From Rio to Praia

After a quick sojourn to the UK, we commenced our travels by flying to Rio de Janeiro, and investigating the eastern side of the great continent of South America. But arriving, late at night, in the pouring rain, did not start off too well.

Rio was quite wet for a couple of days, so we spent a few hours by simply walking along the great Ipanema and Copacabana Beaches. Rain in Brazil tends to be warm, so it did not stop the activity of people enjoying the beaches, although weekdays in mid-December are the calm before the storm of Christmas and school holidays.

However, after a couple of days of rain, it all changed and we saw the beauty of the city. The bits that everyone knows about, and the main tourist attractions, are in a quite compact area, so visiting them by metro or Uber is quite easy.

We started by heading up the hill called Corcovado. This is the highest point in the city and is where the massive Christ the Redeemer statue is found. Don’t expect it to be quiet as the crowds are enormous and shuttled up to the base of the statue in a large fleet of minibuses. But the reason for going is worth it, as the views over the city and across the lagoon to Sugarloaf Mountain are superb.

The next day was a little more off piste as we visited the area of Santa Teresa. Reached by a tram on rails, similar to those in Lisbon, you ascend through cobbled streets to another high point looking over the city. We then stopped at the mid point and had a beer in a wonderful bohemian area, before heading back to the slightly more edgy, Lapa, and home by the metro.

Our final day saw us spending some time with the locals on Ipanema Beach before going up the large double cable car system to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain itself. Beach life is central to the “cariocas” as they sit with their loungers and tables and chairs under large umbrellas, and it was great people watching, as getting a tan and being seen is central to like in Rio.

We went up Sugarloaf Mountain just before sun down as the views over Copacabana Beach and downtown Rio are great; and the sunset over Ipanema in the distance are superb. We had seen some of the chaos of Brazil to come, when the failure of one set of lights caused the traffic to grind to a halt in much of the city, and it took two hours to get back to the apartment.

It was a great start to our time in Brazil, although we did find it a bit more edgy than our travels to date. We were much more in “travel mode” by not taking our mobiles anywhere and carrying only limited cash, but it all proved fine; and Ipanema, where we stayed, is largely safe.

However, our next stop was a flight to the north, and a complete change of pace. From ”January River”, as Rio is called in English, we flew to Natal and on to Praia da Pipa, or “Kite Beach”. “Praia” is the Portuguese word for beach, and this area had some of the greatest beaches in Brazil.

We were there for three weeks as a planned break from travelling. In fact it was great to unpack the big rucksacks and live “normally” for a while. We had an apartment in a small condominium with twelve similar apartments, lovely mature grounds, and a small swimming pool.

We soon got into the habit of cooking, swimming in the pool and going to the town or one of the four local beaches. It was a small town, but quite smart, and gets very crowded at weekends and particularly New Year, second only to Carnival in Brazil. It almost had the feel of a small Greek or Turkish town, and is a great idea for Europeans looking for some winter sun.

Everything was within a half an hour walk From the apartment, with the town only ten minutes away. The beaches were all quite different, with an almost deserted beach at one end, and a smarter one at the other, all spread across about three miles. One was mainly for families, whilst another one was for the young city types from Rio and Sao Paolo.

The town came alive at night with beautifully lit restaurants and shops. We had our favourite cocktail bar, which was opposite our favourite music and beer bar. There were also a few nice restaurants where we spent time on our twentieth anniversary and Christmas Day.

All in all, we had a great time; and felt quite relaxed after three weeks. We were all recharged ready for a return to “travelling”, when we left and flew south to the third city of Belo Horizonte, and beyond.