More Rio, Salvador and Arraial D'Ajuda
12.12.2008
30 °C
RIO DE JANEIRIO was nothing short of amazing and magical. Both of our favourite of the cities we have visited.
After the city tour, we did a tour into 2 of the over 700 favelas there are in Rio alone. If you have seen the movie City of God, you have some idea of what it is like there. The tours are incredibly safe though. 80% of the proceeds of the tour goes to the favela, and there is a deal with the company and the drug lords and gangs that rule the favela to not harm tourists.
Rocinha, one of the two favelas, is the largest in Rio, and though the census said there are 60,000 people living there, they say there are 3 times that amount. In Rocinha there is one road only, and three streets. The rest is alleys winding up the mountain through all the housing.
It is interesting that people that live in the favelas have the best views in the city. They build up the hills because this is public land, and once you are there for 5 years, you then own that land. Apparently the government gets around to checking these thigns out very slowly, so the hills become covered in housing complexes built from under the ground with no windows, and upwards.
It was interesting to see how closely the rich and the poor live. Rocinha is on the same road as the most expensive international school in Rio, where parents pay 1500$ US per month to send their kid. Meanwhile, the minimum wage (what many people except the drug dealers in the favela make) is 200 reais/month, which is about 100$ Canadian.
SALVADOR was a 30 hour bus ride north, so we were happy to arrive. In the state of Bahia, Salvador is said to be the Afro-Brazilian center of Brazil because of the many African slaves that came to Brazil through the city.
We went downtown to the Pelourino, the historic area, where there are many churches, museums and artesans. Drumming, dancing and capoeira (a dance created by the slaves that resembles fighting) are everywhere and it is quite a vibrant place.
At the same time, not the safest place, as we learned. Cams backpack was ripped off his back as we were walking back from the Pelourino. His camera was in there, but fortunately no other valuables were in there, and no one was hurt. We decided to leave a day earlier (and the weather wasnt the best), and head 12 hours south to a small beachtown....
ARRAIAL D'AJUDA
We found paradise. We are staying in an incredibly nice but cheap (13$/night!) hostel with A/C and a pool! 10 minutes from the beach. As you walk down the beach, there are less and less people, and the water is really warm.
There are tons of open-air restaurants and bars under a canopy of trees that line the streets.
We will be here until we head home! Sort of a vacation within a vacation. Then the final long (26hr) bus ride back to Sao Paulo.
Check out some new pics!
Hi, could you possibly tell me the name of the hostel you stayed at in Salvador?
many thanks!
17.03.2009 by miazs