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BRAZIL Rio de Janeiro (23.3.-25.3.) Seven We were scheduled to arrive in Rio de Janeiro on March 23, around noon. Unfortunately, our departure from Santiago de Chile was delayed by four hours due to a non-functioning heating element at one of the cockpit windows. At the airport Information Desk, we found out that most affordable hotels are completely full. We joined in with a couple from New Zealand for a taxi ride to the city and hoped that we could get a discount when we book two rooms at the same time. It did not work out. We ended up paying $40 for a tiny room with just a very old bed and one chair. The worst value/money ratio of our entire trip. Only later, we discovered that, in Rio, one has to book hotels through travel agencies. Travel agents can negotiate great discounts for their customers and therefore can offer same-price accommodation in beautiful three-star hotels directly on a beach. Well, next time. After checking in, we went out with our new friends from New Zealand, had dinner together and then went to bed. The next day, on March 24, we took
a morning stroll along the most popular beach in Rio, the Copacabana.
There were many people walking on this long, sandy beach. We noticed
that instead of the typical beach volleyball
courts, there were many, many beach soccer fields! We don't know why we
were so surprised. In the end, we were in Brazil! When March 25 was our last day in Rio. In the morning, we went to the beach to absorb, for one last time, the ambiance of the city. After lunch, we boarded a bus for a 22-hour drive to Iguaçu Falls, which are located on the border between Brazil and Argentina and not far form their boarder with Paraguay. (You can read more about the falls in our diary from Argentina.)
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Brazil Population: 176 000 000 Population growth:
0,87% Literacy rate: 92,8%
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million
inhabitants of this Brazilian metropolis, the cultural and tourist center of Brazil (even though not its capitol), live in one
of the most beautifully located cities in the world. Rio is squeezed
between the Atlantic and steep slopes of many coastal hills. People
from around the world come here for its excellent beaches and relaxed atmosphere. Brazilians
like to party and the annual Carnival became a famous (or for some
infamous) event known around the world. However, we did not find the
city itself, as seen from the streets, very attractive - lot's of traffic
and noise.
we
returned to the hotel, Jitka was really tired, but Marek felt like
taking a walk along the Capacabana beach. He went on his
own and - he ended up being mugged, for the second time during our trip!
Marek found a nice quiet place to sit down and watch the ocean - a well
lit spot right under two huge street lights. But the light did not help. Soon,
he noticed two shadows approaching him from behind. He jumped up, which
scared the two guys, but not enough for them to leave. One of them threatened Marek with
something knife-like looking in his hand. Marek was not in the mood to
get injured again, so he gave in a let one of the two guys to reach for money
into one of his pockets. Fortunately, anticipating possible troubles, Marek
had taken nothing but little change with him. The two guys grabbed their loot and
started to run away. However, Marek decided not to let them get away
with it so
easily. Roles have changed. The hunters became the hunted. When they
reached the sidewalk, which was full of people, Marek started to call
"police!". The guy with the knife-like thing in his hand, threw
this thing at Marek,
but Marek dodged and it missed him. Now that Marek knew that the guys
were not armed, he approached them and with clear gestures suggested that they
return the money to him. They lacked the will to do so, but calling the
police paid off. As a flashing police car approached the scene, the guys panicked.
The one with the money started to run away, but it was no problem for
Marek to catch up with him. Finally he gave up, threw the money on the
sidewalk, crossed a busy street and disappeared in the crowd. Marek
decided that this was enough, picked up his change and returned to the
hotel. Not surprisingly, even though the police was willing to scare the
thieves away, they had no interest in leaving their car or trying to do
anything else.