Obrigada!

Rio de Janeiro: a metropolis overflowing with passion, from the artistic fortresses concocted out of sand on the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanama, to the funky Feira Hipe held every Sunday, showcasing unique handmade crafts from the region's finest artisans, this sprawling city has it all.

Copacabana Esplanade

Nearly every aspect of Brazilian life seems to have been sprinkled with a pinch of zest. Whether it be found in the sweet cases of Amendocrem that we sold the local grocery store out of on account of our newfound obsession, or the tangy Caipirinhas served at all hours on both beach esplanades, I had quickly fallen in love with the essence of Cariocan culture surrounding me.

Sand Castles

Crystal and I at the end of Copacabana

Given that we had rented out an apartment in Arpoador, the small accessible region at the intersection of Copacabana and Ipanema, we had been able to explore the city via walking for the first few days. Now in all honesty, trekking through Rio de Janeiro by foot can almost be described as self-inflicted suicide. Think of it as a free-for-all where everyone is expected to get out of the road when cars are coming. There is no sympathy given to slow walkers, at all. Even the sidewalk felt threatening, given the endless cars that would skim the curbs at demonic speeds. Crossing the street was quite a feat in itself, and I often found myself shrieking at my parents to watch out for the wall of cars barreling toward us, not showing any signs of acknowledgment that there were humans in the road. I would begin walking briskly across the first few lanes, nervously eyeing the approaching cars as if it were a test of wills.....who would flinch first......they wouldn't dare hit me......and it always ended in me skittering helplessly onto the curb....defeated.... as they snarled and nipped at my heels, anxious to bully their next gringa off the road. But you know, I didn't mind these little games. It's what made Rio unique to me, among other things, such as riding the local buses.

The day had finally come for us to explore Corcovado. Travel from our local Zona Sul required public transportation to reach Cristo Redondo, so we unassumingly hopped on a city bus to complete a leg of the journey. Shortly after taking our seats and rubbing elbows (literally) with the locals, I felt as though my life had shortened by 20 years. Not only was this bus traveling at ungodly speeds down a frightfully narrow and crowded street, but the driver felt it the most natural thing in the world to allow about an inch between us and all of the surrounding autos and pedestrians. Without even batting an eye, he would lurch the vehicle full of young and innocent lives forward, then slam on the brakes, then surge forward again, and screech to a halt less than a foot away from the sidewalk stop. Having been in a car accident before, I felt my hair turning white within the first few minutes, and I closed my eyes to try and block out the reality I was trapped in, all the while envisioning us slamming into one of the other buses at high speed, no seatbelts...no airbags.....just large sheets of glass windows to cushion our impact.

Bondinhos

I couldn't help but notice the casual air of the other passengers around me.....some absentmindedly gazing out the window, others flipping through pages of Lance!, numb to the fact that we were only narrowly escaping death every 10 seconds. As the bus zoomed through Botafogo, I was pleasantly distracted by the sight of the tiny bondinhos dangling over 350 meters high, connecting the peaks of Pao de Açucar and Cara de Cao. The afternoon sun reflected brightly over the Baia de Guanabara as we had finally turned inland to begin ascending into the Parque Nacional da Tijuca. After being on the bus for nearly half an hour, I had finally collected myself a little and realized that although the Brazilians may seem like crazy drivers compared to what I'm used to, they don't seem to crash......ever. So while discovering Rio by public transportation may raise the blood pressure monumentally, I came to learn that it's just the way they do things down here....and I like it.

Triumphant atop Corvocado