RIO DE JANEIRO (Brasil)
26 July - 31 July 2017
26 July - 31 July 2017
There's a couple of places Inga and I tend to gravitate to when staying in either Buenos Aires or Rio de Janeiro. When in BA its the wonderful Pan Americano that overlooks Avenida 9 de Julio. Of course, there are better hotels, more stylish, more salubrious but the central locations and the views down Avenida 9 unmatched. The Porto Bay in Rio shapes as the perfect accompaniment to the Pan Americano in Buenos Aires. Of course it doesn't pack the same style or have the same glamour name that say a Belmond Copacabana Palace does, but it does take pride of place on the beachfront in Copa and provides for a calm, tranquil atmosphere in a very tranquil locations.
Porto Bay Hotel - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Porto Bay Hotel - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Porto Bay Hotel - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Our room, located on the 4th floor was spacious, had a great balcony and provided 180 degree views of the the beachfront. The location for us was absolutely perfect, with direct access to the beachfront and an area set up for guests directly in front of the hotel, its where we spent most of our time during the day, lounging around and soaking in the sun on the complimentary lounges. This was our plan A to each of our days. Our back up to the standard plan A however was to head up to the roof top in the chic, Fasano inspired dark wood, pool area. For me it always felt like a balancing act as to whether we'd choose the beach or head up to the roof top pool bar area. For one, the views from the roof top are spectacular, which when supported by drinks and the occasional free snack thrown in makes the 'Plan B' quite the attractive alternative to the famous beach below.
Porto Bay Hotel - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Porto Bay Hotel - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Porto Bay Hotel - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Porto Bay Hotel - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Porto Bay Hotel - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Inga &; I have a standard modus whilst in Rio now. Usually it commences when the colours of the sky commence being painted with hues of orange, pink and red and beams of light come streaming through the window. At this stage we are pre-programmed to instigate our strong cup of coffee process. This quickly transitions into gym wear, with Inga this time around heading up to the gym and me getting out onto the road in order to do the run down to the bottom of Ipanema and back to the hotel. Usually the time we both spent was around 1hr - 1hr 20, but the real treat was what always followed. We'd always elected to have breakfast included whilst staying at the Porto, which is a buffet affair, but, the absolute gem at the breakfast service was the bottomless champagne offering. This was always our post training treat at the Porto Bay, a workout followed by some good 'ole fashioned champagne - you can't beat that!
The iconic Cervantes - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Cervantes - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Cervantes - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
The iconic Cervantes - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
We set ourselves up with a few things to whilst in Rio but one opportunity that came out of left field was meeting up with the Medcalf's for an afternoon in Urca. Unbeknown to me, a colleague of mine from the Federal Court had his cousin in Rio at the same time we were there, so we set an afternoon to catch up with Amy & Andrew at Bar Urca for late afternoon drinks. For those that don't know, Bar Urca is a classic restaurant that also has a bar/picas type of counter at an iconic location, overlooking Guanabara Bay and the Botofogo area. It's known for its fish, crab cakes, bacalao croquettes and drinks. Of course for Inga and I drinks in Rio is equivalent to for a call to have more caipirinhas, who were we to say no to an invite like that?
Bar Urca - Urca - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Bar Urca - Urca - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
It was a pretty cool afternoon, just hanging out on the bay, chatting and watching the sun go down. Later on we headed to another Copacabana icon, Cervantes, a place that has become famous for its insanely generous sandwiches which is often served with a slice of pineapple, an option that both Inga and I usually ditch.
Porto Bay Hotel - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Porto Bay Hotel - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Porto Bay Hotel - Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Copacabana - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
I think the highlight of our stay on Rio this occasion was our afternoon of paragliding to the beach of Sao Conrado from the launch pad up in the hills named Rampa de Pedra Bonita. This is something that I had planned in advance, prior to arriving in Rio.
One of the days we had available to do the paraglide was cancelled due to inclement weather, but the day we got the 'all clear' was absolutely perfect. A gorgeous bluebird day with the right amount of lift that allowed us to stay a loft for the greater part of half an hour.
Lapa - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Lapa - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Lapa - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Lapa - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Lapa - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Lapa - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Lapa - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
This was another one of those activities where I tend to get excited early on in the piece and then get more nervous and anxious about the event as it approaches. Admittedly it wasn't so bad as the Durban Swing, which would build up the courage to do in December, but, I do recall standing on the take off ramp and vaguely being able to listen to the instructions prior to launch. All I could think of whilst standing there is that at the edge of the ramp there was a bit of a void, a place where the world just dropped away, so now all my trust was going into the skills of a Brazilian 'pilot' that could only really speak to me with hand signals as his capacity for English was equivalent to my grasp of Portuguese.
The instructions for launch were simply this, run in tandem with your pilot towards the edge and as it lifts off do nothing else. OK Joao Pinto, this one is all on you, you're responsible for me completely.
Rampa de Pedra Bonita - Sao Conrado - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Rampa de Pedra Bonita - Sao Conrado - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Rampa de Pedra Bonita - Sao Conrado - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Rampa de Pedra Bonita - Sao Conrado - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
In the motion of actually launching there was about a second of fear where I doubted the whole process. My moment of fear didn't give any credit to any of the previous launches or the smiling faces that I saw landing safely on the beach earlier, I felt certain that it was all going to unravel, but magically and with such a minimal amount of fuss, my feet simply lifted off the ground and we were away. An effortless motion, like simply being plucked by our collars and suspended in the atmosphere. It an entirely different feeling to the one that I was anticipated. The glide was smooth, un-rushed and silent as the pilot gained height on the up-drafts from the mountains. As we circled gaining altitude the world beneath our feet fell away and our perspective widened to encompass mountains of Pedra de Gavea to our right, the beautifully pronounced with sand beach of Sao Conrado in front, and then to our left Ipanema and further on Copacabana.
Sao Conrado - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Ipanema - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
Ipanema - Rio de Janeiro - Brasil
It was an exhilarating experience, floating down from the mountains so serenely. The perspective and views that we had were second to none, and as we got closer to the beach we actually did a couple of turns about 30-40mts above the hotels and apartment blocks that lined the promenade, seeing people look up and wave as we hovered above their heads. The experience was entirely pleasurable and one that I'd be more than happy to do again in another part of the world.
Rio never seems to disappoint us. Of course we understand that it has its dangers but I think that if you're aware and don't place yourself in a situation of vulnerability then you can manage to mitigate a lot of the risk. Usually its an element of stupidity or momentary opportunism that will make you a target of crime. In our travels thus far Inga and I have not had any issue at all. Of course we've been taken advantage of in small ways, specifically in terms of operational scams where being a tourist puts you at a distinct disadvantage, but mostly we've been free to do as we please and have found that people are generally very helpful. That's the way we've always found Rio to be and hope that it will welcome us in the very same way when return, which I'm sure will be sometime soon.
