Written by Mike Neville
Brazil is a vast country bursting with colour and flair with a range of spectacular scenery and sites to visit that will live in a traveller’s memory forever. From the Amazon Rain Forest in the north to the breathtaking Iguasso Falls in the south, Brazil lived up to all my expectations. South America is for some mysterious reason largely ignored by the Brits in favour of other continents but I can guarantee that once you learn more about this fascinating country you will fail to comprehend why.
Flights from the UK to South America are usually overnight and are usually dominated by natives as opposed to Europeans, as was the case when I made my trip to Brazil. After a typically bumpy ride over the Atlantic, I awoke as our KLM 747 was gliding through a thick sheet of light cloud, not too dissimilar to a sprawling mass of white airborne candyfloss but without any warning the clouds broke to provide me with my first glimpse of South America. What became increasingly visible over the next thirty seconds was that Sao Paolo was without a shadow of a doubt the largest city I had ever set my eyes upon. Indeed, an unclipping of bags and an anorak later and my first impressions were proved correct. No less than 17 million people have chosen to mark their territory in Brazil’s financial hub, which covers an area of 589 square miles! If you have access to Google Earth, zoom in on Sao Paolo, hold yourself at 15,000 feet above the city and slowly glide across the metropolis and you will see what I saw that very morning, the true definition of mass urban sprawl! From directly beneath the wings of the plane to as far as my eyes could see, there was nothing but high-rise tower blocks and skyscrapers, all a uniformed grey in colour and seemingly breeding. For a few minutes my eyes were fixated on the horizon, searching desperately for a change of scenery but like a Jack-in-the-box, another yet another tower block would pop up. Sao Poalo is a concrete jungle and is best left to the movers and shakers of Brazil’s economy.
Now, I am not entirely sure what the ratio of successful landings to crashes are on the runways of South America but moments later we landed to a rapturous round of applause from the Brazilian contingent on the plane. I began to regret the fact that there were another ten flights until I could land back in Amsterdam where planes are expected to arrive reasonably safely! Once I arrived in the terminal, I hopped onto an internal flight, bound for the more promising destination of Rio De Janeiro.
My enthusiasm for volleyball was lifted a few notches when imagining my short stay in the cultural capital of Brazil. The Copacabana Palace is a hotel ideally located across the road from the world famous beach. However, my journey from Rio airport to the hotel took place during a torrential rain storm. Whilst being driven through the periphery of the city, between the misty condensation of the cab windows, I could vaguely make out the favelas, which spiralled up the steep green luscious hillsides. Planning permission and health and safety regulations obviously don't exist in Brazil!
My first real glimpse of Rio was delayed until I stepped onto the balcony of my hotel room. Only the Portuguese murmours from below served as a reminder that I wasn't staring out at the North Sea in Great Yarmouth!
Whenever I arrive in a city that I have never been to before, whatever the time of day or night, I have a burning desire to explore. This once led to disastrous consequences in Amsterdam at 2am but that is neither here nor there. I was in no mood for giving in to the monsoon-esque rain storm but unfortunately my eagerness was thwarted somewhat by the porters who warned that even walking down Copacabana Street in this "low visability" was a risk not worth taking, given the current crime level. After a quick weather check on CNN, it became clear that my three days in Rio were going to be much the same as today; so I decided that I best make the most of it, grabbed my anorak and dashed into the crime ridden streets of Rio. On my travels I ate a pizza, something I seem to manage wherever I go and of course bought a Brazilian football shirt. After three quarters of an hour, the jet lag began to kick in; moreover, I was still not entirely convinced that I had made it any further than Yarmouth, so I retired to my hotel bed to prepare for the action packed three weeks I had lying ahead of me.
Despite the miserable weather, the next day was one that I will never forget. I hitched a ride on a steam train which slithered up the steep and crooked mountainside through tropical jungle until it reached the gates to the world famous "Corcovado" (Christ statue). Like a little kid with his new camera, I rushed on up to the platform beside the staue and peered over the edge to see what must be the most spectacular cityscape view on Earth. The overcast sky failed to destroy the moment.
Sugar Loaf Mountain is the steeper silhoutte towards the top right of the picture, shaped rather like the Swiss RE Building in London. The Copacabana Beach is located on the right of the picture.
The Corcovado statue can be seen when turning 180 degrees from the above photo. The image below is quite deceiving. Having seen a parachute jump from the Christ's fingertips, a fully grown man lying flat would be approximately the length of the middle finger. The fact that parachute jumps take place from the hand of the Corcovado, serves to illustrate how steep the mountain side below is. For those of you into your football, the Maracana Stadium, home of the Brazil national football team and world record holder for the highest ever attendance to a match (205,000), can be seen to the North of the city.
The Corcovado was followed by a trip up to Sugar Loaf Mountain.
View of Corcovado from Sugar Loaf Mountain
Copacabana Beach
Iguasso Falls Hotel
Salvador