Rio Street Scenes

After our jaunt through the rain forest, we took the scenic route home. It was late afternoon on a weekday, so both of Rio’s famed beaches (Ipanema and Copacabana) were fairly empty.

Our guide explained that downtown Rio is crime ridden because no one lives there. At night, it’s especially dangerous to wander around.

I included a photo of motorbikes because of the antenna. Do you know what that’s for? It’s not for any sort of reception. The reason people have antennae’s on their scooters and motorbikes is to protect themselves from errant kite strings.

In Rio, competitive kite flying is a thing, and people sometimes add broken glass to their kite strings. Bikers can be severely injured or even killed if they stumble into these kite strings. Isn’t that crazy?

The “use mascara” sign made us laugh!

And I never did find out why the logo on the police station features a snake smoking a pipe, but that’s yet another item for this trip’s “to be researched.”

Even though it looks nicer when covered in ivy, the amount of barbed wire in Rio reminds me a bit of South Africa.Read more