The Emperor’s Tree, Freed by Slaves

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One of the things I love about life in Brazil is that there are plenty of public holidays. Next Tuesday is the ‘Proclamation of the Republic’ holiday and seeing as it lands on a Tuesday, many people will get Monday off work too. Four days off work just as the summer is getting going? Yes, I’m pretty happy about that. Of course the weather forecast is showing 4 straight days of thundery rain, but right now the sun is shining and I’m heading off to Jardim Botanico, Rio’s botanic gardens. 

The Imperial Palms of Jardim Botanico.




The huge Imperial Palms (Roystonea oleracea) of Jardim Botanico are hard to miss, having been planted in great avenues lining many of the paths. These long-lived palms form a fascinating part of Rio’s history. 

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Three Yummy Foreigners I Met in Rio

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I sometimes think that the title of this blog is a little misleading. Originally I had planned to concentrate on all the delicious and (to me) previously unknown food I discovered in Rio, but as time passed I found there were all kinds of other interesting things that I wanted to write about. Now my selection criteria have broadened to include anything that I would show/tell a curious friend who hadn’t been to Brazil. 

 

Sure there’s some food in there, but there’s quite a lot of other stuff as well (this is a sneak-peak of the new-look Eat Rio coming soon).

 

 

But I’m still into the food! I have plans to tell anyone interested about a whole bunch of great Brazilian dishes, ingredients and perhaps even a few of what I deem to be Rio’s best places to eat. 


So today I’m going to tell you about a Peruvian, a Mexican and a Southeast Asian I met in Rio. They have quite different personalities but all three are totally yummy. 

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The favela drug lord and the Congolese Consul

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Big news in Rio today – the boss of Rocinha, Rio’s largest favela, was detained last night. Going by the nickname of Nem, he had a price on his head and the story of his capture really belongs in a film.

Nem – presumably not smiling now…

For Funk’s Sake!

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Picture this: You have been doing a lot of long days at work – getting up early, coming home late (you rarely have time for a proper lunch). It is Monday night and you are still tired from the weekend when there were various late-night events, at which your attendance was non-negotiable. 


When you got home from work tonight you managed to get a quick bite to eat and then head to bed – it is just before midnight and apart from the occasional dog bark, the night is quiet and peaceful. You close your eyes, so tired that you can feel your heavy body sinking deeper and deeper into the mattress as sleep takes you. Half-dreams flit in and out of your consciousness but you are too tired to take much notice. And then…

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Another Great Thing About Rio

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Dotted at regular intervals along the busiest beaches in Rio, you will find little exercise stations. These include various parallel bars designed for pull-ups, chin-ups and various other strenuous exercise. These tend to be frequented by muscled up guys (of which there are plenty) who seem to enjoy the opportunity for some public flexing (of course I’m neither bitter nor jealous…). 

Bit of eye-candy for anyone into this kind of guy. Personally I think he looks like he needs to eat a sandwich...

But although the great thing to which I refer in this post’s title is related to exercise, it is not designed for the beach posers. I am actually talking about free, open-air gyms designed specifically for what the Brazilians call the Terceira Idade (literally ‘third age’, meaning elderly). 

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