Last night Rio was hit by a thunderstorm of apocalyptic proportions. But apart from me no one seemed in the slightest bit perturbed by the constant lightening, thunder and wind blasting through Copacabana for 9 hours! Perhaps the echoes through the mountains and close high-rise buildings made it seem more exciting than it actually was but its the first time i've been rained on while lying in my bed, through an open window 3m away!
Rio is such a city of contrasts. During the short time I was sat on the local bus I saw luxury power boats moored in the coastal inlets against a backdrop of favelas and then monumental government buildings alongside rickety shacks occupied by tyre repair workshops etc.
There is apparently a programme in hand to either hide or make the favelas more picturesque. I hope this is in conjunction with the schemes to improve sanitation and services but the Brasilien guy I was talking to just shrugged when I asked him that question. Near to the international airport a huge wall is being constructed to hide a favela from the sensitive emotions of visiting foreigners. I personally found the 'architecture' of the favelas fascinating and much more interesting than a concrete monolith. Where it just isn't feasible to hide them, the government have embarked on a scheme to brighten up the scenery and have issued paint to the inhabitants so that they can paint the exterior of their dwellings. It was quite surreal to see mint-green, orange, yellow and blue cascades of rubble-housing clinging to the mountain sides.
Anyway, todays mission was to get myself to where I need to be, so after a 9hours, 500km journey I am now in Poços de Caldas. It seems a friendly, touristic kind of place but exploring will have to wait until tomorrow - I need to sleep after the stress & exertion of being sat on my ass for the last 2 days!!