Rio revisited

After much umming and ahhing, we decided to go on a Favela tour. I'm not sure what I expected from a Favela, but what we were shown (we saw 2 of about 750; Vila Canoas and Rocinha) was certainly not what I expected.

Vila Canoas was first, we were taken to a school and an Internet/Computer teaching room. The whole set-up was overseen by an Italian who had been the head of a big Brazilian company and he had got sponsorship from many (mostly European) sources. To assuage our guilt, some of our tour money also went to support the school.

Recently the government has changed their policy from trying to ignore or eradicate the Favelas to trying to bring them up to scratch. This one has sanitation, water, electricity, phones, street names, rubbish collection and lots of other things that one might expect in a 'normal' place. The biggest difference is that the 'streets' are very narrow and that they are built in a very three dimensional manner.

A 'street' in a favela

As you can see, the addition of power and telecommunications has been done in a rather haphazard manner.

Enough to give BT a headache

We then got back in the bus and went to Rocinha. It was one of the ones we had seen when we first got to Rio, as it was on the way to Barra de Tijuca. It was amazing. About 200 yards in and it was like you were transported to Guatemala. Run down shops, dirty streets and people everywhere. We were told that we were perfectly safe, but not to take pictures here and not to go there and that kind of thing. The drugs folks are in charge in there and they don't like tourists (or journalists or policemen) taking pictures of them at work.

We then ascended to the heights of Rocinha and got some amazing views.

Favela fills the valley

Rio is curious in that the poor people live on the hill and the rich live down below.

Rooftop with a view

All in all, it was interesting, not as scary as one is led to believe and not voyeuristic - just like the brochure promised.

Once back in town, we went for a nice lunch in a bookshop and bought some Brazilian music (which hasn't grown on me as much as the Tango stuff I got in Argentina has) and a couple of books.

We then went to book our flight to Bolivia and sat on Ipanema beach in the freezing cold waiting for them. On the way back to the travel agency we got diverted into the bar where the song "Girl from Ipanema" was written. The food was OK; the caipirinhas were good (apparently) and the argument on the table behind us was entertaining.

Early to bed - early to rise.