A day on Paquetá Island in Rio

Last Friday we spent the day touring Paquetá Island in Guanabara Bay.  That is, we took a ferry from Praça IV in Rio to the island, about 15 kilometers – it took about 80 minutes.  We had a great time, in spite of the grey and chilly weather. I highly recommend a visit to this peaceful local getaway. No motorized vehicles are allowed on the island.  It’s all about horses and bikes.

Paquetá is actually a neighborhood of Rio, but its history is quite unique.

Carriages wait for you at the ferry terminal.

Paqueta is as old as Rio itself.  The first record historians have of the island is in 1555.  It has been an independent entity, a part of neighboring mainland communities, fought over, re-incorporated, etc. – the tiny island has a rather tumultuous history, which you can read about in rich detail on their website here.

I loved how fully grown trees were in the middle of the streets.

This small, figure 8-shaped island has a total area of just 1.2 square kilometers, just 8 kilometers in circumference.  There are about 4,500 permanent residents, mostly from families with long ties to the island. Tourism is the main source of income, but in fact most residents work for the City of Rio in municipal positions such as water treatment, governance, teaching, grounds keeping, etc.

Luiz and I visited the island as part of a group from his tourism course. We took a horse drawn carriage around the edge of the island, stopping at featured points such as a lovely park with a path to an elevated lookout. The carriage driver was very informative and took pains to share his knowledge of local history, along with some critical political remarks.

The island has some really scenic beaches (although the water is not always safe to swim in) and some beautiful parks.  The views of São Gonçalo, Niterói, and Rio are great. The place is SUPER peaceful – perfect for a romantic picnic. It is also quite safe – so families can enjoy the shoreline without worry.

I suggest if you have a sunny day in Rio and you are looking for somewhere to go – definitely consider Paquetá.  Enjoy the ferry ride, rent a bike or ride a carriage, tour the island, settle on a beach or in a scenic park, later have lunch in a bay-side restaurant.

It’s not Martha’s Vineyard. It’s not Mackinac Island. It’s not Key West. But it has its charm and you will definitely feel very distant from the cacophony that can sometimes characterize Rio.

Warm comfort chicken drumsticks recipe

It has been unseasonably cold here. Really chilly-zinho.  The chatter among many local bloggers is about how to stay warm.  Personally, I am still walking around in my shorts, T-shirt and havaianas, even while the locals are sporting their boots, jeans, sweaters and scarves - although we have put a blanket on the bed.

An old trick from my San Francisco days (where vintage houses often have neither heaters nor air conditioners) is to find a dinner that will heat up the house over the course of preparing it.

Passing the butcher shop the other day I noticed that mini-"Drumets" were on sale.  So I came home and searched TasteSpotting for inspiration.

Yikes - the recipe I discovered and subsequently made was SO GOOD that I'm making it again today! [And heating my apartment.]

This recipe takes about 8 minutes to prepare - the rest is just baking it off in a very hot oven until it reaches your personal taste level for char and crunch.

I've posted the recipe and step by step instructions over on the Cooking in Brazil blog.  Check it out.

photo credt: http://www.thecomfortofcooking.com/2011/01/blog-post.html

How did I get here?

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack.
And you may find yourself in another part of the world.
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile.
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife.
And you may ask yourself - Well...How did I get here?

Teaching English and providing written translation in Brazil.  WTF?  My past includes more than 20 years of professional management experience, managing million dollar budgets, schmoozing with the mayor. And now… correcting pronunciation and explaining common grammar errors.  

And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!

I just did a little inventory.  I have 34 lists of conversation questions, 25 lists of idioms, 76 lesson plans based on current events, 35 pages of song lyrics, and 40 vocabulary lists (plus much more). I’ve become an English teacher.

And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right?...Am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
MY GOD!...WHAT HAVE I DONE?

Somehow I have carved out a niche. I have attracted clients. I have created a rhythm that pays the bills, but does not consume me in the process.  Luiz and I have made the transition.

Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...Same as it ever was...

Brazil: Can’t live with it, can’t live without it

I truly love living in Brazil.  The focus on family, friends and enjoyment is SO MUCH MORE pronounced than what I experienced in the USA.  The expression: “You work to live, not live to work” nails it. [OK, I know, I’m out of the loop.  Young Brazilians are working their butts off, chasing money. But I’m among the old school folks who focus on qualidade de vida.]

It makes me smile on the inside and out when complete strangers walking down the street catch my eye and say good morning. I have more than one story to tell from San Francisco when I was scolded by a parent for saying hello to a small child on the street.  Here – never.

Fresh, cold, coconut water (nectar of the gods), on the beach, with a view of Rio de Janeiro – with no reason to rush home for anything, ahhh. Sit and feel the bliss. Whatever else you have to do – it can wait. Trust me; it can wait. (Note: if you rush home to make that appointment, you will be the first person there and will wait another twenty minutes for the others to show up.)

Children rule. Everyone reveres children. Children are everywhere, smiling. Everyone looks after everyone’s children. Children get a pass. I don’t usually like children (I didn’t, much, before I moved here…now I have had a change of heart), but here – the relationship is somehow more authentic, more direct, more personal.  I can see the little person.

Some of the cultural differences between the USA and Brazil are so amazing. So sweet.  So inspiring. But of course there are other differences that rub me the wrong way (but I keep my glass half full).

Like when I go to the grocery store and never get eye contact or friendly chatter from the checkout lady. She’s allowed – she gets paid sh*t.

While I love my mother-in-law, daily visits are just not in the cards. Over about 24 years living in San Francisco I saw my own mother face-to-face maybe 8 times.  Visiting my MIL DAILY is just not fathomable to me.  But she cannot understand why I would not want to visit and eat her wonderful food. Different worlds. We have found our balance point.

It never fails. I’ve seen it a thousand times. Perfectly nice people become myopic and maniacal when they get behind the wheel of a car. Pedestrians are dismissed. Traffic laws are optional. Faster is better. [Is this true in Bahia as well?]

There is no question that I love living here.  But differences bring on irritations.  Call me normal.  I feel them.

Marginal critiques aside -- do come visit us and I will make you feel at home with love and a perfect caipirinha.

Who owns you?

At first I just posted this to my Facebook. But the more I listened to it the more I wanted everyone to hear it.

I think it is good if we are critically thinking participants in our democracy. (That's not controvercial, right?)

School us Sr. George Carlin.

Zezinho featured in Forbes

Hey Zezinho - who's your promotions manager?  Good work landing the article in Forbes online. Nice!

That ought to drive some clients your way. Congratulations.

Favela Tourism Provides Entrepreneurial Opportunities in Rio
Posted by Felicity Clarke

Rio de Janeiro has long been the “face” of Brazil and is the most visited city in South America. Tourism represents a significant area of the city’s economy, and one which is only set to grow with the forthcoming World Cup 2014 and 2016 Olympics. In recent years, there has been a huge increase in visitors to the city, adding a favela tour to the traditional must-sees such as Christ the Redeemer and Sugarloaf Mountain.

While the vast majority of the tours are operated by companies outside the communities, the growth in favela tourism is an area of entrepreneurial opportunity for favela residents.

One of the most visited favelas in the city is Rocinha. Located close to tourist hot spots Ipanema and Leblon, it is the largest favela in the city with an estimated 250,000 residents living in the vertiginous, tight wall of brick and concrete housing that covers the entire hillside.

Zezinho da Silva, 48, is a Rocinha resident whose enthusiasm and pride in the “city within a city” is evident on sight, from his 100% Favela T-shirt to his extensive favela tattoos.

Born in Rocinha to a father from the northeast of Brazil and American mother, Zezinho grew up in the favela before living in the U.S. on and off until 2008, when he decided to return to Rocinha for good. He says: “I wanted to live somewhere with a sense of community, which is something I didn’t feel in the U.S.”

Read the entire article here.

Being a tour guide in Rio state

Luiz is everywhere these days. Regular readers know he is taking a two-year course at the state university to be licensed as an official tour guide.  It hasn’t been easy.  He wakes Monday through Thursday at 5:20 a.m. to catch a bus at 5:50 a.m. to get to school in Rio on time. Classes go until 12:30 p.m.

In addition to his new friends, the fun bits about the course are the many “technical” tours he takes of places of interest: museums, the botanical gardens, historical districts, forts, etc.

On Friday I went with Luiz and his classmates to the largest water treatment plant in the world, located just outside of Rio.  This filtration plant, built in 1955, treats 43 cubic meters of water every second, 24/7/365.  It produces all of the clean drinking water for the city of Rio de Janeiro, plus some neighboring cities. It was quite impressive.

Yesterday Luiz went to the Copacabana Fort for a behind the scenes tour.

Nowadays, as we ride the bus through Rio, Luiz points out various places and describes some little known fact about them.  He’s loving this new adventure.

I’m very proud of him (and I love the free tickets to cool stuff!)