Jesus Takes a Bath: Adventures in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Rio de Janeiro, South America’s premiere tourist destination, is set to host to the world during the 2016 summer Olympics. With Brazil queued up to host the football World Cup two years earlier, there’s little doubt that the world’s collective attention will soon turn to this self-proclaimed and nicknamed cidade maravilhosa, or marvelous city. Argued by many to be the most beautiful city in the world, I’d have to agree; just don’t look too closely.

Rio is a city I’ve wanted to visit for years. With its famous and omnipresent statue, gorgeous beaches, unmatched carnival, and its residents’ free-spirited attitude, it has quite a lure. After the earthquakes hit Chile, we were forced to rearrange our travel plans and decided to head north from Buenos Aires to the world-famous Iguazu Falls, located near a triple frontier between Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. After checking out Iguazu and finding out how inexpensive domestic flights within Brazil are, we figured we’d be stupid not to explore Rio, a city of so many travelers’ imaginations.

Once in the city, the heat is stifling and overwhelming. With temperatures reaching up to 37 degrees and with relentless humidity, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we would spend our time in Rio sweating from every pour. After settling into a rundown and overpriced hovel of a hostel, we set about navigating Rio’s subway system to find the world famous Maracana football stadium. 2010 marks the 60^th anniversary of this national monument, which hosts all the major football matches in Rio and has been the site of many famous football moments: Pelé scored his 1000^th goal at Maracana; it was home to the 1950 FIFA World Cup; and it will feature prominently in the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games. While it once had standing capacity for up to 200,000, it has since been renovated due to safety concerns to hold a modest 88,992. This hasn’t diminished the fans’ spirit though: the Lonely Planet guidebook warns against sitting in certain sections, as fans throwing bottles of urine from the top bleachers onto fans below is not altogether uncommon. We toured the stadium, taking in the locker rooms, entering the field from the same place the players do, and checking out the VIP seats in the stands. Throughout the stadium, many of the walls are covered with life-sized photomurals detailing Brazil’s long and steeped football history, its five World Cup victories, and its most famous football son, Pelé, dancing with the ball through his opponents.

Maracana stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Maracana stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The next day we took in almost the entire southern zone of the city. We left our hostel at 10 am and drove toward Tijuca Forest. The trip took us past several of Rio’s notorious favelas (slums), many of them situated next to mansions or adjacent to prime real estate (five star favelas!); Copacabana beach; and one of Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer’s homes, which is set in the middle of Tijuca forest, built around a large rock, and is notable for having no doors. At an impressive 102 years old, Niemeyer, whose credits include a number of buildings in Brasília as well as the United Nations headquarters in New York, lives in an apartment by the beach, but opens his home to tourists and visitors. We didn’t have time to go in, but it would be well worth a visit next time.

Tijuca Forest is the largest urban forest in the world, and is a mostly protected area that was once home to coffee farms owned by French, Dutch and Portugese folks and run by their slaves (Brazil was the last country in the Western Hemisphere to abolish slavery).  In the second half of the 19th Century, the government ordered all the coffee farms shut down due to their negative impact on Rio’s water supply, and the forest was hand-planted to become what it is today. Although much of it is protected as a national park, some parts house communities, including a favela (favla in the forest!). While in the forest, we saw a pau-brasil tree, which some believe accounts for the country’s name. The etymology of Brazil is actually debated, but it sounds like it’s true.

A young pau-brasil tree. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

After a short walk to a waterfall in the forest, we continued by car to the famed statue of Christ the Redeemer, whose outstretched arms mimic the position of Christ on the crucifix, but also welcome visitors to Brazil’s most prized city.  Built by the Catholic Church with parishioner donations (at one time Brazil was over 90% Catholic; today it is closer to 70%), the statue was an ambitious and lengthy project: planned in 1921, construction did not begin until almost  ten years later; the exterior is made from Swedish concrete, while the core is Brazilian soap stone to prevent corrosion; the head and hands were built in France and shipped to Rio by boat; and the statue, visible from almost anywhere in the city, stands almost 40 meters tall and is almost 30 meters wide.  Fortunately for Rio it has been voted one of the new seven wonders of the world. This was unfortunate for us as, because of this, the local authorities decided that Jesus needed a bath. Mere days before we arrived in Rio, workers began surrounding the statue in steel scaffolding in preparation for some power washing and small repairs. Although still wonderful to see, and with an unparalleled view of the city from the base of the statue, we were disappointed not to see the statue in its full splendor. However, it did lead us to some humorous titles for this blog: Jesus Takes a Bath; Extreme Makeover: Christ Edition; A Face Lift for Jesus; Soaping Our Savior; Lathering Up the Lord…

Christ the Redeemer is visible from most areas in the city. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Christ the Redeemer. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Workers prepare the statue for restoration work. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

After the statue, we made our way through the historical district of Santa Teresa, a bohemian neighborhood which boasts an Open Door Festival once a year during which artists open their homes to the public. While Santa Teresa was a refreshing change from the hedonistic beach scene, like much of Rio, it is pretty run down: some of the mansions here look as though they belong in a horror movie. From Santa Teresa, we went to check out Lapa, the last stop of the day and home to the Steps of Lapa, or Selarón steps: a staircase completely covered by Chilean artist Jorge Selarón  in brightly colored tiles. Selarón, who has traveled, worked or lived in more than 50 countries and has collected and painted tiles from each to incorporate into the installation piece, began the work 20 years ago and is still at it today.

Santa Teresa neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Santa Teresa neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The steps of Lapa, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The steps of Lapa incorporate tiles from around the world. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

One of three Canada tiles in the Steps of Lapa. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Not wanting to miss Rio’s most celebrated attraction, we spent the next day sampling the famed Ipanema and Copacabana beaches.  They are both full of buff, groomed, well-oiled, bronzed and waxed beachgoers only too eager (and perhaps a little over confident) to show off their new speedo or thong.  The beaches are always busy when the sun is up – one dial we saw had the temperature at 37 degrees – leading us to wonder if residents of Rio ever do anything other than hang out at the beach and party. The vendors at both beaches are relentless, selling everything imaginable, and the beaches are dotted with little restaurant and beer huts which make a great spot to sip a Brahma under the welcome shade of an umbrella. People watching is a pastime practiced with much gusto here, which is understandable given all that skin out there, and there are always impromptu football or volleyball games kicking up sand or surfers shredding waves to make an afternoon of people watching worthwhile.

Beach Bum. Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Beach Bum. Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Founded in 1565, Rio is one of the youngest cities we have visited on this trip. While it is undeniably beautiful, and it oozes attitude and character, it was not a city either of us fell in love with. For the young surfer type with a party all night attitude, Rio could easily be paradise. For us, it lacked the sophistication of Buenos Aires or the rawness of Quito, seeming more like a promiscuous younger sibling at which you roll your eyes and worry about in equal measure: closer to a shot of tequila than a nice glass of red.  It is also a city where the rich and poor live together: sometimes beside each other and sometimes right on top of one another. While this is a fact that residents say define the city’s culture, it also makes safety a concern.  However much of an effort made by police, cabs are a must after dark, romantic walks along the beach at night are out, and carrying anything of value is a risk. So while it is truly a fantastic site, it is unlikely we will be calling Rio home anytime soon.