IMG_5184
Very elaborate grafitti in Sao Paulo and Rio
IMG_5185
As we were driving by I think I understood this is the governors house (of the state of Rio de Janiero I would assume)
IMG_5187
Yes, it's a VW but in little letters you can see the "Total Flex" there just below the transrio website. That means this
car can take 100% gasoline, 100% alcohol (ethanol), or any custom mixture of those. People often find a good mixture for their vehicle
given the current prices. The price of ethanol is evidently rarely stable but often too high or too low, but at least with
decades of investment into ethanol production and an easier less energy intensive method of conversion for the plentiful
sugar cane (versus corn in the US) some energy independence is possible (however, Brazil does have a large amount of oil
reserves)
This was taken on the way into a nice shopping mall in Rio - the shopping malls in Brazil that we went to were all very high end
with designers like Dolce and Babbana, Christian Dior, and others taking up much of the shop real estate. Many of the luxury
goods were of course very high priced and aimed at the female population. Also, many stores had designer goods but looking for a
nice (and reasonably priced) present made in Brazil was difficult, but not impossible.
IMG_5189
Next we visited the famed Copacabana beach where people more lounged and stood near the waves than swam (the currents appeared pretty dangerous
at least near where we walked)
IMG_5191
IMG_5192
IMG_5193
The white and black pattern along the sidewalk is the signature of Rio de Janiero and I would guess representative of it's laid back lifestyle
compared to the business hub of Sao Paulo where I saw similar patterns made of square-ish bricks instead
IMG_5198
We stopped a bit past the beach at a wonderful overlook and nice restaurant
IMG_5199
IMG_5203
IMG_5204
IMG_5205
IMG_5214_Pano
IMG_5219
IMG_526
IMG_5231
The favelas (shanty towns) were present on the outskirts and amongst Sao Paulo and Rio and were stacked right up steep hills and with a
very high density, about 25% of the population lives below the poverty line in Brazil
IMG_5234
Before leaving, we headed up to the Sao Bento Monastery, which features a wonderfully guilded interior - too bad it was under
rennovation...the altar and sides were at least exposed
IMG_5235
A worker clearing away centuries of soot/dirt I assume
IMG_5238
IMG_5241
It was just about closing time and here one of the church employees walks through a photo
IMG_5251
The front door was richly carved
IMG_5254
A color-shifted photo of the ironwork above the main door
IMG_5256_Pano
Sao Bento Monastery, Rio de Janiero
IMG_5258
Back to the airport and just as we were boarding it started to rain - here are some photos from the flight back
IMG_5259
IMG_5261
IMG_5262
A cruise boat
IMG_5263
A refinery (complete with natural gas flame - tough to see in the photo though)
Return to Features