Christ and Jehova

I and three more guys I became friends with in Sao Paulo arrived to Rio by the morning of this past tueday after taking the overnight bus. I got to use my coat, the one I have been carrying around since I left Seattle. I knew I had to use it at one point. So it was great defense against the full blast air conditioning of the bus. Today I decided I will continue with my original idea of getting to Peru by crossing through Bolivia. So the Iguaçu Falls will have to wait for a next trip. Although I change my mind often so tomorrow I may change my idea again. For now, I am feeling a little tired of walking for so long. Rio is know for their beaches and the small bikinis men and women use. I am spending sometime in the beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana but I decided to do some tour also. Trying to get pictures of the sunset from the Corcovado was not an easy task since I decided to hike all the way up to the top. It is a good two-and-half hour walking, which covers about 9 km, and sweating. I thought I was going to see more people hiking but apparently there is another route to go by foot. I went to the wrong side of the mountain so I used the vehicles' road. Getting to the top was a feeling of accomplishment.One that I felt on my own. I don't know if anybody would feel it just bu doing the hiking itself. It is not that bad actually, but at the end of the hike you wish there was a pool. I have always seen this Christ (Corcovado)on turism magazines since I was a kid. When I got to the end I just did what everybody else does, take out my camera and go to the floor to see if my lense can capture the whole figure of this statue. It got dark pretty soon after my arrival, so pictures on the night were not possible since I don't have a flash on my camera. As I saw the rest of the 'photographers' wrapping up their duties I established a conversation with two Brazilian couples. After talking about our backgrounds and deciding that Brazil will take this next World Cup, they offered me a ride on their car down to the city. On the way back I told them I was visiting Brasil because I am taking a break from work. I also told them I went to fabela Rocinha. They thought I was on the fabela walking and taking pictures by myself. I explained them it was part of a tour group I signed up through the hotel. Fabelas are considered very poor and, at the same time, very dangerous to live. They are usually houses built around some hills, where the electricity are usually taken, as a manner of 'saving', from the public poles; the ones that are suppossed to iluminate the streets. As poor as the Fabelas are, I saw also a litle kid playing in the internet with the computer in the store her family had acommodated to sell water and groceries. It meant nothing to me but I took it as a contrast for this neighborhood. There were some really bad parts, like poor sewage draining, kids selling things they either stole or found. I was a happy when the guide told me part of the money we paid for the Fabela tour was sent to the day-care they sponsor. The guide had already made friends with all the vendors, for safety, business and good relationship of course. They were some kids also communicating via fireworks with other drug dealers to warn them the police was near.
At least that was the tour guide told us. I had a beach break, between the Fabela and the Christ visits, at Ipanema where I run into some guys staying at the same hostel I am staying. I used the beach time to play some 'paletas'. Kind of tennis but on the sand, without net and without score. It was a good thing then, going back to the sunset hike, that these four Brasilians were also visiting and offered me a ride back to town. They gave me a bible as a gift since they are 'Jehova witness'. A gift is a gift I think so I will keep it for a while.