Back to Rio

 Getting There

Going back to Rio after 16 years took some effort. The first step was getting airline tickets. We found really nice prices going via a Central American airline that would allow us to fly business class and were very excited! When it came time to close the deal, however, we found out that the prices listed were for each leg. With the resulting explosion in price we switched to one of the major American airlines, paid extra for more legroom and felt we were good to go.

Then came the paperwork. I needed a new passport, which meant scanning a lot of documents, uploading them to a government website, getting an magic number and then sending the documents again to the local consulate. There were a couple of back-and-fourth before they were happy, but all this got sorted out and 4 weeks later I had a brand new passport in my hands.

Next came getting K a visa.  For the past couple of years U.S. citizens did not need a visa to go to Brazil, but the Brazilian Consulate website said that was changing just before when we were planning to go. They also said we should wait until September to apply for a visa, while they sorted out the processy. So we waited, and mid-September went online, filled out many forms, scanned many documents only to find out at the end that the Brazilian government had postponed the new visa requirement until January and all that paperwork had not been necessary. Oh well, at least we know had everything we needed to go.

The trip itself was nice. The first leg to Houston was in a 787 (my first time in one), the plane was clean, left on time (despite three gate changes) and dropped us off in Houston with plenty of time to enjoy the airline’s club before catching the flight to Rio. That flight too left on time and proceeded pleasantly, except for the fact that my window seat had no window and they had to reboot the entertainment system for my seat’’s sound to work. 

Arrival in Rio was straightforward, no lines at passport control and straight through customs, the duty free shop and finally to where my mother and brother were waiting. One 20 minute car trip later and we were back at my family’s condo, the place where I had lived from when I was born until I left to study abroad.

First Day

October 7, 2023

We spent most of the day unpacking, catching up with the family, getting acquainted with the cats and doing our best to not fall asleep during the day. I was able to reach out to a couple of friends and make dinner plans for the week, and there was a brave attempt to lie in the hammock and read, but that was thwarted by an inability to concentrate. 

Late afternoon my mother suggested we go for a car ride so K could get a sense of what the town was like. We drove around Leblon, Ipanema and Copacabana beaches and got our first taste of the chaotic, noisy, “where did this motorcycle come from” Rio traffic, made worse by the constant honking.  Copacabana was K’s favorite part of the tour, mostly because of how well lighted it was. 

For our first Rio dinner, we had a collection of “salgadinhos,“  including bolinhos de bacalhau and shrimps risoles. I  had forgotten how much I liked them! I ate way more than I should and thanked the gods for having lost some weight before this trip. If I keep eating like this, I am sure to get it back!

The day ended with a nice thunderstorm, with heavy rain drowning out the traffic sounds. I really like watching the rainfall from our balcony, so for me this was a treat.

Hippie Fair

October 8, 2023

Our first Sunday was both my mother’s birthday and the Ipanema Hippie Fair day, something K and I had been looking forward to for months.  We celebrated the day with lunch at my mother’s club, where they had a buffet with many different dishes and K got to try bacalhau, the first of many items on her “things I want to eat/drink” list. I too chose the bacalhau, mostly because that is one of the hardest dishes to recreate back home.

After lunch we went back home, dropped of the car and took a ride-share to the Hippie Fair because parking there is nearly impossible. Our driver dropped us off at one corner of the fair, we got out and started wandering around the square visiting the dozens of stalls selling local arts and crafts, or so I expected. I was wrong. I remember a Hippie Fair with dozens of stalls of artists selling all sorts of creations, with paintings in many different styles, sculptures and more. Instead there were way too few artists, all selling variations of the same thing, paintings of favelas. The rest of the stalls were selling basic touristy stuff. Where I thought I would see lots of sculpted wood and metal I saw stands selling touristy shirts. Where I thought I would see interesting jewelry, I saw mostly the same things I can get back home. This was disappointing, it was not the Hippie Fair I remembered and wanted K to experience.

We went to bed, hoping the next day would be better.

Sugar Loaf

October 9, 2023

And it was better! After a good night’s sleep and some breakfast we got a cab and made our way to the Sugar Loaf. Had to wait in line for about 30 minutes to get our tickets, but they accepted our driver licenses as valid ids and we were able to get the senior discount (which in Brazil starts at 60). Another ten minute wait and we were on the cable car going up the mountain-side.

Up there it was cold, windy and overcast, but not too crowded and we got some nice views of the city. The old coin-operated binoculars were gone, though, and I could not properly enjoy the view of airplanes landing and taking off at the Santos-Dumont Airport, one of my favorite activities every time I go there. It was nice showing K Rio from above and giving her a sense of where everything was. 

We had lunch at the mountain, and took the opportunity to introduce K to another one of the food items on her list: açaí bowls, this one mixed with banana and granola. She liked it!

After that it was another cable car ride down the mountain, followed by a taxi ride back home for an evening of resting and hanging out with the family.

Beaches and COBAL

October 10, 2023

The plan for the day was to visit the nearby COBAL, where I hoped to introduce K to the many different fruits and vegetables common to Brazil. K likes food and farmers‘ markets, so this was something right down her alley.

We started the day’s adventure with a little drive. My mother took us to the “West Zone” to visit the Barra beaches, and that turned out way more complicated than expected. First, we got lost trying to get to the beach when the road we thought would take us there took a turn, instead and paralleled it for a long while. This was followed by a flat tire when the car jumped a curb, and we ended up changing those plans and cutting the tour short. After an attempt to go and deal with the tire that ended with us at the entrance of a favela at a place that sold used tires, (thanks to the GPS’s nearby recommendation) we gave up and headed back towards home and COBAL.

COBAL turned out to be a disappointment. Where before there were dozens of market stalls with different types of vegetables, meats and fruits there were now only a few, all with the same limited selection. No new fruits for K to see, so we ended cutting short that visit and heading to a nearby restaurant. The food there was good, K was able to cross moqueca off her list and I got to have “arroz a piamontesa”, something I cannot find back home.

In the evening I went out with my brother to deal with the flat tire. The old one could not be fixed and we ended having to buy a new one and wait for over an hour until they got around to installing it. That part was not too bad, as it gave me a chance to chat with C and understand what is on his mind these days.

We ended the day by having dinner with my friend R and her son, who I hadn’t seen since they visited us 10 years ago. We met at a restaurant near where I was staying and had good food, good times and caught up on what has been happening in our  lives. Definitely the highlight of an otherwise disappointing day.

Corcovado

October 11, 2023

Finally a sunny, warm day and the destination was the Christ the Redeemer statue at the top of Corcovado Mountain. My mother wanted to come with us, and we took a taxi to the tram station in Santa Teresa. Getting tickets was relatively quick, though K was not able to get a discount because she did not have a Brazilian id. 

Trams leave every 20 minutes and there was a crowd, so we stood in line for 40 minutes before we were able to sit down and start our journey up the mountain. No air conditioning in the tram, but open windows and a slight breeze had us at the top of the mountain twenty minutes later.

There were some changes since I last was there. Elevators and escalators are available to get those who need it to the top. The old stairs were still there for those willing to walk. The parking lot at the base of the stairs is now gone, replaced by a line and tents for those waiting for the van service to take them back down the mountain.

At the top was what I expected, an amazing view of most of the city of Rio, and a couple of things I did not expect: a mass and too many people. Why there was a mass outside I don’t know, as there is a chapel at the base of the statue that could have been used for that (or at least there used to be). The crowds were there because it was the first sunny day in a while and the eve of a major Brazilian holiday. The result was not enough space to move around, forcing us to jostle with others in order to be able to take in the view, making the experience somewhat unpleasant. Taking selfies with the statue in the background were almost impossible.

We tolerated that for as long as we could and quickly decided we had enough. We stopped at the bar for some beer and water, and then joined the line for getting the tram to go back down the mountain. Another forty minutes waiting had us finally boarding the tram and twenty minutes later we were heading home in a cab.

All in all an unpleasant experience.

The one good thing that day was dinner with some friends at Bar Lagoa, an old haunt of ours. K finally got to meet F, the last one of my friends she had still not seen, and hang out again with A and his wife C. we caught up on what has been happening with our lives, ate some good food and ended the day on a high note.

Leaving Rio 

October 12, 2023

The next day we said goodbye to Rio and left for Santa Catarina. Two taxis took K, L, my mother and me to Santos Dumont Airport where we were to catch our flight to Navegantes. The airport has expanded since I last was there, lively, clean and efficient. Better than that, it had a Fluminense store where K bought her first ever official team jersey.

Dealing with security and boarding was trivial and again we benefited from the 60+ rule getting in the front of the line in both cases. No need to take shoes or belts off! The plane was clean, left on time and one hour later was landing  at the now International Airport of Navegantes.

Final Thoughts

I left Rio with mixed feelings. In some ways, this visit was very disappointing. Cloudy almost every day, too many people, crazy traffic, wild delivery people on motorcycles and the things that I remembered from sixteen years ago that I wanted to share with K were no longer there. Time changes things, but I wish they had changed for the better.

On the good side, it was nice to reconnect with my siblings and friends, hang out at a place that feels like home and rediscover food I had forgotten how much I liked.