Lagoa
If I remember rightly, I arrived in Rio for the very first time on a Thursday. Mrs Eat Rio picked me up at Santos Dumont airport and drove me around town to show me the sights. To be honest, I think she was actually just trying to drive me back to her place, but she kept taking wrong turns, so by the time we got back, I had seen most of Rio…
Now I’m not sure if anyone else has experienced this, but on that first day (and in fact for several weeks after that) I couldn’t really piece Rio together. As I moved around the city I was confronted by one dazzling and dramatic sight after another. First we’d be following a stretch of beach, then we’d turn a corner and there was a huge mountain, then more beaches, more mountains covered in forest, a huge stretch of water called the Lagoa, and then an even larger body of water call Guanabara Bay (in Portuguese Baía da Guanabara). I had no idea how all these places linked up.
Rio de Janeiro – a bamboozling mix of beaches, mountains, bays and forest.
As you can see on the map above, as well as all those bays and inlets, there is also what looks like a lake a few blocks behind Ipanema. In fact it is a lagoon, most commonly known simply as Lagoa, though its full name is Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. It is connected to the sea by a canal which runs through a narrow park called Jardim de Alá.
As if Rio didn’t have enough amazing sights, Lagoa adds yet another stunning dish to this table, already heaving with delights:
The Lagoa in the foreground works nicely with the Dois Irmãos in the centre and Pedra da Gávea just behind. The capivaras (capybaras) in the foreground aren’t real!
During the daytime, the Lagoa is a popular place to stroll, jog, ride bikes or simply hang out. There are places where you can hire pedalos shaped like swans and also various different forms of bicycle and tricycle, some of which can hold a whole family!
Later in the day, I’d recommend making your way to the excellent bar called Palaphita Kitch [no longer with us] – the food and drinks are good, but the real draw has to be the views as the sun goes down (see above).
During Christmas time, an enormous tree is erected on the water. To be honest, I’ve never been all that impressed by the tree and most Cariocas I know say that they hate it because of all the traffic jams that it generates.
As you see above, from one angle you see Dois Irmãos and Pedra da Gávea. From another viewing point, you get a spectacular view of the Corcovado with Cristo Redentor on top. Again, this can look particularly good as daylight fades and the Cristo is lit up.
Another item on the Rio checklist – the Lagoa also affords great views of Corcovado, with Cristo perched on the top.
From looking up at the Cristo from the Lagoa, to looking down at the Lagoa from the Cristo:
Most people go up to the Cristo during the day, and I would definitely recommend for your first time, but going up at dusk is also pretty amazing.
As it seems compulsory to mention the Olympics/World Cup whenever the chance arises, I guess I should mention that the Lagoa will be the location for the Olympic rowing events in 2016 – I just hope the competitors will be able to concentrate with all this spectacular scenery!
I’ll leave with one more photo taken from Palaphita Kitch – a great place to relax whether you’ve just rowed 4,000 metres or simply wandered about a bit with a camera!
wow! gorgeous place!
rio is wonderful after all !
Of course it is!! :D
“To be honest, I think she was actually just trying to drive me back to her place” < great writing there.
I remember not understanding how the pieces fit, too. Seems like a lifetime ago but these days you could spin me around in any bairro and I'm pretty sure I could say where I was. Funny is when you give Brazilians directions, on the odd occasion that it happens. I remember two guys from the northeast in a truck passing by in Copa and asking me directions. Luckily, I knew what they were looking for and answered quickly (so they didn't realize I was a foreigner). The longer one talks, the easier it becomes to be demasked.
Lagoa is a great place. When I lived in 'Galo, I walked down there in about 5 min flat on several occasions. It was excellent. But I'll tell ya, the last time I took a stroll there, I was hit by this enormous saudade for what must have been. It's the strangest feeling, especially considering I never really knew the Rio before all the recent fanfare (of the last decade), but I really long for the Rio before all the visiting/vagabonding gringos (gringos who make it their home are just fine, btw). It pains me. It's so strange to say, especially since I'm not a carioca, but I think of Rio as partly mine, in the sense that California is mine because I grew up there. I'd love nothing more than to live in a Rio that was undiscovered by the global masses. Actually, I think every foreigner feels this, only it grows more pronounced with every additional day spent there.
Anyways, enough with the diatribe. I once wrote about the Lagoa but I can't find it. I rewrite it and leave a link here depois.