Rio: Brazil’s marvellous city

By Tubman Otieno

I have just returned from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil where I was a delegate at the Fifth World Urban Forum and I’m yet to recover from the city’s blast of beauty.

As an urban manager presiding over one of Kenya’s flagships in tourism, I was impressed by Brazil’s natural and social resources attractive to tourism: sun, beach, nature, culture and history. Rio’s beauty is reborn each morning as the sun rises unfolding the panorama of this special destination nestled between sea and mountains.

It has an extraordinary coastal line of 8,000 km, tropical climate and is free of the bulk of natural menaces, which affect other countries. All this makes the city an outstanding potential destination for international tourism in comparison with many other countries.

Improved infrastructure

The massive investment made in improving the infrastructure; airports, construction and improvement of roads and draining systems, historical heritage recovery and environmental preservation have paid off. We were about 13,718 participants from 150 countries around the world at the World Urban Forum and we had to be fed and entertained. Rio was more than ready to cater for our demands though not without strains.

I was lucky to find a hotel and took the only room available. My friend, a conference veteran more used to five-star luxury, was forced to scale down to a three-star hotel in Copacabana a municipality in Rio. However, restaurants, shops, and other businesses welcomed the possibility of extra trade. It was almost impossible to find taxis. My friend and I nearly missed an important morning session at the forum, which was based in the port area by the sea.

We rang four cab companies, but no taxi was available. A crisis was narrowly averted when one turned up just as we’d given up hope of getting to the meeting on time. Nearly all restaurants, cafes, and bars were crammed with delegates. In the short time that we were in Rio, groups of participants met for dinner or drinks every evening at one of the city’s lively venues. One of the most memorable was Rio Scenarium, a bar in the historic Lapa district noted for its nightlife and strong musical tradition.

Four buildings were joined to create an impressive space with two top floors overlooking the heaving dance floor. Every nook and cranny was filled with antiques, sculptures, vibrant paintings, and quirky objects including clocks, radios, scooters and even an antique car.

However, the main attraction is the music. Brazil’s most popular bands give regular performances here, as experts and novices like me strut their stuff on the dance floor with equal vigour and enthusiasm.

Brazilian cuisine

With numerous restaurants to choose from and little time for research, we relied on advice from friends and acquaintances and were seldom disappointed. Aprazivel in Santa Teresa is worth visiting as much for its setting and architecture as its food. It is built on several floors down the side of a hill with a lush garden and striking views of downtown Rio and Guanara Bay.

The menu offers a mix of Brazilian cuisine with tropical flavours. A popular main course was the peixe tropical, grilled fish in an orange sauce, served with coconut rice and baked bananas.

Other tantalising items on the menu included delicious little buck — roasted in red wine yam puree, caramelised onion, Paris mushrooms, and broccoli; and fresh roasted heart of palm served on a bamboo tray with an olive oil and Persil pesto and rustic chicken with okra and corn flour mush. This I came to learn is part of Brazil’s Indian heritage widely used to feed slaves in the fields.

Among the mouth-watering desserts were Marvellous Mango — a delicious cooked mango in a lemon sauce, served on top of a mango-flavoured rocambole and mango ice cream; and Guava From Paradise — baked in passion fruit syrup and served with guava ice cream with sauce.

On our final evening in Rio, we were advised to go to Porcao, a restaurant located on the south near Flamengo beach, facing Sugarloaf hill. We were told you could help yourself to unlimited amounts of salads and sushi, but were advised to leave space for continual servings of grilled and succulent beef, pork and an array of other meats. We opted for the bar menu, which was more than adequate, serving generous portions of fresh grilled prawns, sizzling beefsteak, and a massive Caesar salad.

With only a weekend for sight-seeing after five days of serious meetings, we unwound by taking a local air-conditioned bus to the world-famous Jardim Bot‚nico. Covering one square kilometre, the park features over 6,200 species of plants. You can amble along avenues lined with tall Imperial Palms and branch off into quiet lanes leading to tranquil ponds, fountains, and greenhouses filled with rare orchids and exotic plants from all over the world. There’s a surprise at every corner.

Although the end of March marks the start of autumn in Brazil, the heat was intense and humid, and the sea offered a welcome chance to cool off. One should, however, be prepared to be buffeted by strong waves on a windy day. Watching the sun set over Ipanema is an experience never to be forgotten.

We happened to be in Rio on Palm Sunday when long lines of palm holding worshippers were out in force in the city’s countless churches and the Cathedral. Some of the churches are more than a 100 years old and are built and decorated in a variety of styles — Portuguese colonial, Brazilian baroque, rococo, neoclassical, and eclectic masterpieces. Not to be missed is the modern Metropolitan Cathedral, which can accommodate 20,000 people.

Statue of Christ

We found a small company, which offered a tour of the main sights of Rio in one day at a relatively modest price. Our guide, Sandra, a tough lady in her late 50s, accompanied us on the cable car ride to Sugarloaf hill and other sites providing a non-stop commentary on the places we visited. The scene from the top of Sugarloaf is as breath-taking as promised in guide books, with sweeping views of Rio, including historical downtown, and NiterÛi — the city across the bay.

Of course, no visit to Rio, however brief, would be complete without including Corcovado, the 710-metre-high hill where you find the Statue of Christ the Redeemer blessing the city with outstretched arms. The statue itself is 30 metres tall and is instantly recognisable from the standard Rio postcard. From the summit of Corcovado, you can enjoy more panoramic views of the city’s neighbourhoods and landmarks.

In a soccer-mad country like Brazil, another must-see attraction is the Maracana stadium complex, described as one of the largest in the world and where the legendry Pele is reputed to have scored his 1,000th goal. During a major match, the main stadium regularly packs in 90,000 people. Maracan„ is also used for mega-shows and has featured performers like Frank Sinatra, Paul McCartney, and the Rolling Stones.

We stopped off briefly at Rio Sul, one of Rio’s main shopping areas, which turned out to be stylish but pricey. Unfortunately, there was no time to fit in the numerous museums and art galleries — these will have to wait till our next conference or holiday.

If there was a contest to select the world’s most popular conference locations, there’s little doubt that Rio would be top of the list. It has everything – sun, sea, dramatic landscapes, history, diverse culture, and above all, samba.