Eat Rio Blog - Page 104 of 106

Maid in Rio

25/08/2011/0 Comments/in Musings

Although there is a lot of talk and excitement in the global media about the strength of Brazil’s economy, I am often told by Brazilians “Don’t forget, this is a third world country!”. This is usually said while they are bemoaning a woe of the city (traffic jams, poor public transport, etc) that they assume is absent in more developed countries. In many cases I can truthfully tell them that we have the exact same problem back in ‘first world’ Britain!

Moving in different directions – Brazil’s booming economy is reflected in falling unemployment levels. However, 26% of Brazil’s population is considered to be living in poverty, compared to 14% in the UK and 12% in the US. Figures from: http://www.indexmundi.com/

Tasty Little Thighs

23/08/2011/7 Comments/in Food and drink

Title got your attention didn’t it? Well sorry to disappoint, but the thighs I’m referring to belong to chickens. The word Coxinha [co-SHEEN-ya] means little thigh and this is the name of one of Brazil’s tastiest and most popular snacks.

The Portuguese word for snack, lanche [lansh], originated from the English ‘lunch’ but at some point lost the original meaning and came to mean any quick bite. Dotted all over the city are lanchonetes [lan-shon-ETCHES] or snack bars and these are great places to grab something quick, tasty and satisfying.

The much-loved coxinha, found in almost every lanchonete in Rio.

Beautiful Ugly Rio

19/08/2011/3 Comments/in Art and culture, Musings

In early July 2010 I found myself in Fortaleza in the state of Ceará (just up the coast from the tip of Brazil’s pointy nose). I had made my way by river and overland from the border with Colombia in the north but Rio, my final destination, was still a long way off. And after almost of year of living out of a backpack, staying in hostel dormitories, enduring long bus rides and even longer periods without clean clothes, I had started to crave a break.

The approach to Santos Dumont at dawn

I booked a flight and flew into Santos Dumont, Rio’s domestic airport. Rio’s main international airport, Galeão International, is a long way out of town and in a very ugly area but Santos Dumont is far closer to Rio’s iconic attractions: Copacabana, Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf Mountain) and Cristo Redentor (the statue of Christ the Redeemer). As you approach Santos Dumont you get an incredible view of these sights and you instantly understand why they call it A Cidade Maravilhosa (the Marvellous City).

Take a chopper ride around the Rio of 1968 to the sound of Gilberto Gil’s Aquele Abraço. Not only a lovely song but also a fascinating view of Rio as it was in the 60s (and you have to admire the pilot’s nerves of steel!).

The Strange Sounds of Brazil

15/08/2011/7 Comments/in Language

Four months before I left London (back in 2009) I started taking weekly Spanish lessons in preparation for a five month trip to South America. My teacher was Ivette, a lovely Chilean woman and although 16 lessons isn’t a lot, she managed to get me to a reasonable standard so that when I arrived in Argentina I was able to order beers, follow directions and make very rudimentary conversation.

The next four months brought adventure, misadventure and discovery. I made my way through Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Peru and Colombia before deciding that five months wasn’t going to be enough. I tore up my return ticket and continued my journey through Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua (where I met the woman who later became my wife), Guatemala and finally to Mexico.

The extreme southerly and northerly points of my trip – Spanish all the way!

Farofa – Tasty Sawdust

29/07/2011/4 Comments/in Food and drink

When I was young I used to look at the map of the world and want to grab South America in my left hand, Africa in my right, and push them back together. It would be satisfying wouldn’t it? One of the legacies of the slave trade is that the people who now live so far apart – in the hollow of West Africa and the pointy nose of Brazil – have many cultural similarities: religion, music and, you guessed it, food.

Pangea – continental snuggling