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Pornographic Plants? Y-Orchid-ding me…

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Sorry about the brutal pun – I’m feeling sick as a dog today and as my health deteriorates, so do my standards of what constitutes acceptable word-play. As mentioned in my last post, I visited the Jardim Botanico a few days ago. And alongside the amazing palms, one of the highlights was the orchid house.

It’s just a pretty flower!

A friend of mine insists that orchids are pornographic – at first I told her she was being ridiculous, but now that she has planted that seed (sorry), I kind of know where she’s coming from. See what you think…

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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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…

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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Views To Get Out Of Bed For

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Some problems are good to have aren’t they? Like when the view outside your window at 5.30am is so amazing that you simply have to get out of bed and take a few photos. Then you can’t get back to sleep and you find yourself tired for the rest of the day. I’m not going to get much sympathy here am I? 


Well if I’m going to suffer (yes, suffer) then it seems only right that something good comes out of it. Like today’s post! So here are some of the more memorable views from my window that have sent me scampering for my camera:

This was yesterday morning. We have a saying in England: “Red sky in the morning, shepherd’s warning”. This is the old way of saying that it’s going to rain (everyone knows shepherds can’t stand the rain right?). Well, judging by yesterday’s weather, that saying doesn’t work here.

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