Brazilians must be very fit. So many people exercise and so many areas and facilities for doing so. As in Buenos Aires, there are cycle/jogging/skateboarding lanes.
And the local government has installed exercise areas at regular intervals.
Santander have also got in on the act and have sponsored these which are dotted all along the many beaches and in the parks.
But the beach itself is the obvious place for team sports
where these guys were playing a sort of cross between football and volleyball.
I have tried to do my bit also and have so far walked over 11 miles today (well, according to my iPhone app) which is a record for this trip – and probably an all time record for me if I think about it! So I’m now kn**kered but happy to do it as there’s so much more to see when walking plus I’m not a very good organised bus tour person. I much prefer the flexibility of going ‘off piste’ whenever the mood takes.
Being built on a series of hills, there are lots of good viewing points all around this city. I found one such today in the Parque das Ruinas which, as the name implies, is an area that includes the ruins of a colonial style house of one of Buenos Aires’ rich and famous which has now been turned into a museum. The views were predictably good but what was more fascinating is that I had happened upon some local street party entertainment with barely a tourist in sight! The colourful young musicians and entertainers played and swayed.
They laughed
and they danced
and were still going strong when I left. They and the few people watching were having so much fun. It was fantastic.
Just a few minutes away past some interesting murals (which would never get planning permission in Weedon!)
I found the tourists and the Solaron Steps.
Jorge Solaron was a Chilean artist who lived in this street in the 1980s and 1990s. As a hobby he decorated the area immediately outside his house with bits of ceramic and glass he found on old building sites and the like. This hobby soon became an obsession as he decorated more and more steps and the areas immediately surrounding them, funding this work by selling his paintings.
He even invited ‘outsiders’ to add their bit
like this couple whose wedding is commemorated here.
And at the bottom there was yet more music and dancing.
although this time it was clearly for the benefit of the tourists. Yet another colourful Rio memory.
The contrasts in this city are amazing. A few hundred metres away from this vibrant scene and right in the middle of some high rise blocks is the Carioca Viaduct which was built way back in the mid 18 century to carry water from the river to the city.
Truly an excellent and aesthetically pleasing piece of engineering.
One of the most iconic images of Rio is, of course, the huge statue of Christ The Redeemer perched at the top of a Sugar Loaf type pinnacle quite close to the centre of Rio. The problem is, though, that ever since I have been here it’s been covered in cloud
but if it’s blue sky tomorrow, I might take a closer look.
So, here’s hoping for blue skies, nothing but blue skies!
Phileas
thelasthurrahsite 