Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: 26oC, hottish, sunny and with a bright sky.
It is Sunday, and it is a beautiful day, but I am still a little down with a lingering cold.
The plan is to get up early, work out in the park, have coffee at the Portuguese baker’s, and then maybe walk to Urca. Urca is my church, my safe haven where I like to go when I want to think about myself and life.
It is still one of the few places in Rio with a little village bucolic feeling, like Santa Teresa. Both have this rural, small-town feel about them. Other neighbourhoods in Rio have a similar vibe. However, usually, they are hidden from the ordinary public, only being discovered if you either live or know the region well or walk to find out what exactly is there and to be found.
At the back of Botafogo, there is a side street that goes up into the hills called Rua Nova Mundo. It is a back street at the end of Rua Marques de Olinda. The street’s entrance is almost hidden; you would only notice its existence if you were looking for it.
The street goes up into the hills that face The Bay and Botafogo Beach. The higher you go up, the more rural and small-town vibe it becomes; only the stunning view of the bay and Niteroi on the other side reminds you that you are in Rio de Janeiro.
From Rua Marques de Olinda in Botafogo, Rua Nova Mundo eventually connects you to either the boutique favela Dona Marta at the top, the highest point of the favela, which became famous because of Michael Jackson and the Dutch urban graffiti artists/painters Haas & Hahn.
Or to the back of one of Rio’s most historically traditional neighbourhoods, Laranjeiras. It is considered a neighbourhood in Rio with a royal background, where the palace was built, and aristocracy lived when Brazil officially had a royal family and was the capital of Brazil.
Going through Nova Mundo, you have an avalanche of contrasts: old houses built more than a hundred years ago and the new, wealthy, architecturally designed residences that face out over the cliff of the hill so that their owners can see and enjoy the views of the bay from almost anywhere inside. There are a lot of old houses in not such good condition at the beginning of Nova Mundo just as you are beginning to go up.
For me, it shows a certain amount of Carioca decadency that is apparent in all of Rio where there are some quite beautiful properties, but due to the long-lasting decline of Rio as a significant economic player since losing being capital to Brasilia, the Carioca does not have the financial or economic power or status as before.
At the hill’s peak, approximately fifty per cent along Nova Mundo between Botafogo and Laranjeiras, you come to a fork where you either go to Dona Marta or continue until Laranjeiras. Continuing to Laranjeiras, you go up even more to the highest point of the hill, with enormous police barracks.
It is probably a strategic point where, from there, they can deal with any situation in the region quickly and easily. I am assuming this because I would never imagine a police barracks in such a place; if you do not see it for yourself, you would not believe it, something quite singular.
When you pass the police barracks and descend towards Laranjeiras, you are going down into the back part of Laranjeiras. There are beautiful, small, narrow side streets that are difficult for cars to pass. Lining the streets are lovely, quaint, pastel-coloured old townhouses that hide a rabbit warren of space behind their facades. Many of the tiny, coloured houses and some three-storeyed residential buildings remind me of Ocean Drive in Miami.
Following the main little street that descends, there are some small quirky botequims where you can eat and drink to the silence of a car passing now and again, the rustle of the trees if there is a breeze, and just this. Again, it is a hidden gem from the rest of the population of Rio; very few people know it exists.
I have taken this route by bicycle many times, and it is a pleasure to make a round trip to Botafogo, Laranjeiras and back to Botafogo; you either do it by bike or foot, in any way or form it is good, and it shows that Rio has much more to offer besides the obvious of the beaches, Copacabana, Ipanema etc.
So, after working out and having a coffee, I went to Urca alone. It is sometimes essential to make an appointment and have quality time with us, and I love meeting with myself in Urca. There is a new popular bar/restaurant inside at the start of Urca where you can buy drinks and snacks, cross the street, sit on the wall, and eat and drink on the Mureta facing the bay.
I like to purchase a glass of dry red wine and sit on the wall, the Mureta, and think about life, what I have done, and what must be done.
Tomorrow, Monday the 26th, I will have to present myself and my respective documentation at the Federal Police station to receive a new copy of my Brazilian ID. I am a little apprehensive as it is Brazil, and as a foreigner, there are factors out of my control. Sometimes, it depends on the willingness of the people working there that day and their mood; let’s hope everything goes to plan and there are no hiccups.
I got home at about midday, and Yasmin and Nalva were up. Nalva cooked a very nice late lunch; I washed the dishes and cleaned the kitchen so everything would be good for Monday to start the week well. I finished some design work on the computer and later watched a film before trying to go to bed early, but it was useless as I could not relax in anticipation of the next day at the Federal Police.
In bed by 10.00 pm.
Thank you.
Thanks for reading my blog. Check out my other posts and share your thoughts in the comments.
Richard
