Rio de Janeiro

Rio de Janeiro has been amazing so far. It's a city of around 6 million people, and somehow has the cleanest, most beautiful beaches we've seen on the trip. Since it was cloudy the first couple days, we took the time to climb a small mountain peak beside the city to get a view.

On the third day we did a motorbike/walking tour of Rio's biggest favela. It is an interesting time to visit the favelas because the city has just started "pacifying" them, which means finding all the drug lords/militia that have ruled the favelas for years, and throwing them in prison. The favela we visited was recently pacified, however we were told it is still dangerous to walk around in them.

This is James riding on the back of a mototaxi in the favela.

The favelas were sad, because they were easily the worst living conditions we've seen in South America. We saw some pretty rough looking characters, young mothers, and drug dealers. There were lots of children living there as well. There were some signs of improvement though; for example, our tour stopped to watch a group of kids playing drums and dancing. Also we checked out an art gallery with local art and a daycare run and funded by volunteers.

At the entrance to the favela the police parked the car they use for raiding the favela. It was pretty scary looking, and there were bullet holes in the windshield.

Some kids who live in the favela we visited came to our hostel to showcase a sport that originated in Brazil called Capoeira. Its a mix between martial arts and breakdancing. The kids were absolutely amazing at it, and we got a chance to try it out at the end.

Today we just got back from a beautiful sunny day at Ipanema Beach. The photo at the very top of this post shows Copacabana Beach in the background. The hostel we're staying at is near Copacabana. Both beaches are awesome, but Ipanema is a tiny bit more beautiful. The waves were perfect for surfing today. James and I stuck to body surfing (without a board), but we got some really good rides.

The beach is an experience in and of itself, with tons of people playing soccer volleyball (its like volleyball but you can't use your hands), paddle ball, and surfing. And, of course, lots of beautiful girls.

We were planning to go on a day trip outside the city, but something tells me we won't make it past the beach for our last days in Rio. My flight home leaves on the 15th, and I'll be home the 16th. So I'll see some of you soon. 

I figure since this is my blog, I need to have a picture of myself on the post. This one's a gem.

Brazil’s Waterfalls

Time is starting to run out for me in South America. I have only one week left, and plan to spend it under the shadow of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. I’m really excited that I get to see everyone back home soon.

After finishing off in Uruguay we took a looong bus ride up the coast of Brazil, then inland towards Iguazu Falls. Both James and I had our doubts about giving up valuable beach time to bus approximately 8 hours to the falls and 8 hours back, but Jordan convinced us to go. I’ve seen Niagara Falls before, and found it hard to believe that these waterfalls would be able to top Niagara. Jordan claims that Iguazu is “One of the new natural 7 wonders of the world”. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I owe Jordan a big thank you. It was spectacular.

When we walked along the boardwalk to the top of “Garganta del Diablo”, which means Devil’s Throat, we found ourselves standing above huge amounts of water gushing over the cliff. There was so much mist coming up off the water that it was difficult to see the river below, and when the wind picked up it pushed into our faces, soaking us.

I was surprised to find that there are beautiful paths through the jungle surrounding the falls, and when we followed the paths, they took us to another, even more scenic  section of Iguazu. With waterfall after waterfall placed side-by-side along the cliff, surrounded by jungle with the sun beating down, it looked like a picture of paradise.

We also had the opportunity to get real close to the falls and find some cool relief from the heat, as well as stand above them.

The following day, we took a tour of nearby Itaipu Dam. It’s a damn big dam – the second largest in the world, but actually produces the most electricity of any hydroelectric dam in the world. It provides enough electricity for all of Paraguay’s needs, and 20% of Brazil’s. Other than the video they showed at the start (which was a propaganda video showing how great the dam is for the community), the tour was quite nice. We got to go on top of the dam and throw pennies off, as well as go inside the buildings where the workers work.

The columns of water were absolutely huge, and the wheel that it turns to produce electricity was going really fast. The tour guide claimed that almost as much water goes through the dam as goes over Iguazu Falls. (I personally don’t believe this. The fact may hold true when Iguazu is experiencing drought, which does happen, but there was A LOT of water going over those falls).

Finally, the Three Amigos took one last bus ride into the sunset. Rio de Janeiro. The Marvelous City. Heaven on Earth.

So far Rio is pretty cool, and I’m glad we’re finishing our trip here. Blog post to follow.