Things to do in Rio…

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It’s coming up on 2 years that I’ve been living in Rio and during that time I’ve had quite a few visitors. It’s been great having friends and family come over and hang out in my new home town – a chance to catch up on news from home and remind myself how nice it is to chat with someone whose first language is English. As each visitor has come and gone, I’ve noticed the same questions coming up again and again. Is Rio safe? Can you recommend a restaurant or a place to stay? What are the good things to do in Rio?

Well, I thought that rather than just telling my visitors, why not put my suggestions and recommendations on Eat Rio for everyone to see? I thought it would be a fun project to make a collection of all my favourite places, to gather together details, photos and specific recommendations. And so I have begun!

This is my first recommendation under the “Things to do” category.

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Brazil’s Coca Cola Rivers

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Hello there. It might seem like I am typing this to you from my normal seat (you know, the one at the table in the dining room), but that is actually a cleverly constructed illusion. In reality I am miles away. In another state no less. That’s right, I am finally going to Minas Gerais, Brazil’s state of Cheese and Cachaça (that’s not the official state logo, those are just the two things I’m most excited about).

Though in reality, that is also a bit of an illusion (OK, let’s drop this ‘illusion’ talk, it’s a lie, a straight out lie). Because I am in my normal seat in the dining room as I type this, but using the power of delayed publishing (I set a time in the future for this post to be automatically published), when you read this I will be in Minas Gerais. Basically I’m going to be away from Computer-Land for a while, so I’m writing a post before I go away. Everyone clear on that? Great.

The plan is to spend the New Year holiday in Ibitipoca (sounds like i-bitchy-POCK-a). Ibitipoca, or more properly Parque Estadual do Ibitipoca, is a forest park created back in 1973 and covering 1,488 hectares. You have to buy a ticket to enter the park and the number of visitors is limited to 300 per day. You can camp (we will be) and apparently these numbers are limited also.

That’s a LOT of Coca Cola…

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What colour is your New Year’s Eve?

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And so we reach the point where memories of Amigo Oculto and Blueberry Trifle are fading fast and we turn our attention to New Year’s Eve. It seems that in Brazil, New Year’s Eve may be referred to using one of several terms. Mostly I hear people talking about Reveillon, but then I have also seen Véspera de Ano Novo and Noite de Ano Novo (hint, I ‘wonder’ about things like this in the hope and expectation that some clever Portuguese speaker will clarify things for me).

If you decide to spend your NYE in Rio then the main event is held in Copacabana. As many as 2 million people [shudder] are expected to celebrate together on the night – there will be big-name musicians such as Beth Carvalho, O Rappa and [shudder again] David Guetta, plus a spectacular firework display. I went past the area in a taxi yesterday and the driver joked that the only people who stick around for this event are tourists. Indeed, many Cariocas decide to use this holiday to get out of town and avoid the mayhem.

The New Year's Eve fireworks in Copacabana. Sure the fireworks look cool, but just look at all those people. Good luck getting a taxi home... (thanks to mazavideos.blogspot.com for the awesome photo)

 

But regardless of where you decide to spend Reveillon, there is one question on everyone’s mind: What colour will you be wearing?

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Boris Bikes in Rio

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People often say that when you return home after you’ve been away for a long time, you are surprised by how little has changed. When I returned to London for a short break earlier in the year (having been away for 2 years) I found this to be largely true. However, one thing that did pique my curiosity were these black and blue bikes that were everywhere. Since I had been away, London’s self-styled ‘Buffoon Mayor‘, Boris Johnson, had introduced a bike sharing scheme and these bikes had become known as Boris Bikes.

Well I recently discovered that Rio now has it’s own Boris Bikes!

Bike Rio Samba

There are 600 of these bikes and around 60 docking stations (mainly in Zona Sul). I'm not sure how much Rio's mayor, Eduardo Paes, had to do with this scheme, but if I were him I'd be pushing the nickname 'Paes Bikes'...

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The most amazing natural wonder in Brazil.

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That’s right, I’ve just gone right ahead and put a full stop at the end of today’s post title. No question marks today, it’s Friday, I’m feeling tough and I’m going to make a statement of fact. Lençois Maranhenses is the most amazing natural wonder in Brazil.

Before I tell you anything about it, I’m doing to do a quick backtrack regarding my tough Friday stance in that opening paragraph. I actually haven’t seen very much of Brazil – I’ve seen some of the Amazon region, a little of the north-eastern states of Maranhão and Ceara and a little of Rio state. I haven’t been down south to all those amazing beaches everyone tells me about. I haven’t been to the waterfalls of Iguaçu (and yes, I know they’re amazing). So I will listen if you tell me there is somewhere more spectacular (in fact I’d love to hear your opinions/suggestions).

But seriously, take a look at this:

Lençois Maranhenses, Maranhão, Brazil

Situated in Brazil’s poorest state, Maranhão, the Lençóis Maranhenses National Park covers 270 km² and lies on the coast of north-east Brazil. Situated next to the sea, these huge white sand dunes are dotted with rain-fed, fresh water lagoons.

 

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