Copacabana

Copacabana is a part of Rio de Janeiro. Lots of the major beaches are cut of from the rest of the city by sheer mountains and they connect them by several tunnels. Copacabana is one of the major tourist spots. It is a fully functioning "city" in it s own right or neighborhood. I love the compactness. I can walk from one to the other in about an hour. You can buy almost anything you would want in that distance. The restaurants are great. They have them on Atlantic Ave. so that you are looking at the surf as you eat. The waiters are fantastic, the prices are better and the food is unparalleled.

I cannot say enough good stuff about this are but... I hate how it changes after 9pm. Going for a walk too late at night is considered dangerous. I have not put this to any extreme test but I trust those who have told me this. After a certain time of night I simply cab everywhere. I have more money then I have need for stories of harrowing experiences. So I tend to eat my best meals before 9PM. And the only drawback is I have given up midnight walks. No small thing for me.

The payoff is that today, I had a few errands to run. I got a key made, picked up fresh mango from the local fair. It is fresher then it is in the grocery store. I got an after dinner wine and a dozen roses. I was able to walk to all of these places and paid nothing like I would in the states. The majority of us in the US live in communities designed one hundred percent for the car. I do too. Now that I have experienced the difference I can say that walking and a close community has huge plusses. It is healthier, friendlier and more connecting. I know I am saying this about a place I cannot walk in after 9PM so how can it be friendlier? Well for the average person it is nice to just see each other a bit. I walk when I am in the US but it is always for pleasure and never with a purpose. It is very cool to walk to dinner or walk to get milk. It takes about the same amount of time and gives me some exercise. I do sit at a computer 90% of my waking hours and this is a nice way to break up that long sit.

I really love Copacabana but part of that is that I started coming here first. The devil you know. Ipanema and Barras have more modern and more American feels to them. Not sure if I need to move "up" at some point or not.

Rio De Janeiro / Paraty / Angra / Copacabana / Buzios / Coba Frio / Ilha Grande