Rio de Janero, Brazil

Tall and tan and young and lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, each one she passes goes - ah

When she walks, she's like a samba
That swings so cool and sways so gentle
That when she passes, each one she passes goes - ooh

(Ooh) But I watch her so sadly
How can I tell her I love her
Yes I would give my heart gladly
But each day, when she walks to the sea
She looks straight ahead, not at me

Tall, and tan, and young, and lovely
The girl from Ipanema goes walking
And when she passes, I smile - but she doesn't see (doesn't see)

Antonio Jobim.  One of my favorite songs.  And standing on Ipanema beach with this song in my head was priceless!
 

The heat of Rio flabbergasted me. We arrived in Rio and had to find a place to stay as we didn't book. We walked around for what seemed like hours. I wanted to collapse from the heat and having to carry my backpack. I think travel exhaustion also kicked in as we've been traveling South America non-stop for 3 weeks at that time. We found a (crap) room in the end with only a fan in the back of a hostel, with no swimming pool. Luckily after walking around a bit we met a fellow traveller who took us to his hostel with a swimming pool and we could soak our tired traveling souls in the cold water.  Then we started exploring again:

The Brazilian beaches are white sand, clean and popular.  Behind the beach lies a street turned market in the evenings.  Lights shower the beaches green at night. 

Copacabana

Busy nightlife on Copacabana

"As you sunbathe on the beautiful Ipanema beach with the postcard perfect Dois Irmãos rocks to the side of you could be forgiven for forgetting that you are also in a major city; until that is that you realize that the birds patrolling the beach are not seagulls but the notorious city dwelling pigeons! The mixture of these different elements combined with the sweltering heat (which even during winter when I arrived regularly hit 30 degrees plus) gives weight to that quote about it being a "hot, sweaty mess". " - A Flavour of Rio by Rhiannon Ball

Overlooking Copacabana and Ipanema beaches are hotels, high sky-scraper like buildings.  Behind these grand statues are shacks stacked row upon row on the "unique to Rio hills" (shaped like cones).   The shacks truly look as if it might collapse downhill any minute.  But what a true and honest sight!

A city of contrast indeed (although Lonely Planet's travel writing books advises never to use this sentence, as it is seen as a cliché), this is exactly what Rio is.  A city of contrast; the Christ statue overlooks Rio and is indeed as magnificent a splendid as some movies (e.g. Romeo and Juliet) and TV shows (An Idiot abroad) suggests.  For me, this was a highlight (although I had to pray for the fog to lift so that I could see the statue and experience its glorified view). 

Tip: on a foggy day it really is difficult (even if you're standing right underneath it) to see it, for the fog covers the whole statue and the view as well.  But as the fog lifted the whole of Rio lied beneath our feet.  Arms outstretched, this statue, in all its glory is indeed a Wonder of the world and as wonderful and magnificent as pictures and postcards suggest.  Seeing it with my own eyes was something completely different, though. 

Yes Rio has its grimy areas.  On our way to the statue we drove through a small bridge.  And we drove past a body.  Yes, a dead person.  I couldn’t look, he was probably shot.  Danger can lurk around every corner if not careful, but all in all it is a beautiful city and the views from above are gorgeous.

Tip:  staying in a hotel right on the beach with a magnificent view isn't always that expensive, it will surprise you.  The prices could surprise you and it's worth having a look. The hotel we stayed in in the end had a swimming pool on the roof overlooking the spectacular view of Copacabana beach and Sugar Loaf hill.

Tip:  At the night street market you can buy small, beautiful hand painted paintings of the Rio hills and its shacks: a great memorabilia or present that can be framed at home.   

We weren't in Rio in Carnival time, but traces of it could be seen everywhere.  To describe Rio de Janero I would use the following words:  Surprising, hot, abundant, sweaty, messy and an unusual contrast.