Rio Trip I. June-July 2000. This was my first trip. It was winter in Rio, though “winter” means 70 degrees, fog on the beach, and it gets dark at 6 p.m. We stayed in a temporada (furnished apartment) in Copacabana: on Domingas Ferreiras in between Constante Ramos and Santa Clara, just a block off from Avenue Atlantica. July 4th was nothing, as we were not invited to the festivities hosted by the US Consulate at the EARJ (American School of Rio de Janeiro). I did get to see Pão de Açucar, Cristo Redentor – as the sun was setting – and got my first two soccer jerseys, Flamengo and Botafogo. We met Leila’s sister, her mother, her nephew, and even her younger daughter’s godfather. Our last day was drama getting back from Barra da Tijuca in time to make the 9 p.m. flight home.
This trip set the tone for the rest, and gave me the earliest memories.
1. The ride in from the airport, Galleão, aka Tom Jobim (code GIG). The bay on the left, the favelas on the right, before the cab comes into the southern zone, then hits Avenue Atlantica, before depositing us off at our destination.
2. Brazilian beer: Brahma, Antarctica, Skol, and many others. With such good Brazilian beer, foreign beer – though available – is hardly necessary. And chopp (draft beer) is the best, preferably with some pastelzinhos or batata fritas.
3. Brazilian food. Churrasco! Delicious meat, all different cuts, cooked juicy and pink. A vegetarian would be hard-pressed to remain faithful with all this fantastic carne everywhere, and for such reasonable prices you can eat steak every day and not go broke.
4. Brazilian TV: lots of soccer, and those damn novellas. Unlike the US soap operas, the Brazilian variants only last one season; each season a whole new slew gets cranked out by the geniuses at TV Globo. Usually there is at least one set in old times (Portugal, old Brazil, or the early 20th Century) and one comic one, with an adult-oriented one (no nudity, though) at 10 p.m. after the meninos and meninas have gone to sleep. My favorites were “Uga Uga” and “O Cravo e a Rosa.”
5. Temporada. Instead of being in a hotel, isolated with tourists from the rest of the local population, we stayed in a furnished apartment (except trips IV and V when Leila was actually living back in Rio), among the other regular residents going about their daily lives. We shopped at the local supermarket (Zona Sul, Sendas, or Pão de Açucar), walked along the same streets, and ate in our kitchen like anyone else.
6. Beaches. Copacabana, Ipanema, and Leblon. They’re excellent to simply lay on the sand on a towel and get a tan, if you pace yourself, wear the right strength sunscreen, and pick the right time. Oddly, you can get burned on a cloudy day. Fortunately I usually managed to get a modest tan without getting burned, mainly because we never seemed to have enough time to tan every day. Of course, the girls on the beach were certainly worth enjoying the view.
Rio Trip II. December ’00-January ’01. We got there after Christmas, but in time for New Year’s Eve. We stayed in yet another temporada in Ipanema (Barrão de Torre in between Garcia D’Avila and Anibal de Mendoça). I had to leave before Rock in Rio to get back for a job…which I lost anyway. It was raining on the beach of Copacabana, near Leme, on NYE but the fireworks went off anyway. Getting back to our place in Ipanema was a nightmare, it took over an hour. We also managed to see, on TV, the Vasco-São Caetano game which ended in a brawl in 12/31 (featured in the Steve Harris section of Iron Maiden’s “Rock in Rio” DVD). I completed the set of jerseys by getting Vasco da Gama and Fluminense. This time I went back to Cristo Redentor, now that it was summer there – much better lighting conditions.
Rio Trip III. December ’02-January ’03. We came again for New Year’s Eve, this time staying in Copacabana, off Nossa Senhora de Copacabana and Barrão de Ipanema. Her younger daughter was staying with us, her older daughter stayed with friends – the first time all four of us were in Rio together. We rented a Fiat Palio for two days and went to Buzios, a little beach town on the coast where Brigitte Bardot used to go. This time it wasn’t raining on NYE and our voyage back to the apartment took all of 15 minutes. For the last two days we stayed at the Sheraton Hotel. Her older daughter bought a miniature pinscher, Sula, in Curitiba.
Rio Trip IV. January-February ’04. By this time Leila had moved back to Rio and was living in Copacabana on Barata Ribeiro near Republica de Peru. I got there before Carnival. This was the trip I finally got to see Flamengo play at Maracana, vs. Fluminense. An amazing game, Flamengo won 4-3. Immediately after the game we went directly to the Lord Jim Pub in Ipanema to watch the Patriots-Panthers Super Bowl.
Rio Trip V. January-February ’05. Yet again, I got there, and left, before Carnival. Leila had moved to Leblon, off Bartholomeu Mitre, 6 blocks from the beach and 2 blocks from Flamengo’s complex. We did get a chance to go to several blocos, including Suvaco de Cristo. These are rowdy street parties a week before Carnival, in which the street is closed off to traffic, and a crazy, drunk, noisy crowd winds its way down the street. I enjoyed several beers and some mystery meat on a stick, dipped in sawdust. Then it was back to the US for more cold weather.
A cidade a mais maravilhosa do mundo…é verdade. Saudades dela….
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