Copacabana, Carnival and the magic that is Rio
Neil Kyle shares his memories of Rio and Carnival earlier this year. Rio's Carnival attracts millions of visitors every year. Carnival 2021 has been postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19.
After the grandeur of Iguacu Falls and the beauty of the Amazon, it was the third week in February 2020 and time for Carnival.
Rio de Janeiro is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It's a stunning setting; mountains along the waters' edge interspersed with famous beaches such as Ipanema and Copacabana and the city built along all the shores and bays and stuck to the sides of mountains.
Ipanema and Copacabana are beautiful, stretch-forever, beaches covered in brightly coloured umbrellas. From all the stories, we expected to see lots of beautiful women and handsome men and yes, there were some women with nearly invisible string bikinis but most people on the beach were just average looking like you and me, all ages, shapes and sizes.
At the same time, if cleavage and bare bums bother you then don't go.
We came for Carnival, but also captured by the spectacular views of Rio from the top of Sugar Loaf Mountain and at the famous Christ the Redeemer statue.
As well, it's worth visiting the Escadaria Seleron, a series of 215 steps covered in colourful
mosaic tiles that lead into the Santa Teresa area.
Not to be missed is a visit to a favela, one of Rio's poorer areas; ours was an eye-opening, impactful experience.
Our tour guide had worked with this favela for eight years.
He had developed relationships with the people who let him know the safe areas to walk, since favelas are also home to gangs and drug dealing. He was not your typical bubbly guide, he was very serious about us respecting the
locals — we were their guests.
We were to wear our packs on your backs, not in front like we think they might steal something.
We were allowed to take pictures only in areas where he told us as part of his agreement with the locals. He got very angry with one woman taking pictures where she wasn't allowed, saying “Why would you risk my job?”
We started at the top and walked down very narrow, steep paths, among tenement buildings all jammed side by side like a maze. We wondered how they could ever move furniture or how a physically disabled person could ever get around.
Electrical wiring dangled everywhere. It's unbelievable how tightly people can live together and how poor they can be. This is the face of poverty and it's sobering.
Guided tours are deemed to be OK because the locals value tourist dollars. We visited an artist's gallery (in his house) and a small local bakery in another house. There were great street musicians and we saw the pride locals took in their graffiti art.
We also unexpectedly walked down one narrow alleyway past a young man who was sitting casually with a machine gun. His buddy had a pistol strapped to his hip. He gave a slight smile back in response to Colleen's glance. Down around a corner stood another young man with an assault rifle. Our guide certainly didn't intend us to see this.
OK, how safe is all this travel in Brazil? Out of concern over many reports about crime in Brazil, especially Rio at Carnival, this was the only part of our trip that we booked with a tour group. It was a good choice for our peace of mind. However, we never felt unsafe while travelling; people were friendly, helpful and honest. For instance, they turned in an expensive camera that I left on a lunch table in Iguacu Falls.
Carnival week in Rio is full of street parties (blocos), with bands on big stages on flatbed trucks, and lots of socializing at restaurants and bars with loud music. At those bars, you have to try the caipirinhas, the famous national cocktail made from sugar cane liquor, tasting somewhat like tequila — yum.
A lot of people walk the streets in the Copacabana area, men and women, all dressed up in some degree of costume, often quite skimpy: fish net stockings, halter tops, feathers in the hair, men in tutus, lots of glitter and face makeup. Anything goes.
Fabulous, extravagant, crazily colourful — all understatements. It's hard to believe the Carnival parade without seeing and experiencing it.
Carnival is the culmination of a year's preparation by locals. It's a parade through a purpose-built stadium, the Sambadrome, of five or six samba schools every night for four nights. Each school has between 10 and 12 divisions with elaborate costumes, plus four to six huge, spectacular floats. There are between 2,500 and 4,000 members for each school in the parade. It took about 70 minutes for each school to dance past us. And there were lots of huge smiles and rippling muscles on both the men and women.
It's all choreographed with social or sometimes political messages, and each school has its' own samba song for the parade. For example, one of the floats carried a huge
Pinocchio and a big screen with the words “fake news.”
The parade starts at 9:30 p.m. and runs until about 6 a.m. We wondered about our ability to stay up all night, but left still full of energy at 3 a.m. on our group's last tour bus.
Brilliant endless colours, dance troupes and floats, blaring samba music, hour after hour — it almost overcomes the senses. If you ever think of going to Brazil, this is a must-see.
One tip, to really experience the glamour, costumes and dancing up close: It's worthwhile investing in the best seats that you can afford, such as the boxes (frisas) right
next to the Sambadrome runway (book them months in advance).
Our last stop was Cabana Paraiso, a small local resort hidden like a gem on a semi-remote beach on the island of Ilha Grande. With our cabin set by the sand, what an idyllic way to wind down after the hectic pace of Rio. It was our little piece of heaven.