Two years ago, we visited Rio. On that trip, we made sure we went to see the highlights of Rio. We saw the giant statue of Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado Mountain and took the cable car ride of a lifetime over the ocean out to Sugar Loaf Mountain. It was all fabulous. As a matter of fact, as we sailed into Rio this time the sight of The Christ statue was like a beacon saying, "Welcome back"! It is truly a wonderful place to visit. Old and new exist all around you. Since we had done the touristy thing on the previous trip, we opted for a lesser know route this time. We spent the first day, Sunday, on the beach of Ipanema. Yes, you know it, "Tall and tan and young and delightful, the girl from Ipanema goes walking..." That tune was written just a few steps away from the beach in a small cafe. Who knew that this trip, that song would be talking about a tall and tan young man playing volleyball??? We made our way to the beach to see what a typical Brazilian family of 4 would do on a Sunday afternoon. Our first stop, however, was a must do on a Sunday (after mass), a trip to The Hippie Market. It is named such from the hippies that used to hang out here in the 60's and 70's selling their handmade items. That is still what happens there. There are stalls all over the place. Colorful people everywhere. A very exciting place to go. Then, the beach. WOW!!! These people really know how to pack people onto a beach! There was no sand between beach towels laid out onto the sand!! People were jammed together like they were all at a family reunion and knew each other, all 200,000 of them! Volleyball nets, probably one hundred games all going on at the same time, massages, vendors selling hats, t-shirts, sodas, beer, water, beads, coconuts,.....very busy. Our first day ended with a wonderful dinner with an old friend, Eduardo, that we met two years ago, his beautiful wife, Luciana and their nephew Matteo, eleven years old! Nicky and Matteo played video games after dinner. Even though Nicky can only say "hello" in Portugese and Matteo knows a little more in English, through sign language and smiles, they were able to communicate very well! We had visions of going out into the wild streets of Rio for a Samba show but that will have to wait until our next trip there! We were all worn out from the 100 degree weather! It was sunny, hot and humid! Gotta love that! Sunburn was the end result even though we reapplied. I think our sunscreen in Alabama is not meant to work in the blazing sun of Rio! If you think you understand, think about this. Has your skin ever felt so hot that you were thinking that you could actually smell yourself burning? Or wondered why you thought a black top was a good clothing option? Or thought that if the man selling water didn't hand you the bottle quickly you might have to jump into his styrofoam cooler? That was Rio on Sunday. Needless to say, we would have loved the Samba but... Day two in Rio was a real education. We spent Monday touring favelas. A favela is a slum built up onto a hillside/mountainside. There are about 550 favelas in Rio. We visited one that was as small as 2,000 people and then one that was as large as 60,000 people. I think we all were expecting something way different from what we found. I never knew that favelas had stores, restaurants, etc... The gal told us that some people have never left their favela. They don't know they live in a big city or even that there are some of the world's most beautiful beaches just a few blocks away. The first stop was to the smaller favela. It is called Canoas Village. In this favela, everyone knows each other. They look out for each other. They make sure everyone is safe. There is a man that walks around constantly through the VERY narrow streets and monitors all the activity there. No crimes are allowed there. There are huge penalties for crime. However, the people that run the drugs, make the rules. That is the sad thing. Marijuana, cocaine and heroine all are sold in the favelas. Young kids, maybe as young as 12, sell drugs and carry weapons. The drug dealers life expectancy is 25 years old. We never saw any drugs, drug dealers, guns or the like. What we saw were hard working people all trying to make a living and make it through the day. This favela has been "approved" for sewer. They have streets with addresses, so they can receive mail and bills. This is not true at all favelas. This favela has a school. The school is supported by a man from Italy. We were able to tour the school, take pictures and visit with the kids. They had very small rooms, small desks, and no colorful stimulating artwork on the walls. What they did have were teachers that only make $400/month, computers, notepaper, a small basketball court, and parents that want their children to have an opportunity to leave the favela if they want to one day. The gal that took us through the favela said that many times, people might be able to afford to leave but stay because they love everyone there and don't want to leave. Some of Brazil's most famous soccer stars came from favelas. One of those being, Pele. The second favela we went to was called, Favela da Rocinha. It was tremendous in size. It has not been approved for sewer. When you look at all those tiny house crammed onto that hillside and know that all their waste is somewhere right under their feet it really makes you thankful for all we have in the USA. These people all have brick or tile homes. None of them are cardboard or the like. They have to be permanent structures for them ever to get approved for sewer. They are built right on top of each other. Everyone there could reach a hand out their window and make a human chain of arms outstretched and not even have to lean to do it. Their views from the top of that mountain are breathtaking. However, they also look down on some of the most expensive homes in Rio. The American School is right at the bottom of the hill. The tuition at this private school is $2,000.00/month and they share a driveway. There is only one road through this favela and there is no trash pickup on the side streets so everyone has to bring their trash to the main street and the trash is collected 2 times a day. That is why that one photo has a trash pile. It was certainly one of the best tours we have ever taken. I know I could keep sharing what we saw but I don't think I could really describe it well enough. A day we will never forget. Unfortunately, Charles chipped a tooth and needed to see a dentist! Our friend, Eduardo, sent us to his dentist. He was Italian, VERY nice, happy to see us and was able to help Charles. He even gave Charles a cup of cappaccino after his appointment! Many thanks to Dr. Leonardo Cuozzo for putting Charles back together and back on the open sea! We grabbed a pizza in town and headed back to the ship. A sad good-bye to Eduardo at the port. However, he promises he will come for a visit when he and his wife are in the states in September...hope they will. Thanks for everything!!
Nicky served at 2 masses this weekend. The priest that is with us is from a town that is about 2 miles from my dad's hometown of Wellsville, NY! Small world. Father Tom is full a great stories and a delight to have with us.
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