Rio de Janeiro For Gingos - Chapter One - Part 2 - Rio de Janeiro - TravBuddy

CHAPTER ONE - PART TWO
"Am I Suppose to be here?"


2 - THE ZONES AND DISTRICTS


"A man walks down the street,
It’s a street in a strange world.
Maybe it’s the Third World.
Maybe it’s his first time around.
He doesn’t speak the language,
He holds no currency.
He is a foreign man,
He is surrounded by the sound, sound..."
-“ You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon

(Quick intro: This is a uncompleted list of neighborhoods in Rio. I don't know if I would have the time and disposition to cover more places. Right now I'm kind of distracted with my fist movie production and my bank account situation who haunts me in my dreams)


2.1. - Zona Sul

Covers the districts of Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon, Botafogo, Flamengo, Humaitá, Gávea, Laranjeiras, Lagoa, Leme, Urca and Jardim Botânico. I was checking in Wikipedia just to see if I left out a district and I notice that they also include São Conrado as a Zona Sul district. São Conrado it's not in the Zona Sul. São Conrado is just a corridor that keeps the Zona Sul away from one of the nine Chinese hells: Barra da Tijuca (a fake mix of Miami and Orlando).

Leme

Tiny and covers just the beginning of Copacabana beach. It was the previous home of the travbuddy Fred Leal. Nothing else to add to it, unless you like to see some grumpy fishermen on a huge rock.

Urca

Also tiny and quiet place. It's where the Sugar Loaf lies. You should try it. It's a safe toy and a safe place for tourists.
If you're into climbing, jogging or trekking, there's a lot of freaks doing this over there. Talk to them. I don't know anything about it.

Humaitá

Useless as Laranjeiras. It's a strip between Lagoa and Botafogo. Not a single drop of charisma. The only interesting site in Humaitá that I can remember is the Espaço Cultural Sérgio Porto, a cultural center where you can watch some musical shows, plays and listen to poetry in Portuguese (or almost Portuguese). Damn beatniks!
If you want a quick bite at night, you will find a dozen of restaurants and bars at Cobal do Humaitá where people of all ages can eat, drink and chat (japanese food, pizza, burgers...)

Laranjeiras

99% Residential district.
- Nothing to see here. Move along sonny.

Jardim Botânico

The district name's also main attraction: the botanical garden (Jardim Botânico) was built in 1808 by Don João VI, prince of Portugal. If you're into nature and plants, that's the place for you.
Me? I don't get it. I thought every garden was botanical.

Botafogo

This district is most residential and filled with musical studios (the kind of place that amateur musicians without a garage would rent for a couple of hours) and medical clinics. Don't ask me why.
There's a couple of malls where you can shop, eat or go to the movies, the so called Botafogo Beach (dirty and sad sands), where you have a magnificent view of the Sugar Loaf and there's a few small restaurants, bars and nightclub such as Casa da Matriz, Pista 3, Bukowski (all for the young and bold).

Copacabana

Aaah! Now this is a place to be if you like chaos and all the different crowds. This is where I've been living for the past 27 years (with a 3 years hiatus). I don't even know how to describe this neighborhood. Crowded, lots of tiny shops and buildings glued to each other, sexual tourism, millions of grumpy old people, thousands of crazy youngsters and hundreds of drugstores for both groups. Ask me about Copacabana and I'll answer anything you want to know about this place.

2.2 - Centro, Santa Teresa and Lapa

Centro (Downtown)

Rio's downtown is crowded at day time and very frightening at night. Especially if you're alone. I don't like Centro, but sometimes I go there to buy some computer parts, go to museums, the city library, the Municipal Theater, art expositions and some particular parties, but mostly for the computer parts. :)
Close to Centro there's also Santa Teresa and Lapa. You should check it out at least once these places.
Tip: Be careful with directions. There's a huge mall complex in Barra da Tijuca called Downtown (in english). Use the word "Centro" to get yourself directions to the true downtown.

Santa Teresa

Santa Teresa is a very interesting neighborhood with small trolleys climbing up and down the twisted streets of the hill. It's a nice place to walk in a warm afternoon (sightseeing, typical food, old buildings). Unfortunately the place is surrounded by (at least) three favelas and sometimes things could get scary over there, but most of the time it's quiet and with a "small town" feeling. A lot of artists live there. Damn hippies! :)

Lapa

Lapa is next to Santa Teresa and it's full of clubs with samba, chorinho and a lot of musical genres that I don't like it, so I won't say anything more about the place.
You can easily spot this area thanks to the Arcos da Lapa (an old aqueduct built in 1750).

Obs.: I could say that this section cover three places where you (tourist) can be easily mugged and robbed anytime of the day. Be sharp if you are walking over there without a good local guide or friend.