27/4 – Rio Driving #5 – I want a Hilux.

Kitesurfing on Sunday afternoons in Arubinha can be just great. Mainly depending on the wind of course, but also since there’s normally not that many people there as on Saturdays. And why aren’t they there? Traffic! The way back to Rio on Sunday nights could take anything from the optimistic 2.5 hrs to 5, 6 or even 7 hrs. A while back, it could have taken longer than ever, if it wasn’t for the creative, Schumacher wannabe driver behind the wheel. Thanks to him, who’d been guiding us along the narrow roads through the country side at speeds close to the one of light most of the day, we were moving a lot quicker than most of the other people on their way back to Rio - on the shoulder. Don’t ask me what traffic regulations in Brazil say…I don’t know, but can of course assume.
We thought we were doing quite well out on the shoulder, passing one car after another, until we were stuck in a que on the shoulder as well. Too many creative drivers out apparently. The three-lane motorway had turned into a four-lane que-way. Oh sorry, a five-lane way as a white Hilux (Here the very nice car appears again, and no, I’m not getting paid to say this so Skatteverket bring it on.) suddenly passed us on our right hand side…in the ditch. Pays off to have a 4WD every now and then.

24/4 – Vinkevink to paragliders and finally a quiet spot.

Not far from Ipanema, and before getting to the Americanised Barra de Tijuca, you can turn right and drive up to Pedra Bonita. Mainly known for the paragliding ramp almost at the top and the nice view of Pedra da Gávea you will get from up there. From the ramp area and parking lot, there’s a nice little walk up to the summit, which I joined a few Norwegian friends and their children for a couple of weeks ago.

After some 30-40 minutes hike through the rain forest, we found ourselves in the clouds. It was totally white and nothing to be seen beyond the edge of the cliff. But suddenly the clouds clear for a second, and the beach glisters in the sun way down there. And it’s gone again. Then Pedra da Gávea plays peekaboo for a while until the highlight of the view appears - a paraglider, who’s been using the thermals properly, appears not far from us through the clouds.

When being accompanied by three children within the age of two to four and a half (That half year is very important, so want to stress that it’s four and a half years and not four.) you won’t have a quiet second. The stories range from the total truth, where the father at times sounds like he’s choked on something, and impressively imaginary explanations and theories. Strangely enough we didn’t see any jungle hens on the way up, only the odd tiny lizards. Would also be quite interesting to construct a hike like the one up to Pedra Bonita with the same proportions for an adult as it has for a four and a half year old. Doubt that any semi-fit person would last very long with steps high as up to the middle of your thighs for that many minutes. But our little Norwegian fjellpanter did, without any worries whatsoever.

Yesterday, I found the most quiet spot in the city so far - the botanical garden, Jardim Botânico. It’s like a secret hideaway, bordering to busy streets and both the posh Gávea and Leblon, as well as to the favelas nearby. Palm trees, massive other trees (which I don’t have a clue what they are and can’t remember what the signs said), cactuses and orchids and just nice and quiet. Hardly the helicopters are to be heard beneath the green cover of the trees. Must be even nicer during spring and summer when the roses bring some colour to the place. Should probably have chosen some other footwear than Havaianas though, three hours of walking proved that my feet are not totally adapted to the Brazilian lifestyle - yet.

20/4 – Return of the Amil and a new all time favourite.

It’s not only Mr. Barata who’s found his way back to town - Amil is back too. After suddenly disappearing just before Christmas, he appeared just as surprisingly last week. However, the muscle beach is not on the beach this time, but by the lake. Guess a change of view when doing the biceps curls won’t hurt people. Doubt that I will try out his facilities though, still struggling a bit with the thought of coping with a minimum of 25° degrees when trying to make your muscles grow. I will stick to the view of full body neon outfits, massive tattoos and flirty instructors for my last two months here as well.

A while back I found this website for a new kite surfing shop in an area not too far away from where I live, the location looked a bit odd on the map but after a friend mentioned he’d been there and quite liked the place, I thought I’d give it a try last Saturday. No wind to go kite surfing anyways, so might as well spend my afternoon with kite surfing gear if not on the board. By following the driving instructions to the second, we ended up by somewhere where I normally wouldn’t look for a shop, and at a boom blocking the street. Kind of strange to drive up to the gate to this private condominium area, claiming that you’ll go shopping for kite surfing stuff to the guy controlling the boom. But, since he let me through it couldn’t have been that crazy. When reaching the house I had to double-check the address again, and once more again - 626, yup, six-two-six, not 979 or anything else. Didn’t really look like a shop and a big black Portuguese Water Dog (all according to solid sources re. dogs after my description of it – thanks Sanne!) was barking from inside. Eh…think I’ll use the doorbell and wait for someone to come and get me. No problem, Felipo turned up after a few seconds and let me in.
And the second I walked through the door I got a new all time favourite when it comes to shops. What a place! Spacious, good music, surf gear, kite surfing gear, books and lots of me-want-to-have-clothes and some more space. Even the shop assistant had moved a step further up the ladder than any other I’ve met so far in this country. Instead of stalking you around, he simply concluded that if I needed any help at all, he would be just over there, at the counter, minding his own business. Well, he might not have said that last part, but you get the point.
Not to mention the back deck, and the view. Rain forest and mountains and just pristine! The sofas where already in place so the only thing missing would be the coffee/juice bar in the corner, and you would have the most perfect café-shop-hang-out place. The second they set that up, I’ll have an excuse good enough to spend any spare time I might get over there.

19/4 – Murphy at his best or - Haven’t we had enough of water by now?

Mmm…alarm clock rings at 6 am, not too tired – nice. Nice long shower to wake up properly. So far so good… With the towel around my hair I try to switch on the AC - nothing. Strange, it was working last night. Ah well, at least it’s not 40° degrees outside so manageable today. On the way back to the bathroom I run into Mr. Cockroach himself, as big and quick as ever, speeding across the floor. Thought he was long gone. Still a good day, just need to ask the maintenance department to do some magic spraying or something. While performing my very limited beauty procedures for the morning, my eyes suddenly catches a glimpse of what seems to be my very own private waterfall…on the bathroom wall. Upstairs neighbours must have been working on some inventive pool ideas over night. At least the puddle on the floor isn’t too big yet, so can easily walk around it. Breakfast next; apparently Mr. Barata brought his whole family this time, his smaller relatives seem to be looking for breakfast in the kitchen as well. Always something good that comes with the bad, so this is probably good for my dislike of bugs, or something else, which I can’t figure out at the moment. While keeping both eyes on the bugs, I take a step into the kitchen, or was it the shower? Same feeling under my feet so would have been hard to tell by that only. Ah, water in the kitchen as well today, that’s new - all over the floor. At least I’ve got tiles and not some antique floorboards. Better start writing a list for the maintenance guys. As this wasn’t enough of water for the day, the piping for the AC at work suddenly explodes about 10 minutes before I am about to share a bit of birthday cake with my colleagues in the afternoon. And now we’re talking water everywhere, lots and lots of it. The cake was nice though - spite the slight delay.

I think Mr. Murphy is only trying to wish me a very Happy Birthday, in his own little way…no harm meant, I am sure. Will be interesting to see what else he’s got to offer for the day, some surprises at the gym perhaps?

16/4 – No way out.

Now, there is no way out anymore, I’m lost to the dark side. No way to return, no way of coming back, the irreversible process has been completed. It’s all downhill from here. But I will keep fighting it, for as long as I can, even though some will claim that there is no use anylonger. And it was all because of an honest mistake, in Petrópolis of all places. In the morning, outside at a sunny spot, together with some nice company as well even. I promise it won’t happen again though - ever. I’ve been avoiding it for so long and been so good all the time. Always paying attention to it, not to slip. But this time I didn’t see it, and I was so sure there was no other way to do it. I only opened it at the top, being so sure there was nothing in the other end, and all looked fine when I started. However, the definition of being a grown-up simply sneaked up on me, totally unexpected and caught me off my guards. For whatever it may help, I promise, I will never ever eat an ice cream on a stick with the paper still on the stick again. Stupid Brazilian ice creams!

13/4 - Thanks Kristofer.

http://xkcd.com/

12/4 – Up with the coconut truck.

After four months in the country, Caroline finally manages to score again. The tactics of telling various people about the plan last night was successful - a bit of pressure did the trick.
The score is now: Bed vs. Caroline 42 -3

10/4 – Rio Driving #4 - Unavoidable risks and impressive horses.

Brazil seems to be positioned in a special gap of the laws of nature…ah well…perhaps not that serious, but almost. Ever since you sat behind the steering wheel the very first time, you’ve been brain washed with the blind spot area and how important it is to turn your head to check that there are no cars, motorbikes, bicycles, wheel chairs, horses, aliens or anything at all hiding in the blind spot area. There was no way you would get your driver license without clearly turning your head (after checking the mirrors of course) to show the examiner that you did check the blind sport area, every single time, before every single turn or sideway movement.

However, this is not the case in Brazil. After numerous rides with different Brazilians, a friend of mine decided to do his own little survey on the subject. During the some 10 months he’d spent in the country back then; he’d never seen a single one turning his head. He started to ask everyone he went along with in the car, if they’d ever heard about the, in Europe so common, phenomena of the blind spot area. To his surprise, they all knew about it. According to the Cariocas, of course there could be something or someone in the blind spot area, but there’s not much you can do about it. It’s just one of those risks with driving which you have to accept in life. On the question if they’d ever considered turning their heads to have a look in the secret corner, to possibly reduce the number of scratches and dents on their cars, the replies where short and sweet: No, you don’t do that.
If I’m ever allowed behind the steering wheel of a vehicle in this country, I think I’ll stick to the Scandinavian version

One thing (and probably the only one) from Brazilian road ethics I’d be more than happy to bring back home is their training of horses. Imagine to have such traffic safe horses at home, no more throwing little riding school girls off or kicking people in the ribs so they end up in the ditch, just because a car drives by or a runner happen to be out for her jog. One of the key tactics when driving in Brazil, is to use the horn as often as possible, including when you see someone you know somewhere within a 350 m radius of the car. Including your mates who might be riding along on horses. The pages in the Swedish driving theory books about when (not) to use the horn, would be ripped out right away over here. Thought my heartbeat was going to reach unexplored levels when the first car passed us on that horseback riding tour in Paraty. Since everyone seemed to know João, our guide, they all had to say hi, with their horns. After the fifth car had passed, within the first 8 minutes or so on the horse, I started to calm down though. There was no way in this universe that the horses were going to even blink because of those cars using their horns and people shouting out their hellos. Barking dogs, loose cows, kids on bikes and stupid tourists, who don’t know how to ride a horse, kicking them in the side had the exact same effect – i.e. none.

9/4 – ...

If you’ve got any property in Rio, the time to sell it would have been a couple of days ago. Sea view from the front porch and waterfalls in the backyard could have been added to any real estate advertisement without telling a lie. Is waterbed back in fashion?
No, seriously speaking, not much to make fun of about the situation. It’s all very tragic. And scary. The city is starting to dry up, the streets are clear and the water levels in the lakes are decreasing for every hour. The mudslides will probably continue for another while, hopefully not as unexpected as lately though. But it will take a very long time before everything is back to normal…if ever…for a lot of people. And as it always seems to be, when it comes to forces of nature, it is not the ones who have the most, who loose some of it. It is those who have the least, who loose everything.

I try to always remember how lucky I am: Lots of friends and family, perhaps geographically on the other side of the globe most of the time, but still always there. A job I enjoy and which challenges me and brings me to fascinating places – how about Kellyville, OK for example? Playing the sport I love (except for here, but temporary substitutes can be found) which also brings me to new places – ever wanted to experience dodgy canals in Belgium or swimming pools in Tampere?
However, if I’m ever close to forgetting that all my worries are definite luxury problems (läs i-landsproblem), things like the last few days make it even more obvious. Honestly, I think I must have been one of the luckiest ones off after the total chaos, which was ruling the city for some 24 hrs. I wasn’t even there. I was “stranded” in a nice coastal town with my parents and didn’t even get my toes wet by rain. A small drizzle during the last day, an extra night at the pousada before being able to return to Rio and making sure my parents got on the plane to Europe. Not even worth mentioning in the big context.

I don’t know if the pictures made it worldwide but sports nerd as I am, I have to comment on this guy wakeboarding behind a Hilux (very nice car by the way) on the beachfront on Tuesday. Right where I would normally drive to work, past traffic lights and with road signs in the background. You can call it making the most out of the situation, or being ignorant to the chaos around you, whichever you feel like choosing. Of course, he didn’t help anyone by his few minutes of sports exercise, but for sure, he didn’t make life worse for anyone either. He might even have brought a few smiles to some people’s faces.

5/4 – Recipe for keeping tourists mesmerized a whole morning.

1 ea Monday morning in April

1 ea picturesque touristy village by a quiet bay
50% white fluffy clouds
50% blue sky
Random amount of showers
1 ea catamaran motorboat
1 ea schooner
4 ea of smaller boats
3 ea sun bathing chairs
1 ea nice pool area
100% nice view of the bay
3 ea Swedish people, or any other tourists as of season
Optional: Sun block or cover depending on how much showers are being used.

Take the nice pool area and place it by the nice view of the bay. Make sure the village is in the background. Sprinkle the clouds on the blue sky above and add showers as of taste. Add the three chairs by the pool area without stirring too much. Place the Swedes on the chairs, facing the view. If the rate of clouds decreases, also make sure to add some sun block on the tourists. If larger amount of showers is preferred, instead of sun block, add a cover over the sun bathing chairs. Place the catamaran in the bay, not too far away from the nice view. Make a hole or similar in the hull to make the catamaran start sinking. Within the next half hour of so, gently add, one by one, the schooner on one side of the motorboat and the four smaller boats on the other side of the catamaran. Spend the next hour or two watching the tourists being mesmerized by the schooner and smaller boats trying to assist the sinking catamaran.

Important note: No additional tourists to be added on any of the boats and make sure the catamaran never completes the sinking process, but stays at the status of “about to sink” until it’s safely towed into shore.

1/4 – Sugar Loaf and environmental thinking.

I’ve also started to tick of the touristy things in Rio on my to-do list. Since last week Pão de Açúcar has got a little tick to the right of it in my mental notebook. Sure, it’s a tourist attraction at the max, but the view is stunning from up there, no doubt about it. And the sunset beats the sunrise in Paris with miles of margin.

A favela tour is up next on the schedule and after that Corcovado and Santa Teresa are still to go. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how many photos I will be able to show you from those places. In line with the global mission of increasing the recycling of stuff in the world, I’ve decided to contribute in my very own way. I will start recycling photos. No more taking pictures everywhere I go and then throw half of them away. Instead, I’ll recycle my old ones. Clever isn’t it? It could have something to do with that my camera decided to go on vacation after Paraty as well…
After a busy weekend with too many nice views it shut down and went on holiday until further notice. Apparently, there might be a possibility of getting it back from the unannounced rest by sending it to Sao Paolo together with the warranty paperwork I keep in a drawer in Copenhagen. But after evaluating the chance of that a) I will manage to get the paper work over here, b) the Brazilian post gets my camera to Sao Paolo, c) Olympus in Sao Paolo accepts my paperwork and the warranty claim, d) they fix it within the next foreseeable future and e) makes sure to send it back to me; all succeed before the beginning of June, I decided that perhaps I should just hold on to the broken one until I get back to Denmark. And who knows, it might be back from its rest as suddenly as it went away. Electronics live mysterious lives.

April 2010 photos

In case you wonder......grocery shopping the evening before Easter is just as a bad idea in Brazil as in any other Christian country. Some things I never seem to learn...




"In a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence."
Dr. Laurence J. Peter