Rio de Janeiro (River of January, named by the Portuguese who founded the city on Jan. 1, 1502). Ah, Rio, "The Marvelous City," home of the Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, the Christ the Redeemer statue and, sadly, the crime capital of Brazil.
We were a month early for Carnaval, but the beaches offered sun, sand and surf -- it's summer in the Southern Hemisphere -- while the statue awaited our arrival with, literally, outstretched arms. Visible from just about everywhere in the city, Christ the Redeemer is, in a word, imposing. He has been watching stoically from atop 2,300-foot Corcovado Mountain since 1931, remaining impassive even when hit by lightning a year ago.
Two cable car rides took us to the 120-foot, 700-ton statue where crowds mingled in awe, stepping, occasionally, on those who lie flat on their backs at the base to get a better perspective for their photos.
If the statue could see, it may be disappointed with its subjects. It would be happy, certainly, with a modern, vibrant city of 6.1 million people, some of them among the richest in the world. But it would certainly be unhappy with the wretched poverty of many more. Interestingly, the poor live on the hillsides and have the best view of the ocean and the beaches.
Because of this poverty, the city's drug traffic is rampant, contributing heavily to a recent average of about 30 homicides a week. But tourists are relatively safe, except for the time they spend in a taxi. Intent on speed and apparently having taken a vow to never let another car pass, taxi drivers are, well, homicidal.
Read complete story here:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09102/961808-37.stm
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