Today I Saw a Monkey in a Gum Tree!

Thursday, 18 April, 2013

Some of us went on the favela tour today. The name given to these slum areas comes from the name of a plant related to the fava bean and dates from a horrible massacre that occurred in the north of Brazil in the late 1800 w on a hill cov ered with this plant.  Those soldiers who were responsible were rewarded with hillside land in the city of Rio where they built homes.  This was the first favela and is now the area of Rio called Providencia - still a favela.  Favelas today are built by poor people on public land and they are in effect squatters but after  5 years of residence house ownership can be claimed. Until  a few years ago the favelas were largely dominated by drug lords and were places of violence and extreme poverty. Change came about when the government sent in police and the military to get rid of the drug cartels.  Now young police officers just out of training spend two years working in the favela, not only keeping law and order but helping the community in many ways. The favela communities now have their own governing bodies and raise funds to bring improvements.  They have running water, electricity, tv, sewerage (of a sort) and schools and sporting facilities.  The residents are still working in very poorly paid jobs but things have apparently improved substantially.  Local people have told me that Rio has become a much safer city in recent years as a result of the clean up in the favelas and the improvements there.

During the morning we visited three favelas which are quite close to the wealthy neighbourhoods of Ipanema and Leblon but of course on the hillsides above these areas and with quite the best views going! Favela Tours is owned by the young and dashingly handsome Marcello and a high proportion of the company profits are given to projects in the favelas, particularly for education. Our guide, Alfredo was enormously knowledgeable about the favelas and obviously quite passionate in his commitment to the communities he took us to.  A lot of people there greeted him very warmly.
As slums go in all honesty these communities didn't seem too bad.  People were going about their daily lives and the small shops seemed to be busy and thriving.  The roads are narrow and very steep and a small army of motorcycle taxis ferry people up and down the hills. There is plenty of traffic and obviously many people in the favelas have cars. Lack of good education is an ongoing problem for the people in these communities, as that is the key to getting out of the favela.

Favela taxi rank

Our first stop was in the favela known as Rocinha, where we were able to admire the view and shop for locally made items in the street stalls. Colourful, naïve style art work, cloth bags and some jewellry seemed to be most common items for sale.  We then went over the hill and walked through a car workshop to access a balcony with stupendous views across the favela and down to the coast below.  We were all amazed by the spaghetti like tangle of cables above the streets which bring electricity to the favela.  Very dodgy looking!

Spaghetti Junction.    Who'd be a favela sparky?

Rocinha Favela

Alfredo pointed out all the favela landmarks as well as the Oscar Neimeyer (of Brasilia fame) designed hotel - a tall round building -  on the beach which know lies abandoned after the owners went broke.

View over Rocinha to San Conrado Beach

We drove some of the way down the hill and then strolled through the main commercial street and marketplace.

Rocinha marketplace

Our final favela stop was above the exclusive beachside suburb of San Conrado where the homes of the poor are just across the street from estates of the very wealthy.  It seems that they coexist quite comfortably and that many favela residents work for their rich neighbours.

Favela at San Conrado

At this favela we visited a school begun a number of years ago by an Italian who was the Brazilian CEO of Fiat.  Today the school which is funded on donations from the Italian quarter and community fund raising efforts (and Marcello's tours) is thriving and has so far produced 45 university graduates.  We had a look through the school and saw some of the students at work on computers donated by Rotary International. They all looked healthy and happy despite their somewhat primitive surroundings - the school is far from flash.

Favela school

Our final activity for this morning's tour was a wander, or should I say clamber, through the narrow alleys of the favela.  With all the steps to access their homes favela residents must surely bit very fit!  The fellow in the photo was lugging his gas bottle up the steps.

 

Favela Transport



After lunch by the pool back at the hotel I joined a second optional tour to Petroplis, the Imperial City which is 60 kilometres away and at the top of a mountain.  Our guide for the trip was Walmir, a very funny, very camp expert on Brazilian history.  

Walmir buys us golden bananas on the way up the mountain

We had to travel to the north of the city, past the airport and then west towards the mountains.  

From the bus - outskirts of Rio and mountains to the west.

At some point we turned off and drove up, up, up on a very corrugated road - not the most comfortable trip.   It took two hours to get to Petropolis - far reaching views back to the coast and towards even higher forest covered mountains en route.  It was cloudy in the hills today and the views were a bit restricted.  Most of the drive up was through Altlantic rainforest which is very lush.  It seems quite remote and isolated, therefore it is a surprise to find a city of 300,000 people at the top of the mountain.

High in the mountains west of Rio - en route to Petropolis

  Petropolis has a run down look about it on the outskirts but there are some magnificent colonial buildings in the centre and it is obvious that all kinds of flowers thrive here. There are also two universities so it is quite a bustling town.

Hillside suburb, Petropolis

 We had a brief stop at a chocolate shop - the chocs were superb - and then we all piled out of the bus again at the former Imperial Summer Palace which is now a museum.

Imperial Summer Palace, Petropolis

  Prior to the republicans taking control of Brazil, the Emperor used to spend the summer in Petropolis - cooler climate and all that.  The palace is lovely and beautifully maintained.  Walmir gave us a potted history of colonial Brazil which was highly entertaining.  There is an extensive garden adjoining the palace which contains plants from all around the world and they obviously flourish in the moist mountain climate.  So, this is where I saw a monkey in a gum tree. There are some huge old eucalypts in the garden. Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough to get a photo, but I must say that our other Aussie, Graham, and I were quite amused by the sight! 

Imperial Palace Gardens, Petropolis

  This afternoon I learnt a lot about Brazilian history, ate a couple of golden bananas, which are tiny but delicious and had lots of laughs with Walmir.  The trip home was lengthy because of peak hour traffic once we got down the mountain and rejoined the main freeway into Rio.  Arrived back at the hotel in the dark and crashed!  Early start tomorrow.

                                           

Walmir buying golden bananas from a roadside stand on the way to Petropolis