Around the World in 80 Days: Ready, Steady, Rio!

One day when planning this trip, I found myself daydreaming about all the places I wanted to go to and what might be feasible. Glazing into the distance, my look fell onto an old poster from university that had made it back onto my wall in South Africa. It was an aerial shot of a city nestled in a bay surrounded by mountains and small islands and overlooked by a statue with arms wide open - Rio de Janeiro. 

Cristo Redentor

An idea was born. It should turn out to be a great one.

After a month in South America, I thought I had gotten a feeling for what it was like and that I was ready for Rio. But as it turned out, I was wrong and Rio blew me away within minutes. 

View from the Corcovado Mountain

View from the Sugarloaf Mountain

Just like in my poster, Rio was nestled between big mountains covered in tropical rainforest, bordered by beautiful white sandy beaches looking out onto lush little islands; with a lagoon in the city center, streets flanked by palm trees and people walking around sipping "enhanced" water out of Coconuts.

Rio's awesomeness caught me completely off guard and I was seen with my jaw dropped for the first hours. After a Caipirinha and a Caipirosca on the Copacabana (of which I would recommend the latter one), I was ready to abandon Europe and Africa, learn Portuguese and move to Brazil.

But between beaches and mountains, palm trees and coconuts, prawns and cocktails, samba and salsa, the one thing I really liked about Rio was how active the city and it's people were.

Strolling along Ipanema Beach on Sunday morning, I joined thousands of people (literally) walking, running, skating and cycling along the promenade. Every couple of hundred meters, there was a fitness station and people were doing press- and pull-ups, worked on their bum or stretched their hamstrings. There were endless football and volleyball fields on the beach and every single one of them was busy with people playing "normal" beach volleyball or a game where one is only allowed to use feet and head. Right next to it, yet others played Frisbee, beach ball or practiced martial arts. On the sea, people were surfing, sailing, paragliding and kayaking. Moving away from the beach, the town was filled with more exercise stations, tennis and squash courts; football and athletic fields; hose riding schools - you name it, it was there!

Rio was on the move and out and about enjoying one of the most places I have ever seen.

I couldn't help but think that with this mindset and setting, the city fully deserves to host the next World Cup and the Olympics. And I will be more than happy next time I see a Brazilian athlete or team win in any sports tournament for I know it is the triumph of a beautiful lifestyle..