Rio de Janeiro

I flew from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro, about 3 hours north. I added Rio to the trip kind of at the last minute, and I’m so glad I did! New country, new currency, new language, Portuguese instead of Spanish.

What I did on my last trip to Rio

In 2009, 16 years ago, I went on a trip ending in Rio. There, I went to Christ the Redeemer statue, and to a football game at the Maracana stadium. And, I tried to go hanggliding. Tandem of course!

I found Paolo, recommended in my Lonely Planet guidebook back then. We talked on a couple of mornings, but the wind wasn’t good for hanggliding. The last morning I was in Rio, he picked me up in the morning, and we drove on a dirt track up to a ramp high above a beach. We got geared up with the glider and stood on the ramp, ready to go. And waited for the right wind. For twenty minutes. Finally Paolo decided we would not be gliding as the wind was not right for it.

For years I planned to return, or to hangglide somewhere else I travelled, but I never found another place where it was an option.

Why I wanted to go back to Rio

Hanggliding wasn’t the reason I wanted to return to Rio, but I thought about it. I also still wanted to see Sugarloaf Mountain, and the Selaron steps, and maybe learn to samba dance.

I found the info for Paolo from 16 years ago. As I was waiting in the airport for my flight to Rio, I messaged him (https://www.facebook.com/hangglidingrio) using What’s App, and he answered immediately! He gave me all the details, and said we should do it the following morning. I said let’s do it!

Copacabana Beach

When I arrived at the airport in Rio, I followed the signs to an Uber area, where you called your Uber and then stood in whatever zone color you chose. Really efficient!

I chose a hotel on the iconic Copacabana Beach, Astoria Palace https://astoriapalace.com.br/. It wasn’t cheap, but last time I was here I stayed just a block off the beach and remember the area being sketchy after dark.

The area just a block back is still sketchy, while ocean front feels very safe, and the view from my room was incredible!

At dusk, I went off the beach a couple of blocks to find a grocery store surrounded by people lying in the street. I quickly got back to the safety of my hotel. The reception guy told me about a couple of great restaurants just around the corner from the beach, so no more going back there in the dark for me.

I didn’t spend any time on the beach here either, where there are reports of necklaces yanked off your neck in broad daylight.

Hanggliding

The next morning was my booking with Just Fly Rio. I set off by Uber to Sao Conrado beach twenty minutes away, to meet up with Paolo’s son Felipe. Paolo was taking some time off with an injury caused by a customer who didn’t follow instructions. Felipe then sent me off with my glider guy Zero.

Things have changed in 16 years – the road up to the ramp is now paved, there’s a clubhouse at the bottom for all the hanggliding clubs, and there are lots of people around.

Zero drove me up to the ledge, and we got right down to business gearing up for the flight.

The instructions are pretty simple – hang on to your pilot, when he says run just run. Don’t look down, and do not stop running when you get to the end of the ledge. When it’s time to land, drop your feet and start running again.

What a rush! A few minutes hanging out at the top, then slowly coming down. Zero had me take over steering for a while, to circle over the ocean. We ended up on the landing strip on the beach below.

Samba class

When I booked my time in Rio, I found a samba lesson with street party on the Get Your Guide website. It was Monday, and the street party option was only on Mondays. I took an uber to the dance studio which doubled as a language school.

I went to the samba class, with instructor Bruno. He was so good and detailed, even drawing diagrams and writing instructions on the whiteboard. He spoke excellent English, and has a background in many dances. I ended up with a private lesson, since no one else had signed up! It’s a solo dance, and what you would see the scantily clad women with headdresses, on the floats at Carnaval, dancing.

Street party

After the lesson, off we went to the samba street party. It is set up around the Piedro do Sal, or salt rock, where samba and Carnaval originated.

The salt rock has been a historic and religious site since the 16th century. Slaves brought from Africa carried salt up the rock from the nearby harbor, and carved steps into the rock to make their climb easier. The area later became a haven for freed slaves, and is now known as Little Africa.

The street leading to the salt rock is lined with food and drink stalls for the weekly event. We had the local drink, the caipirinha. You can get it made with many varieties of fruit, but the best is the original lime. I tried one with cashew fruit and tangerine just for fun.

The stone walls built along the rocks are painted with political statements, or flowers. We saw the creator of some of the art touching it up with her spray paint.

We moved to the bar behind where the samba band set up. The band plays music while seated, and the crowd circles them, clapping and singing along. Some people do the samba steps as they sing, that’s it for dancing.

By the time I left, the salt rock was packed with people.

Sugarloaf

The next morning, I set off for Sugarloaf Mountain. The top is reached in two steps by gondola, the first hilltop filled with shops, the second only room for viewpoints. You could see the Christ the Redeemer statue from the top, along with amazing views of the bay and city below.

Selaron Steps

When I came down from the mountain, I had trouble connecting with Uber, so was forced to take a taxi (they cost about double). This turned out to be a good thing, since my driver wanted to be a tour guide, and accompanied me on my trip into the downtown area, for a fee of course. It’s a beautiful but dodgy area and it was great to have him there, telling stories and also taking pictures.

My destination was the Selaron Steps, or the Lapa steps since it’s in that neighborhood. An artist originally from Chile named Selaron moved to this run down area in the 1980’s. In 1990, he decided to brighten up his neighborhood with mosaics, tiles, and mirrors, scavenged from construction sites and urban waste. As his fame grew, people from around the world donated more materials, from over 60 countries. The steps became an obsession for him, and were his tribute to the Brazilian people.

Many of the tiles that he created himself depict a pregnant woman. Legend has it that his wife died giving birth. His story ended in 2013, when he was found dead, with burn marks, on his steps. Drug gangs?

Copacabana

I had dinner nearby my hotel at a steakhouse. Why not, since the hotel reception guy gave me a ticket for a free caipirinha. I was picturing a nice filet, but no. At a Brazilian steakhouse the waiters bring out slabs of all kinds of meat on skewers, then cut off slices for you until you put up a coaster saying no more.

My hotel had a rooftop where I found wine and some other travelers, and views of the famous beach at night.

I ended my trip the next day. Walking south on the boulevard, headed toward Ipanema beach, I walked inland a couple of blocks. There I found shops and lunch.

My late afternoon flight took me first to San Paolo, an hour south, which is a hub for flights to Canada from South America.

Then I headed back north to home and winter.