Hockin' it in Heeo

We’ve spent a week so far in Rio de Janeiro (pronounced Heeo by the locals) and have both really enjoyed our time here.  The helpful tourist information desk at the intercity bus terminal put us in touch with Maria, who manages apartments in Copacabana Beach - so for about the same price (or even a little less) than a double room at a hostel we have been enjoying a spacious 1 bedroom apartment about one block back from Copacabana beach. 

 

Rio from Sugar Loaf mountain - Copacabana can just be seen on the left hand side (the long beach) 

Copacabana beach at night

The city is quite something else - an eclectic mix of colours, architectural styles, fashion, tropical jungles and steep rocks springing up out of nowhere have all been crammed into the tiniest of spaces.  It feels just as modern and trendy as New York or London, but with stunning beaches only a few hundred metres from the vast majority of the city’s residents.  In addition, right bang smack in the middle of the city (and just as accessible as the beaches) is a massive national park where jungle surrounds mountains and rocks.  On the top of the largest rock (Corcovado) in the park is Rio’s most famous land mark, the Cristo Redentor statue.  

Corcovado is over 700 metres high and the summit (with the Cristo statue) is accessed via train over a ~30 minute ride up an impossibly steep track to the top of the mountain.  We got up early on our second day in Rio and managed to get on the first train of the day before the area became absolutely packed with tourists.  

The view from Corcavado (Copacabana is the long beach on the right, Sugar loaf is the mountain on the left)

Copacabana in the distance

Unknown to us at the time we were planning on heading to Rio, is that Rio is currently hosting the largest rock festival in the world, “Rock in Rio” (pronounced Hock in Heeo by the locals, which does give us the giggles).  Hock in Heeo (as we now call it) kicked off on Friday (our fourth day in Rio) headlined with acts by Elton John, Katy Perry, Rihanna and others.  We’d love to say we went, but we were priced out of the concert.  In any event, the concert (which takes place over 7 days) is giving the city an even more lively feel than usual.  

Mindful of avoiding tourist hotspots during the weekend while the concert was on and the city even busier with tourists than usual, we found ourselves on a ferry into the Rio harbour and to Paqueta Island.  Paqueta is certainly not on the regular tourist itinerary, but certainly should be.  It was suggested to us by Maria the apartment manager.  The rather tiny island is framed by spectacular beaches which are all but deserted.  Everything is accessible by foot or even more accessible on a bicycle.  Getting around has been made all the more pleasant by a ban on motor vehicles on the island.  Any food or activities you might do on the island were incredibly cheap - it is only a pity that the entire bay is rather polluted, so despite the stunning beaches, swimming was off the agenda.  

Jen on Paqueta Island (we don't know what the island in the distance is)

Car free streets of Paqueta Island

Paqueta waterfront

Rio at Night

We’ve also spent time pacing the streets of Copacabana and the next beach along the coast, Ipanema, which has a 5 story shopping mall housing designer labels and champagne bars.  A large lagoon, 10km to circumnavigate is only a short walk from Copacabana or Ipanema.  We instead chose to jump aboard a pedal powered swan for half an hour (much harder work than it looks) and pedal our ways a couple of hundred metres towards the middle of the lake before turning back towards the shore.  

Jen on a swan in the middle of the lagoon

Our time in Rio ended with a relaxing day at the beach (the surf was great but a little too big to bodysurf without being dunked) concluded with a cable car ride to the top of Sugar Loaf mountain on the corner of Copacabana beach and the Rio harbour.  Stunning views and a good walk (we chose to walk up half way to save ourselves the cost of one of the cable cars) was the ideal way to conclude our visit to Heeo.  Tomorrow is a very early start with a series of flights to eventually land us in Quito, Ecuador (we hope!)  The first of three flights leaves at 6.09am so we figure we will be getting out of bed sometime between 2 and 2.30am to get to the airport with plenty of time to spare.  

Heeo comes highly recommended - a comfortable, modern, upbeat city with a great bus system that is fairly easy to use, cheap and has its own priority lanes in a city characterised by traffic jams.  A fledgling metro system is also incredibly clean and efficient and is the ideal compliment to the bus system.  The people are friendly and the hawkers are pleasantly non-aggressive (a ‘no’ will see them leave you alone - quite unlike the African experience).  The beaches are stunning, surfs up and the party goes all night long.  Hopefully one day we might come back!