Day 18, Jan 21, 2006: Rio, Day 4: The Last Day
Brazil is a land of many traditions, none more pervasive or important than o café da manha - morning coffee. As generations have come and gone, o café da manha has changed little over time.
O café da manha, circa 1970


O café da manha, 2006. Photo: P. Jurgens!


While I'm on the subject of cafes, I'd like to put in a plug for the Brazilian Internet Cafe, Avenida Abolição, 2300, loja 2, Fortaleza. Without these friendly folks, Joélia, Adriana and Jeickson, this blog might not have come together. Obrigado!


On this my last day in Rio, my host Paul Jurgens offered to take me up to the park just below Corcovado. Besides affording a spectacular view of the city, the park offers a lovely hiking trail that winds its way gradually up the mountain and provides a cool and welcome respite from the bustling city less than a mile's drive below. We stopped at a scenic overlook at the eastern end of the park. The following photos are my attempt at a panorama of the city and the bay running clockwise from north to southwest. This map may help you visualize the panorama. As best I can figure, the overlook is on the peak above the "T" in Botafogo.


View to the north


View to the west: Flamengo neighbor- hood, Santos Dumont Airport and, across the bay, the city of Niteroi


Flamengo and Bota- fogo. The apartment where I stayed was in the cluster of white buildings near the center of the photo.


Botafogo and Bota- fogo Beach with Pão de Açúcar and the Atlantic Ocean in the back- ground.


Botafogo


More Botafogo with Copacabana (left) and Ipanema (right of the large humph)


My brother Jim very kindly stitched all these photos together.
Don't they look nice?!


Paul, with statue of Cristo Redemptor in the background


From the overlook we drove a short distance to the hiking trail, a cool respite from the summer heat.
Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas and Ipanema with the Atlantic Ocean in the background


The "Jockey Club" (race track), and beach neighbor- hoods of Ipanema (left) and Leblon (right)





Paul Jurgens, a nice guy


Corcovado


Another view of Ipanema and the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas

Day 17, Jan 20, 2006: Rio, Day 3: Street Car to Santa Teresa
40-meter-high palms line Rua Paissandu, just around the corner from Fernanda's apartment, which leads straight from the Municipal Palace to Flamengo Beach.


Following another suggestion from Cristiany's friend Liana, I decided to take a ride on the ancient bondinho (street car) to the arty Santa Teresa neighborhood, on a hilltop surrounded by favelas, the ubiquitous slums that house about 40% of Rio's population. This particular Friday was a municipal holiday in Rio, and, in stark contrast to my experience on the first two days I was there, the streets of the city were deserted. The hundred-year-old bondinho leaves from a tiny, hidden terminus not far from the baroque, hundred-year-old Municipal Theater.
Municipal Theater.


View out the front of the bondinho as it crosses the Carioca Aqueduct to get to Santa Teresa.


Every few hundred meters along the trolley route policemen stood guard, supposedly, I think, to keep the trolley passengers safe from attacks or robberies from the favelas.


Old house and flame tree along the bondinho line


The bonde at its Santa Teresa terminus in Praça de Neves


View from Santa Teresa


Favelas (slums) on a hillside near Santa Teresa


View of favelas and Corcovado (Hunchback Mountain) from Santa Teresa


Flame tree


This bana- na tree was not the intended subject of this photo, but, as the great Juscelino Kubitschek once said, "The camera never lies."


Deserted street in downtown Rio


That evening, my host Paul and his friends, sisters Alexandra and Tatiana, and I went to see the movie "The Producers", with Nathan Land and Matthew Broderick. Despite early misgivings, I really enjoyed the movie, though Alexandra did not. I experienced particular irony during the scene where the two producers scheme to embezzle $2M and abscond to Rio de Janeiro, which is portrayed as a backward, tropical backwater.
Alexandra, Paul and Tatiana

Day 16, Jan 19, 2006: Rio, Day 2 (cont.)
After coming back from Pão de Acucar, I decide to take my friend Liana's advice and take a ferry ride to the city of Niteroi, across Guanabara Bay from Rio. Besides affording an excellent view of Rio, Niteroi is home to the acclaimed MAC (Museu de Arte Contemporânea = Museum of Modern Art) housed in an eclectic, flying-saucer of a building designed in the mid-90s by acclaimed Brazilan architecht Oscar Niemeyer. And the ferry only costs 2 Reals (90 cents).


The Rio terminal of the Niteroi ferry


Lunch counter in the ferry terminal





I like the contrasting styles of these gents. I had to play it pretty cool to bag this photo.


Niteroi from the Rio terminal


Crossing the bay (Rio- Niteroi Bridge in the back- ground)


The ferry terminal is right next to the Santos Dumont airport. Business men (and now women) in a hurry to make the connection to São Paolo directly from the ferry often grab onto hooks dangled beneath the planes (as here).


Niteroi got closer...


AND CLOSER...


AND CLOSER!





Folks got off the ferry...


and looked around...


I wandered into a mall not far from the ferry terminal. Let me tell you: our N. American malls got nothing on this baby. When was the last time you launched your kid at the mall in the Space Jump?!?


When I came out, a blustry rain - all bark and not much bite - threatened.


I boarded a bus to MAC (Museu de Arte Contem- porânea)


Cariocas (folks from Rio) joke that the only good thing about Niteroi is its view... of Rio. I'd say that still puts it in the top 1% of places I wouldn't mind owning a flat.


Pão de Acucar seen from Niteroi


The muse- um is not very big inside. The whole main level was given over to an exhibition entitled "why museum?" by Nelson Leirner.


This work (medium: plastic war toys on canvas) was part of a triptych entitled "American Imperial- ism" (or something like that).


View of Rio just before "lift-off".


More works from "why museum?"


Subtle ideology, no? (N. America covered by Wal-Mart smilies; S. America by skulls. Thank God for Wal-Mart?)





View from MAC to the east (as opposed to west, towards Rio)


THIS is what the museum looks like. Flights leave for Venus every hour on the hour.


I boarded the ferry back to Rio just as the sun was beginning to set.





Commuters were still hooking from plane to ferry and back.


The Rio ferry terminal is on the eastern edge of the enormous Praça XV (de Novembre) (15th of November Square - after some historical event or other).
This church is on the west side of Praça XV.


Off the north side of the square through the Arco do Teles (Teles Arch) issues a little street called Travessa do Comércio On a Thursday evening before a Friday holiday the place really hops.


Old architecture and new on the Travessa do Comércio


Right under the arch the samba band Sol de Verão (Summer Sun) was gearing up for the impending Carnaval. In exchange for three beers I became an honorary member. As I left, they advised me "não deixar o trabalho de dia!" (Something like: "You're welcome back any time!", I think.)