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Rio de Janeiro August 2013 - Page 2
- The Iggy Pop Trip
On Sunday August 18, we flew from DFW to Miami. This was the first leg of our trip to
Brazil. Since I was traveling with all the big cheese guys I got to sit in first class section.
When I got in the plane I saw a guy bent down and taking a selfie with who I thought was
Iggy Pop, the long dead rock star. Oh, it turns out he is still alive and flying to Miami with
his model looking granddaughter. Oh, it turns out she was not his granddaughter but his
supermodel traveling companion. Mr. Iggy Pop makes Willie Nelson look like a high
school freshman. He has had a pretty rough life. It looks like he has done some excessive
drinking, smoking and other illegal things full time since 1965.
If that wasn't strange enough, I looked up front once during our flight and saw a leg and
foot pointing straight up high in the air. The guy is pretty limber; maybe drinking, smoking
and drugs does that for you.
I do not know what he sang, but I did recognize him. After many false alarms at a lot of
celebrity sightings this year, I finally get Iggy Pop.
- About Those Favelas
All around Rio de Janeiro are very crowded neighborhoods with houses built on top of one
another. The houses are not made very well and use bricks, plywood and sheet metal. You
can see them as you drive through Rio and fly over Rio. Many are near the old harbor docks
or built on some of the craggy hills and mountains that Rio is built around, many on public
property. I was curious about these crowded neighborhoods so I have read 4-5 articles
about them. Did not go near any, but here is what I read.
They are called favelas, which is a shantytown or slum. They are not planned streets or
neighborhoods developed by the city, but were built by people who moved to the big city
and could not afford the high property prices. These favelas were built without water, sewer
or electricity, but most houses now have power and a TV with illegal wiring running house
to house. When the land was used somebody built another layer of houses on top of the
previous layer. The favelas are crowded neighborhoods that have local gangs, little
police control and are associated with crime, poverty, illegal activities, drugs and drug lords.
Several articles that I read said that there are over 800 favelas in Rio, many of these are
built very close to rich neighborhoods and famous tourist spots. The largest favela in Brazil
is called Rocinha and is located just above the Ipanema Beach area, about 3 miles from
Copacabana Beach.
A tourist should probably not explore the favelas alone but there are now guided tours in
some of the favelas. Much safer. I was told to expect smells, open sewage and trash in the streets.
- Too Young to Drink
I have been gone for so long that Kendra and Gabby have started drinking Margaritas.
- More Bad Photos of a Beautiful City
- Here are some photos I took in Rio while driving to and from work. Give me a break,
it is hard to take a good photo using a telephone while driving down the street. Rio
is built around many mountains and a giant bay and next to a beautiful ocean. It is
very pretty and is where foreign tourists go to in Brazil.
- That's Why the Beach Is So Clean
I figured out why the beach here is so much cleaner than Galveston Beach - the Pope
was just here 3 weeks ago. See photo, not mine, that shows 3 million people gathered
to see the Pope on Copacabana Beach just outside of my hotel. I will not be so critical
of the seaweed covered beaches in Texas any more.
Copacabana Beach is pretty famous, but the next beach over is also pretty famous.
It is Ipanema Beach. Remember the song "The Girl from Impanema"? I gave seen
4-5 other nice looking beaches around town, many of them bordered by tall green
mountains. Very pretty
- Bad Reputation
Rio sometimes has a bad rap as being a dangerous place to visit, but I would bring my family here for a vacation. I am sure that
with 12 million people, many very poor, there are some areas of town that a tourist should stay out of. We have been in a tourist
area and generally I have felt safe here and driving though the city. I also feel pretty safe working in the middle of a fenced off
Navy base.
One thing that I have noticed all week is the total absence of any signs in English. All around the world, signs in the airport,
signs on highways, signs on shops and billboards have some English. Here it is 100% Portuguese. Most people do not
speak any English at all. Our driver the last two days does not speak English.
Rio will be the site of the Soccer World Cup in 2014 and then Rio will be the host of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Both of
these events will let the world see Brazil and Rio. Many of the locals would like the government to spend the billions of dollars
on schools and health care and roads instead of on stadiums so there have been a lot of protests this year, including this week.
- Stranded in South America
Sing to the tune of "Me and Bobby McGee"
Busted flat in Rio man,
Waiting for a plane,
I'm feeling near as faded as my jeans,
Larry thumbed some taxis down,
Just before the crowd,
They rode us all the way to our new scene.
He drove fast and we held on tight,
Dark streets, dangerous night,
We don't understand him he can't understand too,
So we sang every song that driver knew.
If that sounds like an old Janice Joplin song, we are singing the blues tonight. It's after 2 AM on Friday morning, we
should be half way back to Miami by now, but we are stranded in a strange hotel in South America due to a broken plane.
Instead of getting back to Dallas before noon on Friday, it sounds like we will be getting home on Saturday morning,
our whole schedule pushed back a day. If we were in the US, we would have just got on another plane and been an
hour late. Not here, 3 flights to Dallas a week, 1 flight to Miami a day. It's always an adventure.
If anybody reads this, tell my boss I won't be at work on Friday.
- Taxis in Rio
See my bad attempt at a Haiku poem about driving in India in blog from Jan. 12, 2012. Here is poem of taxis here in Rio.
Taxis in the USA smell
like a third world country
A taxi in Brazil smells a little worse
When you ride in a lot of taxis,
you smell like the taxi driver
Always hot even early In the morning
They go very fast and get too close
Too fast and close at same time scares me
Now throw in fast motorcycles driving between fast taxis
Zipping in and out
riding on the white line
Cycles do not all have lights at night
It is always crowded on the roads,
With a large group it is hard
for two taxis to stay together
Get a driver, don't drive here yourself
Taxis do not take credit cards
Must have Reals in your pocket
A big wad of bills will get u there
