First and, as I can already confirm, the only visited country in South America is Brazil. First stop in Brazil - Rio de Janeiro.
Everyone knows about Jesus and famous beach Copacabana. I found it's not worth spending more words about it.
Maybe I mention only an inovative way for cooling down hot sand (with irrigation tube) to make it at least conditionaly walkable by bare foot. And a piece of art, which is allowed to photograph only in return for a donation.
About Jesus I can tell, there is a wonderful view on the city from the top. On a foggy day it becomes really mystic.
Rio is a city of contrasts. At one end paradise beaches surrounded by skyscrapers and top hotels. But just a short ride on metro brings us into favelas.
Homeless people is hard to miss too. I don't remember a place where we'd seen them so many. Some are quite scary. They follow you on the streets and demand a donation.
But don't get too much negative picture. I would still describe Rio as a nice, cozy city. Besides skyscrapers and favelas it offers also the third environment. This is Lapa. It is a historic centre. Here we find completely artistic atmosphere. Buildings show it's colonial history. Walls are colourful and covered with graffiti. This is the best place for taking a walk without a map.
Especially colourful are steps Escadaria Selarón. These are covered with thousands of tiles. It so many of them we even found one from our homeland. Believe me, it's difficult to find something Slovenian in South America. Most people don't even know it's a country :)
Again I can't avoid talking about farmer's markets. After all different countries we have visited it's even more interesting to compare them. Those in Brazil seem to be one of the most sophisticated. We even found stalls that accept credit cards.
Markets are located straight on the streets. Each day of week in another location. That way they keep it clean and organized.
Location on the coast of Atlantic ocean means a wide selection of fish and other sea treasures. Even the fish heads seem to be popular. I barely managed to take a photo before someone took a nice piece.
I can't finish an article about Rio without football. This a place of the most famous stadium in the world. It is calledMaracaná and is home of two local clubs - Flamengo and Fluminense. A coincidence wanted that I was able to visit the match of same two opponents.
The game was good, the atmosphere indescribable. But even more interesting was after the match. Stadium empties in a moment. There is no bottle necks and standing in crowds. Unfortunatelly nearby public transport infrastructure isn't designed in the same way. Photo below left shows the situation when masses of people rush into the metro station. The one on the right after we manage to fit all our body parts on the train. The doors wouldn't close if someone who had to stay on the platform and wait for the next train wouldn't push the last passanger in the overcrowded cabin.
Ten days in Rio meant it's time to move forward. This time we headed towards more rural experience of Brazil :)
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