Trip to Nova Friborgo

Pão de Açúcar

Decided last Saturday would be a good day to look for the scramble up the back of the Pão de Açúcar. Got the Metro and Metro-bus from Botafango station which stopped at the telepherique station.
A pleasant tarmac path leads from the Praia Vermelha under the South Face of the mountain. It was full of families and couples out for a stroll and lots of walkers keeping fit. Below the forest and just above the sea, it is spectacular, and ends at a large concrete pillar just before the end of the trees.

After jumping over the wall the path immediately becomes small, intimate and totally empty which was a real buzz after 3 weeks of the busyness and bustle of Rio de Janeiro.

Then the path starts to leave the trees and instead of bare earth traverses across easy slabs before following an easy line straight up to a very small peak at the South East end of the mountain. Any worries that it might be difficult to find the way were resolved when in the distance a big queue of people could be seen crammed up at one section of the route ahead.

The brief outline on the internet had said "one small section of 4 which many people choose to solo". Not mentioning which country the grade of 4 was from. I.e. British and too hard for me to solo, or French then ... maybe.

Arriving just below the difficult bit there were 2 ropes thrown down. What looked like local guides positioned at the bottom, 7 metres up and at the top 10 metres up. In what seemed a chaotic scene there were also 4 tourists sitting at the top and maybe 7 at the bottom while one person tied to the rope struggled up the climb in their trainers. Once they were at tthe top the harness and rope were lowered back down for the next tourist.

While trying to work out what was happening a fit young guy with a rucksack soloed up and so I followed behind as far as the hard moves and watched while he continued easily up the last 3 metres.

Waiting on a ledge while a tourist really struggled with the hard moves left me very much in 2 minds what to do. Luckily at that moment a nice guy from Michigan came up on a rope thrown down by the fit soloist. It turned out the soloist was Netto. Hired for the day at $300 to take David climbing. The first hard move was about VD. and ok. Hesitating before the harder move, David shouted down, "Would you like us to throw you the rope?"

Phew!! A minute later I was at the top of the difficulty (too hard for me to have soloed) happily shaking their hands.

From here it is a long steep walk to the top of the hill, arriving in a mob of tourists looking as if I had just stepped out fully dressed from a shower. It was a hot day! The views were fantastic and there are lots of nice footpaths around the summit in lovely bamboo groves.
The telepherique to the subsiduary peak is free and from there an obvious footpath leads back to the Praia Vermelha.
It was great that I have finally found a place in Rio where it feels safe to walk up a hill when there are so many.

Santa Teresa

It was agreed that we would have the last Portuguese lesson in Santa Teresa where Karina lives.

It is still so difficult to tell where is safe and where isn't that all travel is still a bit fraught. Still I got off the Metro at Estacioa Carioca and managed to find the start of the Bonde, which is behind the Petrobas buildin.g.
There are many posters of Rio that show 3 scenes; The statue of Christo Redentor on the Corvocaldo, the cable car going up to Pao de Asucar, and the old yellow tram going over a viaduct. This yellow tram is the Bonde. It costs 60 centavos to travel as far as you like. Despite this the driver and the conductor are happy for people to cling to the outside of the tram for free.

The tram crossed the viaduct and then it joins the roadd squeezes by parked cars, waits patiently while cars and vans in front of it manouvre to squeeze by and joggles slowly up the hill. All the time getting better views of the centre of Rio.


Teresa met me at the Largo de Maraes stop and we walked through the streets and visited the Parca des
Ruinas., which has particularly good views, before going back to Teresa's house to have a coffee. She rents one floor of a 4 story house. An visitor from England rents the downstairs. He was in a Pharmacist when it was robbed. He tried to creep out but the robber saw him and went to shoot. Running from the shop in a panic he was knocked over by a car and run over. (The fire brigade had to lift the car off him!
This confirms what I had already heard about St. Teresa which is that it is lovely but rather close to 2 bad favellas.

Another story about the place is that a woman said that she worked there every day for a year and didn't think it was that bad. She then admitted that once at work there was some shooting in the nearby favella and a stray bullet came through the window and went through the newspaper that her boss was reading. And once when they were driving out of the area in the boss' armoured car when a gangster with machine gun stepped in the road in front of them and forced them out of the car and then drove off in it.

Yet Karina has lived there for 5 years and says that it is fine and she has never had any trouble.

And there area was delightful with a bit of a hippy, arty feel to it and a real character and full of lovely individual styled houses. The next visit to Rio I-will be looking to rent a room in this area. After the intense affluence of Leblon it just seemed like a real place to live.

Karina's house was on a cul-de-sac street with a security guard with a barrier at the beginning. As well as this security she said that most of the shooting was between the 2 favellas and they were at right angles to this. At night she said you could hear the gun fire and see the bullets tracing between them but they didn't get any accidental bullets in her direction. (I guess that houses in the line of fire must be much cheaper).

Karina teaches Portuguese to 2 English volunteers who work at a charity that temporarily adopts children from the Favellas. It was set up by Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, (who has married a Brazilian woman.)
He intends to have 3 or 4 places. The one we visited is for 2 to 6 year olds.They intend to have another one that has 6 to 11 year olds, one for older children than this and then a farm in the country where the older onces can go. So .... “a whole lotta love”!

Before I left I jumped on another tram carrying on up the hill and was rather unnerved to discover that after about a mile it stopped at the entrance to the main favella. As the tram manouvered to turn round I noticed that opposite the entrance to the Favella was a police post with 3 policeman in their flak jackets and carrying machine guns.

As a contrast the quaint houses of Santa Theresa here is a shot of the appartment block in Leblon. Apparently when this was built in the 1950's it was the very first high rise block in the area and at this time Leblon would have been very like Santa Teresa.

SIGHT SEEING

The last week has been more active and been getting about more in the "Cidade Maravilhosa".

First trip on the Metro took us to Estacoa Uruguiai and stepped out into the noise and bustle of hundreds of tiny shops which give the impression of not having changed for a 100 years. This gives a chaotic contrast with the mass of huge skyscrapers in a bewildering array of styles from Classic Government type buildings to Modernistic Dark Glass towers. Interspersed with very traditional churches and impressive older buildings. We went to see an art exhibition and take tea in the old Bank of Brazil, - now a cultural centre. Then down to an old Palace for more tea and and exhibition on architectural use of tiles.

On Saturday shopping in Copacabana gave a contrast to the city centre with a 6 km crescent of beach, - seen in relaxed style from the old Fort at the west end of the beach. Then we experienced the chaos of the main Copacabana thoroughfares running parallel to the beach inland.

A few days later we took a trip on the ferry to Niterói and got a taxi to see the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum. This was designed by Oscar Niemeyer who is famous in Brazil for designing the new city of Brasilia, for being a communist (he lived out of the country for 21 years until the military dictotorship ended in 1985) and for continuing to work even though he is now 101. Apparently he still goes to his office in Ipanema every day. He designed the art gallery in Niteroy in 1996 when he was 89 years old!

The building sits on a headland giving an amazing view of the Guanabara Bay and the city of Rio de Janeiro.

Fascimile online magazine says, "Thinking big," then-mayor Jorge Roberto Silveira later wrote, "we immediately opted for Oscar Niemeyer." After visiting the dramatic site, the architect quickly sketched out the design at a nearby restaurant. "I asked the waiter for a few sheets of paper," Silveira continued. "He was hurrying back with a few message slips when another waiter intercepted him and muttered, 'Bring bigger paper. This is the man who designed Brasília.' "

The Metro Bus stops outside the flat in Leblon. 2R60 includes the bus to the Metro station at Siqueira Campos and then as far as you like in the air conditioned Metro. The station at Botafogo is the nearest to the Sugar Loaf mountain and a reasonable walk from the station to Praia Vermilho. Very cheap lunch in the naval "pay by the kilo" cafeteiria and a view of the mountain. There is a telepherique to the top but I have been thinking of going back to walk up. It turns out to be a very safe area because it is surrounded by military bases. Most of the hills in Rio or not safe places because the slums are usually built on the steep slopes of the hills where no-one else wants to build a house. But the Pao de Asucar doesn't have any and the prescence of Military Guards is meant to keep the place safer.

Getting up early on Saturday, I ventured on one of the ordinary buses for the first time. Taking the 583 cicular bus that goes to Cosme Velho via Copacabana and Botafogo and then back to Leblon via Lagoa, Jardim Botanico and Gaviea. The bus depot at Cosme Velho is just up the hill from the railway that goes up Corcovado to see the stature of Cristo Redentor. The statue is supposed to be one of the 8 modern wonders of the world and I guess it would be difficult to visit Brazil, nevermind Rio, without going to see it. At the top there is a great view looking down on the Pao de Asucar and all of Rio de Janeiro.

It is difficult to get a good shot of the statue itself without a viewfinder and there are crowds of people about who are also trying to get a photo, - usually accompanied by an impression of the statue. Attached is the best shot out of five, - only the tips of the fingers on his right hand missing.

A typical tourist pose on top of the Corcovado on the left.

Next on the sight seeing list is a visit to Santa Teresa and then if it is possible to get out of town and go to one of the mountain areas like Petropolis or Teresopilis.

BARS CAFES AND RESTAURANTS IN AND AROUND LEBLON

TALHO CAPIXABA - Av. Ataulfo de Paiva, 1022 – Leblon

A delicatessan with tables on the pavement and very nice sandwiches and expresso. Often there is a queue for tables but that is because is is worth the wait.

JOBI
The best bar to have a choppe in Leblon. Odd mix of people that is reminiscent of the Coach and Horses in Soho
Gets incredibly noisy after about 8.30.

LIVRAIRIA LETRAS & EXPRESSOES Av. Ataulfo de Paiva 1292

All night bookshop with a very nice tiny cafe on the balcony at the back.

CAFE VENANCIA Rua General Venancio Flores
Ok coffee and sandwich . Sat and watched a women with no legs, take her wheelchair up to every car at the traffic lights for an hour and not sell a single thing from her tray.

FELLINI R. General Urquisa and R. Professor Artur Rovos
This is the best quality pay by weight buffet restaurant that I have been to in Brazil. Pricey but really nice food. (R$4.19/100gm)

BALADA SUMOS Av Ataulfo de Paiva 620
Nice cheap sandwich place on the high street with a couple of benches outside for a good value fruit juice and a sandwich.

GEORGIOS
A complete contrast next door the the Balada Sumos. This is the classiest restaurant I think I have ever been in with incredible individual décor. A very posh bar in the front and a small restaurant at the back with traditional white linen incredible high ceiling and loads of waiters around attending to your every need. I had a fabulous musroom risotto and best Martini I've tasted

BAR BRACARENSE off the high street on R. Jose Linhares
Great place to go if you fancy an early beer. Interesting range of clientell similar to the Jobi but the intensity of the noise gets too an incredible level. As most of the tables are on the pavement I imagine the neighbours must all have the airconditioning on and the windows closed.

ALAVARO'S Avenida de Paiva 500 (on the corner with R. Cupertino Durao)

Very traditional Portuguese style restaurant with waiers who look like they have been there for ever. Apparently this is the sort of restaurant that locals remember coming to with their parents and then bring their own children)

BELMONTE LEBLONOn Rua dias Ferreira.

Very nice place for a few beers, they come round with nice snacks. Do some very nice fish meals as well. Noise level lower than Jobi.

ZONA SUL On the corner of Ferreira and Rua General Artiga.

It is a fancy delicatessan version of the common supermarket chain. But they have a dozen tables and serve very nice pizzas. You help yourself to booze off the shelves and then have the empties scanned while you leave. Even more enjoyable than the pizza is the idea of a supermarket meal sitting shoulder to shoulder with the wealthy of Leblon. (it doesn't happen in Tesco at Winnal)

ARGOMENTO Rua Dias Ferreira 417, Leblon
Bookshop with a superior sort of cafe that do a stunning breakfast buffet and nice expresso.

IN SHOPPING LEBLON THE ATTRACTIONS ARE

Comfortable seats on 1^o Piso with holders for laptops and free fast wireless broadband.

On the 2^o Piso there is a great bookshop with a bar, restaurant on a balcony that seems to be floating above the bookshelves. Good for a expresso, beer or beer and Tapas. (or palmito soup)

On the 4^o Piso there are 2 attractions,

Ta Facchia who do nice italian filled breads.

The Cinema Bar. Good in the day for an expresso, use the internet and views over the Lagoa. And better in the evening for a couple of beers. They serve their choppies in proper sized half pint glasses. (If you are hungry the smell of popcorn from the cinema is pretty distracting.)

Further afield in IPANEMA we have;

YOGOBERRY

It is hard to believe that something as delicious as a frozen natural yoghurt can really be that delicious and healthy. (if it isn't really that healthy then don't tell me)

??? Opposite Praca Nossa Senhora de Paz on R. Barao de Torre

They do the most fabulous healthy juices and snacks on a semi-open platform overlooking the park. A great place on a sunday afternoon unless you are feeling too insecure to cope with being completely surrounded by confident young beautiful successful people.

And in the other direction in GAVEA is

BRASEIRO DA GAVEA Pca Santos Dumont 11, Baixo, Gavea

A pretty traditional restaurant doing straighforward food but very nice.

Good place to go after a shopping trip to buy underwear and t-shirts in the Taco shop in Shopping Gavea.

In the centre of town near URUGUIANIA

Restaurant Lebanon.

Good range of arab food. Good place to have a snack of humus and arab bread to escape the shopping in
Sahara.