Rio de Janeiro
I took a short vacation from Salvador de Bahia last week to visit Rio de Janeiro and to meet my Mother and my Aunt Anne for spoiling and indulging in the heart of Brazil's thriving tourist industry. I probably wouldn't have made it to Rio if the ladies hadn't come to check on me. While I'm glad I went - to cross it off my lifetime list of places to go - I don't feel like I ever have to go back. Don't get me wrong, it's very beautiful and with all the major conveniences one would expect to find in a classy, tourism hot-spot, but its charms are a facade that quickly dissolve and all that's left is its boring, boring innards.
I arrived on a Sunday, just before noon, after a 30-hour bus ride which was preceded by a night spent sleeping in the bus station. My bus left at 7 a.m. on Saturday, and the city buses didn't start running until 6:30 a.m. not giving me the time I needed, and since I had no money for a taxi, unless I didn't want to eat for the entire 30 hour ride, it was a night on the floor of one more bus station. It was good. I'd gotten too comfortable staying where I've been staying and it was nice to know I could still handle a night on the hard ground of a noisy station. Ongoing construction in Salvador's terminal presented me with a little more late-night jackhammering than I would have liked, but I still managed to catch a little shut-eye and awoke with time enough for a coffee before I had to get on the bus.
The ride itself was uneventful. I spent time watching silly movies dubbed into Portuguese, lazily dozing in 2 and 3 hour increments, and munching on a bag of snacks I brought along to sustain me. A lot of time was spent enjoying the beautifully green and tropical countryside, from a comfortably reclining, air-conditioned space, wrapped in a blanket that they hand you when you get on board. It's cold in the bus and, every time someone got off, I snatched up their unused blankets until I'd built myself a cozy little nest.
Once I arrived in Rio, I took a bus to Copacabana to seek out the hotel my mom had given me. They were already in their room when I arrived and we set out to hit the town. Within the first half of the week, we'd hit all the tourist highlights. The Corcovada, a new Great Wonder of the World and Paô de Açucar both had incredible views of the city, Pao de Açucar was the most beautiful with the sea and a straight shot down the coastline, but Corcovada (at the feet of Jesus Cristo) showed the layout of the city and gave a good impression of where neighborhoods were in relation to one another. We even took an ocean cruise to visit tropical island(s). It was nice to get out on the water, but it wasn't much for what we paid. Our expectations were probably higher than they should have been.
We had amazing luck with restaurants or every restaurant in Rio is fantastic. I think I ate at more places with cloth napkins in a week than I have in the whole rest of my trip combined. It was wonderful. And we took taxis. It was heavenly. The most tiring thing we did was walk short distances and sit on the beach. It made me slovenly and lackadaisical though, and by the end of the week I got sleepy after eating the complimentary continental breakfast at the hotel.
All said and done, it was a great time, mostly just to hang out with the girls. I think they had a good time, but they were ready to go home by the end of the week. They shopped themselves silly and couldn't afford to take any more back without exceeding their weight limit. I think my Mother actually bought souvenirs for people she's never met. We had a nice Italian dinner to celebrate Easter, had a last Caiparinha on the beach, then went back to the hotel and crashed. We all left the next day, me by bus, them by plane.
Pictures will be here if my Mom emails them to me in time. If not they will be posted soon. If my Mom emails them to me. Mom?
I arrived on a Sunday, just before noon, after a 30-hour bus ride which was preceded by a night spent sleeping in the bus station. My bus left at 7 a.m. on Saturday, and the city buses didn't start running until 6:30 a.m. not giving me the time I needed, and since I had no money for a taxi, unless I didn't want to eat for the entire 30 hour ride, it was a night on the floor of one more bus station. It was good. I'd gotten too comfortable staying where I've been staying and it was nice to know I could still handle a night on the hard ground of a noisy station. Ongoing construction in Salvador's terminal presented me with a little more late-night jackhammering than I would have liked, but I still managed to catch a little shut-eye and awoke with time enough for a coffee before I had to get on the bus.
The ride itself was uneventful. I spent time watching silly movies dubbed into Portuguese, lazily dozing in 2 and 3 hour increments, and munching on a bag of snacks I brought along to sustain me. A lot of time was spent enjoying the beautifully green and tropical countryside, from a comfortably reclining, air-conditioned space, wrapped in a blanket that they hand you when you get on board. It's cold in the bus and, every time someone got off, I snatched up their unused blankets until I'd built myself a cozy little nest.
Once I arrived in Rio, I took a bus to Copacabana to seek out the hotel my mom had given me. They were already in their room when I arrived and we set out to hit the town. Within the first half of the week, we'd hit all the tourist highlights. The Corcovada, a new Great Wonder of the World and Paô de Açucar both had incredible views of the city, Pao de Açucar was the most beautiful with the sea and a straight shot down the coastline, but Corcovada (at the feet of Jesus Cristo) showed the layout of the city and gave a good impression of where neighborhoods were in relation to one another. We even took an ocean cruise to visit tropical island(s). It was nice to get out on the water, but it wasn't much for what we paid. Our expectations were probably higher than they should have been.
We had amazing luck with restaurants or every restaurant in Rio is fantastic. I think I ate at more places with cloth napkins in a week than I have in the whole rest of my trip combined. It was wonderful. And we took taxis. It was heavenly. The most tiring thing we did was walk short distances and sit on the beach. It made me slovenly and lackadaisical though, and by the end of the week I got sleepy after eating the complimentary continental breakfast at the hotel.
All said and done, it was a great time, mostly just to hang out with the girls. I think they had a good time, but they were ready to go home by the end of the week. They shopped themselves silly and couldn't afford to take any more back without exceeding their weight limit. I think my Mother actually bought souvenirs for people she's never met. We had a nice Italian dinner to celebrate Easter, had a last Caiparinha on the beach, then went back to the hotel and crashed. We all left the next day, me by bus, them by plane.
Pictures will be here if my Mom emails them to me in time. If not they will be posted soon. If my Mom emails them to me. Mom?
posted by Zackataca at 1:25 PM
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