Saturday, March 31, 2007
26 March, 2007
Today was mostly dedicated to planning our next few weeks in Brazil. We took the bus into town and went to a few places trying to find information. We realized that it is not so easy to get from A to B and that it is expensive too. The buses are a bit more reasonable but they take too long. After walking around the cobbled streets in the city (centro) and passing beautiful colonial buildings, we had a local, quick bite to eat at the fruit juice bar and got to the Bonde. This is the last of the Historic streetcars that once crisscrossed the city. The tram travels up the hill to Santa Teresa passed cobbled streets and aging mansions. Santa Teresa was the uppermost residential neighborhood in the 19th century, when Rio’s upper class lived here and rode the Bonde to the Centro for work. Now this area is inhabited by many artists and bohemians and there are cute shops and restaurants all the way up. We met Alex, his wife and a friend on the tram and we got off with them. We all started walking to a viewpoint, passing monkeys along the way and it was really far. We decided to take the bus and then we had to walk some more. It was all uphill and very exhausting and we walked through part of the Tijuca Forest. We finally reached Mirante Dona Marta (the view point) and it was well worth it. It was beautiful- the city is really pretty. We had to trek back down the hill and we then caught a bus back to an area called Lapa. – a suburb for a vibrant bohemian scene- and at night boasts one of Rio’s most vibrant street parties. We all went to a pub/restaurant and had a drink and some snacks. Alex likes to practice his English since he is studying languages and so he was very friendly. We made plans to meet Alex, his wife and friend on Wednesday (28 March) and head off to an island not far from Rio – we were really looking forward to spending a day with a local.
The days are too hot and very long and so we headed back to Copacabana for showers and bed.
Today was mostly dedicated to planning our next few weeks in Brazil. We took the bus into town and went to a few places trying to find information. We realized that it is not so easy to get from A to B and that it is expensive too. The buses are a bit more reasonable but they take too long. After walking around the cobbled streets in the city (centro) and passing beautiful colonial buildings, we had a local, quick bite to eat at the fruit juice bar and got to the Bonde. This is the last of the Historic streetcars that once crisscrossed the city. The tram travels up the hill to Santa Teresa passed cobbled streets and aging mansions. Santa Teresa was the uppermost residential neighborhood in the 19th century, when Rio’s upper class lived here and rode the Bonde to the Centro for work. Now this area is inhabited by many artists and bohemians and there are cute shops and restaurants all the way up. We met Alex, his wife and a friend on the tram and we got off with them. We all started walking to a viewpoint, passing monkeys along the way and it was really far. We decided to take the bus and then we had to walk some more. It was all uphill and very exhausting and we walked through part of the Tijuca Forest. We finally reached Mirante Dona Marta (the view point) and it was well worth it. It was beautiful- the city is really pretty. We had to trek back down the hill and we then caught a bus back to an area called Lapa. – a suburb for a vibrant bohemian scene- and at night boasts one of Rio’s most vibrant street parties. We all went to a pub/restaurant and had a drink and some snacks. Alex likes to practice his English since he is studying languages and so he was very friendly. We made plans to meet Alex, his wife and friend on Wednesday (28 March) and head off to an island not far from Rio – we were really looking forward to spending a day with a local.
The days are too hot and very long and so we headed back to Copacabana for showers and bed.
# posted by Heidi & Richard's travels @ 6:16 PM 
