The diversity of this city is staggering. Brazilians are every shape, size, colour and race, which means I quite nicely blend into the population until I open my mouth and massacre the Portuguese language. It's nice not to be instantly pegged as a tourist actually, though I have had to swiftly learn how to apologise profusely for my ignorance, and profess to only really knowing English.
It's also an odd city. There is a lot of contemporary architecture around, and a mishmash of different building styles, but a huge proportion of it is in a state of disrepair and disarray. It's odd, I don't see many building sites either. Everyone seems to either be sunbathing, eating, or sipping caipirinhas in the sunshine. And really, who can blame them?
This morning I headed off to Copacabana for a walk. What I had intended to be a short stroll and then perhaps a browse around a museum turned into a 15 mile hike along Copacabana, Ipanema and Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, culminating at the Botanical Gardens where, exhausted, I tumbled into a bus for the journey back across Rio. Today it was 28 degrees, and whenever the clouds rolled in, the humidity climbed up into hell-like territory, and I had to keep drinking water to keep myself upright. It's a beautiful walk, with the beaches packed full of people wearing very little and the waters full of playful laughs. Every man and his dog seems to be renting paddle boards at the far end of Copacabana. Oh, and to the older men on the beach: please, after the age of 12, speedos become spee-don'ts. Please.
I've also decided not to go up to see Christ, due to the cost. Wow, that sentence out of context could really give the wrong idea... I went up Sugar Loaf on the first day, and was able to get a nice view of Rio from there. And really, the clouds are even worse now than they were on the first day, so I'm a little worried about wasting all that dosh to just see... well, nothing.
Well, just a short one today, I'm finding that I'm slowly recovering from being perpetually tired, and that stress and worry is slowly floating off of me, which is kind of what I expected and was really hoping for. I can kick back, relax, and just chill out while I enjoy this beautiful country and it's very pleasant weather.
Hopefully the weather is as nice for you as it is for me!
Andy
It's also an odd city. There is a lot of contemporary architecture around, and a mishmash of different building styles, but a huge proportion of it is in a state of disrepair and disarray. It's odd, I don't see many building sites either. Everyone seems to either be sunbathing, eating, or sipping caipirinhas in the sunshine. And really, who can blame them?
This morning I headed off to Copacabana for a walk. What I had intended to be a short stroll and then perhaps a browse around a museum turned into a 15 mile hike along Copacabana, Ipanema and Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas, culminating at the Botanical Gardens where, exhausted, I tumbled into a bus for the journey back across Rio. Today it was 28 degrees, and whenever the clouds rolled in, the humidity climbed up into hell-like territory, and I had to keep drinking water to keep myself upright. It's a beautiful walk, with the beaches packed full of people wearing very little and the waters full of playful laughs. Every man and his dog seems to be renting paddle boards at the far end of Copacabana. Oh, and to the older men on the beach: please, after the age of 12, speedos become spee-don'ts. Please.
I've also decided not to go up to see Christ, due to the cost. Wow, that sentence out of context could really give the wrong idea... I went up Sugar Loaf on the first day, and was able to get a nice view of Rio from there. And really, the clouds are even worse now than they were on the first day, so I'm a little worried about wasting all that dosh to just see... well, nothing.
Well, just a short one today, I'm finding that I'm slowly recovering from being perpetually tired, and that stress and worry is slowly floating off of me, which is kind of what I expected and was really hoping for. I can kick back, relax, and just chill out while I enjoy this beautiful country and it's very pleasant weather.
Hopefully the weather is as nice for you as it is for me!
Andy
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