Monday 19 December The Girl from Ipanema
Enjoyed the free brekky of crusty rolls, ham and cheese, jam, fruit, icchy juice and some good coffee. The reception girl had given us the location and bus details for the tourist police office in Leblon and we had no trouble getting there. The nice policeman told us that we needed the Federal police who had an office just down the road. We strolled down there and found ourselves in a room with 4 police laboriously fingerprinting locals, with dozens more lined up in a waiting room. J barged in (and nicely interrupted) and asked about our visas. Apparently we need to go to the headquarters where they have special visa police for tourists.
We seized the opportunity to detour slightly to the adjacent beach – Ipanema!! We walked some distance just behind the white white sandy part, which was about 100m wide. Behind that there was a lot of exercise equipment and jogging/bike lanes before the beachfront road. Just like the dancer(Paulo *wink*) told us on the P&O boat.
Leblon Beach
Ipanema Beach - quite early and almost deserted
Our next priority was getting bus tickets to and from Paraty for either side of New Year. This entailed two long and thirsty bus rides into town and then out the other side to where the rural buses are based. This wasn’t a bad trip in a 3rd world window-cooled bus and we got to see the other side of Rio, with some of the scruffy marginalised bits. The bus stopped at a terminus and we emerged into a desolate industrial area with no obvious sign of a major bus centre and booking offices. We asked several people and a picture gradually emerged of people who were quite happy to give advice without understanding the question or interpreting the need. We got sent in all directions – eventually past a very large Volkswagen factory (I know they bought the equipment when the Germans stopped making Kombis and it looks as though they are still in production) and on past an empty warehouse, beyond what loomed a very decrepit neighbourhood. We have subsequently driven through it and we did very well to turn back at this stage. Simultaneously, a girl from the VW factory pointed back down the street to where we had started, and J saw a Porto Verde bus emerge from behind a wall. It had been right there all the time – how in God’s name did the people we asked not point to it?? It looked totally nondescript but inside it was double storey with escalators and dozens of bus offices as well as the departure bays downstairs.
We bought tickets and headed back to the City to visit the Australian Consul, where we hoped to get expert visa advice. Instead, we got locked into a 2 lane bus crawl. For almost an hour we crawled along, 10 metres, stop & wait . . . The consulate was well out on the fringe of the city, which made for a long walk and it was almost 5 before we got there. We were directed to the Federal Police headquarters at the front of the port where we had arrived the previous day, but they would have closed by then. Great.
Snapped these pics as we scurried along Rio Branco ???
Quite impressive buildings facing a square or' Praca'
Seems a past leader was so fond of Paris and the broad boulevardes that he tore down a lot of the old city and constructed his own and then built buildings very similar to those in Paris. This theatre being an exact replica.
Quick snap of an obelisk with Sugar Loaf mountain in background
All in all not a bad day – we had the bus tickets and a clear idea of how to get the visa extension. Back at the hostel we knocked up some noodles Bolognaise (yes) with tomato and capsicum. A bit of a chat and we were ready for a good sleep.
Random pics
Seems there had been some changes to bus stops & these girls & guys were there to make sure people got bus in correct place.
Chris made me take this one. Not an unusual sight here.
The second accident we witnessed in our 2 days here. This one noisy but less dramatic.
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