Rio de Janeiro
Rio is jammed into what is probably the world's most beautiful setting : the ocean and escarpment. It has a population of 7 million "Cariocas", as Rio's inhabitants are called. This second-largest city in Brazil remains a major cultural capital and "emotional" capital as well. Majestic Rio is bordered on one side by a magnificent bay, and on the other side by a towering mountain range and tropical rain forest. Because of this beautiful setting, Rio has earned a reputation for being one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and thus its title "Wonderful City" (Cidade Maravilhosa).
Economically, Rio de Janeiro is a service industry center, a key financial center, and a producer of foodstuffs, building materials, electrical equipment, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, beverages and textiles. But these are not generally what Rio is known for. The people of Rio enjoy the good things of life like no other people: beaches and beautiful bodies, samba and beer, football and cachaça (the local gin) . Copacabana is probably the world's most famous beach, and runs for 4.5km (3mi) in front of one of the most densely populated residential areas on the planet. From the scalloped beach you can see the granite slabs that surround the entrance to the bay. Ipanema is Rio's richest and most chic beach. Other beaches within and near the city include Pepino, Barra da Tijuca, Flamengo and Arpoador.
The cliche postcard image of Rio is, of course, Corcovado, the mountain with the statue of Jesus spreading out his arms. It can be visited because two cable cars climb 396m (1300ft) above Rio and the Baía de Guanabara and, from the top, Rio looks the most beautiful city in the world. The 120 sq km (47 sq mi) Parque Nacional de Tijuca, 15 minutes from the concrete jungle of Copacobana, is all that's left of the tropical jungle that once surrounded Rio. The forest is an exuberant green, with beautiful trees and waterfalls.
Brazil is Carnaval. Rio's famous glitzy Carnaval is a fantastic spectacle, but there are more authentic celebrations held elsewhere in Brazil, for example in Olinda, close to Recife. In many ways, Carnaval can be the worst time to be in Rio. Everyone gets a bit unglued at this time of year: taxi fares quadruple, accommodation triples and masses of visitors descend on the city to get drunk, get high and exchange exotic diseases.
Rio is definitely a city that lives in and for the sun. But, it cannot be denied : Rio has enormous problems. A third of the people live in the favelas (shanty towns) that are located on many of the hillsides; the poor have no schools, no doctors, no jobs; drug abuse and violence are endemic; police corruption and brutality are commonplace. Rio's reputation as a violent city has caused a sharp reduction in tourism in the last several years, and there is even a special police unit which patrols areas frequented by gringos in an effort to keep them safe - recent reports suggest they have been pretty successful.
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