Return to Rio de Janeiro (favela edition)

Back in 2019 I sailed all over South America working as a cruise ship musician – visiting major cities and remote ports along the way. I enjoyed multiple days each in places like Buenos Aires, Montevideo, and Ushuaia – however we only had a single day to explore Brazil’s magnificent Rio De Janeiro. It was just barely enough time to visit two of the city’s most iconic sights – the Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugar Loaf mountain. Despite some less than desirable weather, Rio left an impression as one of the world’s most geographically striking cities. I knew I needed to go back, and this summer I finally carved out the time.

Like my trip to Morocco earlier this summer, the decision to go to Rio was fairly spontaneous. I knew I wanted to spend August at a month-long Airbnb, and I made the decision to go to Rio just three days before I left. The downside was that there weren’t many Airbnb’s left that fit my criteria (i.e. an apartment to myself for less than $450/month). Despite the short supply, one place caught my attention: a 1-bedroom apartment 25 minutes walk from the famous Copacabana Beach, listed for $375.

The catch? This Airbnb was located in one of Rio’s favelas (the equivalent of a slum). Most travelers and locals strongly advise against entering the favelas, despite some that operate tours. I’d previously had a positive experience visiting Medellín’s Communa 13, a similarly dense hillside neighborhood that Pablo Escobar operated out of in Colombia. With this in mind, I carefully considered the predominantly positive reviews on the Airbnb listing – and ultimately took a chance on it.

I arrived to Rio just after nightfall. As instructed I took an Uber up a long, zig-zagging road to the top of the favela where I was staying. On arrival I noticed that the entrance was guarded by police, a reassuring sight. There I met my host, a kind Brazilian women named Jandira. She didn’t speak any English, but we communicated with a combination of smiles and Google Translate. She happily took my suitcase and led me down a short path to my apartment. This stretch was alive with the sight of children out playing, and locals socializing inside an open-air mini-mart.

The Airbnb was minimalistic, but it had everything I needed. There was a small kitchenette – including a microwave, a fridge/freezer, a blender, utensils, pots, and a gas stove. In the same room was a small dining table, and there was a bathroom attached. The bedroom had a TV conveniently set up for Netflix, though I’d have to manually re-connect it to the WiFi each time. I was a tad concerned about the flimsy feel of the front door, and the sink water had a way of bouncing off the basin and right back up at you – but I put these minor things aside.

My intention for this month was to treat it as a work-vacation. I would explore the city, catch up on blog posts, and practice my viola. This would also be the longest period of time I’d spend in any one place all year long, and I relished in the opportunity to cook and settle in a bit. My cooking has largely leant vegetarian, and during my stay I took to making a lot of cheap dinners with lentils and black beans.

During the first week a few difficulties arose. The most jarring was the literal hike up and down the favela, I’d never stayed in a place that required so much effort to get in or out of. Coming back up I’d often be dripping in sweat, even at night. Sometimes, if I was desperate, I’d buy an Açaí smoothie in Copacabana to keep me cool for the walk back up. There was always the option to take an Uber up the opposite side of the favela, but I figured if the locals could handle the stairs then so could I – and this was part of the experience.

On the social front, I had to accept that meeting people wasn’t going to be as easy as at a hostel. Adding to this, Brazilians speak virtually zero English. For a major tourist city this came as a surprise, and I found myself more uncomfortable with the language barrier than in the vast majority of countries I’ve been to. I took to learning some Portuguese using DuoLingo, but this only helped me with some basic phrases and pronunciations.

Of the two famous beaches in town I immediately took a liking to Ipanema. It was a little further from where I was in Copacabana, but I’d often catch the train just one stop to get there. Ipanema was great for people-watching, and it had a stellar post-card view of the Dois Irmãos mountain. I’d typically come here in the hour or so prior to sunset. Beach vendors wandered in astounding numbers selling everything including caipirinhas, drugs, cigarettes, clothes, and meat skewers (on tiny grills). I had at least one lost night of sleep thanks to a beach caipirinha hangover.

One of the biggest surprises being in Rio was that literally everyone accepted credit or debit card – an element of culture shock I didn’t expect but absolutely loved. When I was out with people I’d make a game out of looking for the colorful card readers that street vendors, grocery stores, and beach shacks would have sitting around. One day during a guided walking tour downtown I learned that during covid the country turned to a majority card system, and so almost any salesperson or business will accept them (even in the favelas).

Pretty early in the trip I settled into a schedule consisting of mornings at the Airbnb and some type of outing for the afternoon. Aside from the beaches, I loved hiking the inner-city mountains and wandering different neighborhoods. The modernist architecture in Rio wasn’t my favorite, but I did enjoy how green many streets were – with tall, lush trees that accented the tropical location. Downtown there are architectural remnants of the Portuguese colonial era – this part of town felt like a completely different city and was a nice contrast to the touristy beach zones.

One night at the Airbnb I experienced quite a scare in an unexpected place – the shower. For two nights the water hadn’t gotten hot, Jandira mentioned that a strange box above the shower-head controlled the water temperature. A switch on the box appeared to be resetting on its own, and I’d have to repetitively flip it manually while showering. The next night, I reached for the switch (while wet from head to toe) and I was instantly electrocuted. A zap passed from my finger through my whole body, leaving me mildly trembling for a couple of seconds. I was very lucky to have walked away unscathed. While I naturally had a lot of questions I had to remind myself that favelas have zero building regulation. The next morning Jandira promptly sent a man to replace the part, and I never touched it again.

In a city that’s full of in-your-face, unbelievable natural beauty I came to find the simplest joy in the endless views of the Christ the Redeemer statue. Sitting atop Corcovado Mountain, the distant Christ statue would appear between buildings, peak at you while on a walk along the beach, or add to the scene from a distant mountain vista. I am not a religious person, but there was something spiritual about all this. Never have I woken each day excited to see Christ. I also found it interesting that a city with such a troubled reputation for violent crime also possessed a towering, captivating statue that’s earned the status as a Wonder of the Modern World. I always felt watched over in Rio, and that was a nice feeling.

Having come from backpacking in highly conservative Morocco, I imagined Rio would be a fun place to explore the gay dating scene. But for whatever reason – the language barrier, or my lack of a “perfect” body (held to Rio’s impossible standards) – I had no luck in this city. Most people, particularly around Ipanema, looked like they spent their whole lives in a gym … meanwhile I was but a humble stick figure.

My social life here was nowhere near as plentiful as in Morocco, but the days I did spend with people were memorable. Early on I spent an entire day with an American/European couple who were staying in the same Airbnb complex as me. We hiked up to the Christ Redeemer, and then later hiked again up to the lower portion of Sugar Loaf Mountain. There we had a picnic overlooking the bay and sunset.

My favorite day in Rio was spent hiking Pedra da Gavea, the uniquely flat peak that hides behind Ipanema’s Dois Irmãos. One clear morning I took the metro all the way south to reach the trailhead. Though I went alone, I wound up meeting multiple groups of people – ultimately hiking down with different people than I came up with. Hiking Gavea requires a small portion of assisted rock-climbing (or non-assisted if you can handle it). This deters a lot of people from doing the hike, but it also makes for a less crowded visit.

I probably spent two hours at the summit. There’s rarely been a better spot to get that next Tinder photo, or to simply vibe out. I had never been to a peak with such a vertically set rock face, and right up on the ocean. Thanks to a lack of wind we were able to take photos with shock-inducing proximity to the edge. The people I hiked down with had all met that day through a WhatsApp group for hikers in Rio, something I would’ve loved to have known about when I first arrived. In the week afterwards I continued to hang out with some of these same people.

Wildfire haze was a constant sight throughout my stay. This was most obvious in my last week when I did the touristy sunrise hike up to Dois Irmãos. Despite its popularity many tourists are timid to hike Dois Irmãos because it involves taking an Uber to the base of a favela and then riding a motorcycle with a local up the steep, winding hill to the trailhead. By this time I’d developed a bizarre, if not controversial identity as the “tourist who lives in a favela” – so coming here didn’t intimidate me. If anything was concerning here it was the out of control motorcycle ride with no helmet!

The peak of Dois Irmãos was small, and there were well over 40 people waiting to take their photo with the view of Ipanema Beach below … When it was apparent that the sun was stuck behind the thick haze most everyone left. I stayed behind, eager to see if conditions would improve (and because I had woken at 3:30 AM and needed a little more bang for my rise). To my luck, eventually the sun did poke out, and I had never seen the Rio sky in such a sublime, yet polluted orange hue like that.

Aside from my shower electrocution, the only other scary moment in my favela occurred one afternoon late in the trip as I was making my way down the hill to catch the train to Ipanema. As I got halfway down the favela and onto a horizontal, busier street I noticed multiple young guys walking slowly with large guns strapped across their shoulders, their hands casually grasping the triggers. Locals carried on as usual, and so did I. At the beach I texted Jandira and she clarified my suspicion – they were indeed a gang. I asked if I should watch out for them, and she explained that they are “calm” and do not bother anyone. She even said I could say hello to them! I came to a realization that I was more likely to be messed with outside of a club at 3:00 AM then I ever would be in this favela.

My month in Rio came with a lot of ups and downs, and it didn’t quite feel like a story adventure like that of my prior Morocco trip. However it constituted a whole different world to my summer, giving it the type of longevity I aim to create. Here was an opportunity to revisit, and expand upon my slim knowledge of this city and the country of Brazil. I barely scratched the surface of the famous party scene, I missed a couple important neighborhoods, and I learned little of the language – but at the same time I built a comprehensive mental map using the public transportation, taking on the best hikes, and living in a part of town few tourists would ever brave. Rio is a place I can see myself returning to throughout my life, hopefully next time from a beach apartment!