with. Even when it’s gray and rainy, as it was for most of our time there. Even when it’s so hot and humid that you take three showers a day. Even when all the other backpackers in the hostels seem to be there for clubbing and partying (not exactly our scene). Even when meals and dorm beds and pretty much all things are super insanely expensive. Even taking into account every little problem we had, the city drew us in like no other, and we have left with the confidence that we will definitely be back for more.

So, what makes the city so special?

Aside from being incredibly beautiful due to its perfect combination of urban forest, ocean, lake, and mountains, the city shines because of the people. The diversity is unbelievable. Even though the class distinctions are extreme and obvious and impossible to escape, there is also a true mixing of all kinds of people that I found totally amazing. You see it on the beach. You see it at the samba bars. You see it in Copacabana.

We enjoyed life in the city and got to live Leblon-style. After two nights in a neighborhood called Ipanema at a hostel with no A/C, and no screens on the windows, which resulted in dozens of mosquito bites all over the place (including gorgeous red bites all over my face), we moved to a new hostel in Leblon. We liked Leblon so much that we ended up staying there for the rest of our time in Rio. Leblon is awesome.

Leblon sidewalk cafe life:

The streets are always packed with pedestrians walking to and from the beach barefoot and shirtless, which is hilarious because the neighborhood is super rich and has the kind of boutique shops and high end restaurants few people can afford. But the neighborhood is not so wealthy that it’s stuffy and uninviting. On the contrary, like everywhere else in Brazil, the people are so welcoming and kind. We felt really happy in Leblon and got to know our neighborhood very well. Actually, on most days, we didn’t leave. We just wandered around our area, got to know the colorful streets sandwiched between the beach and the lake, did lots of dog-watching, and treated ourselves to several rainy-day trips to the movies (including the excellent new Woody Allen film that we loved). Our main activity on most days was a long, long walk.

We took many walks alongside the lake. It's a very calm place, with a biking/walking trail going all around.

Another view of the lake, from a superb Middle Eastern restaurant in a lakeside park:

We also enjoyed many beach strolls. One day we walked the length of the beach from Leblon to Ipanema, until we reached Aprobador, a kind of peninsula that stretches out into the water separating Ipanema from Copacabana. Here is the view from Aprobador:

Sitting on Aprobador, looking out:

The heart of Rio is definitely the beach, and it’s easy to see why.

Even on rainy days, the beach is packed with locals whose lives revolve around that stretch of sand and Atlantic. And it just doesn’t ever stop being beautiful. We decided to be less like tourists and more like locals, and so after spending some time making observations, we did as the locals do.

The most important element of living the Rio Life is spending the day at the beach.

For our first beach day, we rented an umbrella and a couple chairs to spend hours on the sand. Here is our spot on the beach in Leblon. We read for hours and took dips in the perfect water with crashing waves!

View of the water from our spot:

By the afternoon, the beach filled up!

View from the beach to the edge of Leblon:

Fitness is huge in Rio. At all hours, the beach is packed with runners, bikers, rollerbladers, bodybuilders, soccer and volleyball players.

Check out these dudes watching a game of footvolley. This is an incredible sport. It's like beach volleyball, but players can't use their hands. It's really, really fun to watch.

We drank at least two coconuts every day. So refreshing! And they are everywhere! It's not an exotic thing at all. It is totally normal, and while not cheap, very accessible. You see people on the beach, in the streets, everywhere drinking the delicious juice.

We saw everyone drinking from these plastic cups and one day we tried it. After that first try, we were addicted. We had matte every day. It's basically sweetened cold tea.

Pao de queijo!!! Delicious. Can't get enough of these cheesy doughy balls.

One night we went to Lapa, the neighborhood that is the heart of samba. We went on a Sunday night, so it wasn't much of a party night. The others at the bar were all locals. It was AMAZING. Actually, I think that night was definitely in the top 5 best moments of Brazil for me. The music was incredible. Ryan and I just sat there and listened, dancing in our seats, and the music just overwhelmed me with its goodness. The musicians were not only talented, they were also happy! They smiled the whole time that they played. They were such a joy to watch. That night was very special. I felt like I was getting a peek into a local tradition, alive and glorious, given to me.

Probably the coolest thing we tried was acai. I'd heard of this fruit, since it's started taking off in the U.S. because of its antioxidant content. Well, in Rio, acai is everywhere. When you walk down the street, there are cheap sandwich & juice shops on every corner. They are always packed, like this:

And most people have in front of them a plastic cup filled with a deep purple slushy looking thing. This is acai. Lots of people add granola to it (which I could not bring myself to try). We tasted our first acai at one of the corner spots and after a couple spoonfuls, we threw it away. It was so, so, so sweet! Too sweet to enjoy or appreciate the fruit. But we didn't give up. Someone at our hostel recommended a juice place with the best acai in the city. And yes, it was delicious! It wasn't too sweet. I wish I could describe the taste. I didn't like it at first, but it grew on me. And I soon found that whenever the sun was out, and we were hot and sweaty, or tired, all I wanted was an acai.

A local practice that Ryan adopted was the shirt off in public. This looks normal at the beach, but you see it all over the city. People ride buses and subways shirtless. It is the norm in Rio to reveal most of your body for all to see.

A day downtown: we walked around, saw old buildings, wandered through markets, and became a part of the busy, work crowd.

One day we went to Parque Lage, one of Rio's many beautiful, free, public places. There are so many spots in Rio to enjoy nature, to find a quiet corner, to listen to birds, and even to see monkeys hopping from tree to tree (we saw wild monkeys, twice, in the city). This park is home to an art school. There's a pond in the courtyard, and all around it are galleries and art classrooms with students of all ages painting and drawing. Quite a beautiful place to study art:
The park surrounding the old art building:

We went to Copacabana, which was particularly interesting because it's such a mixed area.
A wait for hot dogs on the street:

The two shots below are kind of on the edge of Copacabana, toward Ipanema. They are my two favorite photos we took in Rio.

We visited Jesus on his birthday. We took a train up a forested mountain to reach the famous Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks the city. It was kind of cloudy, but still awesome. View from the top:

Looking up at the statue from a street in Leblon:

One rainy day, we went to the Botanical Garden, which we thought would be like every other botanical garden in any other city. No! This is hands down the most incredible one I've ever seen. I could spend hours in there. It was simply beautiful. And enormous.

Public art on the street outside of the botanical garden:

When we finally got a sunny day after a week of gray, we took the cable car up to Pao de Azucar (Sugarloaf Mountain) for a view of the city. Here is Ryan with Pao de Azucar rising in the background.

Loving the view:

On top of Sugarloaf, overlooking Copacabana:

Our very last night in Rio, we did what you have to do. We went to Lapa on a Friday night. It was like an all night street party. There were thousands of people there, and the crazy thing is to imagine that it is this way every single weekend. Brazilians love to go out, and Lapa is like the center of it all. The streets in the area are lined with samba clubs, and the music spills out into the streets. Everywhere you look, there are people dancing. This is the same area we went to a week earlier, on a quiet night. But this is Lapa in all its glory:

The samba club "Democraticus" is in a 19th century mansion. This place is very popular with locals, which is why we went. It was indeed packed and happening! But, we ended up preferring the more intimate place we'd gone to the week before. Democraticus had more of a "club" feel. The music sounded very produced and polished. It didn't have that rawness that gets into your skin. It was still really fun, though. Especially the people watching. I could watch Brazilians dance all night long. It is impossible to watch them and not break out into the hugest smile.
The samba band on Friday night, with dancers in the background:

I really cannot recommend Rio enough. It is one of those few places in the world that I could really recommend to every type of person. The city has an energy you can’t help but feel. It comes from the people, the nature, and the culture that those two things have come together to create. It’s a place that is so easy to navigate and experience. You don’t need a plan. You don’t even need to go to any special site. Every corner has a story. We were continually, repeatedly moved by all the happiness and goodness everywhere. Our two weeks in Rio emphasized what we knew the day we set foot in Brazil: this country is amazing.

I have never seen so many people in one place consistently exuding joy and love of life. The way people dance and sing and share and give here is impressive, attractive, and contagious.