The beach in Rio de Janeiro is unlike anything I´ve ever seen. First of all, it´s insanely crowded. There is a wall of people that makes it impossible to see anthing but umbrellas. And asses. In yet another stereotype proved true, Brazilian bikinis are the smallest things I´ve ever seen and everyone from 6-year-old little kids to 70-year-old woman wears the same size. And let me tell you, one size does not fit all.
Another interesting part of the experience are the beach entrepreneurs who walk around selling food, bikinis, towels, jewelry and shelving units. We drink from coconuts daily and we also bought an açai water ice thing with granola and honey. I´m glad we only discovered it today because it was the most delicious thing I´ve eaten down here and at 5 reals a pop, we easily could´ve dropped 40 in the 4 days we´ve been here.
Obviously, the merchants aren´t the most well-off people in the city, but seeing a kid of not more than 5 with a money belt selling candy was particularly disheartening. It was pretty sad to see him working like an adult. It seems as though the conditions of the life here make it necessary for kids to grow up too fast. The most precarious/disheartening of situations down here has been in interactions with children, including one time we saw a bunch of kids hang from the window of a moving bus to get on for free.
Overall, though, Rio is not as terrible as everyone says and I´m really happy I got to see that for myself. In general, it´s just a really big city on a beach where it´s always super hot and filled with people who came here on vacation and never seemed to have left.
Wonder how this will contrast with the next stop, another notorious city - Bogota, Colombia.
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