A helicopter ride is the perfect overview-intro – to the contrasting wonders of Rio de Janeiro! | Nota Bene: Eugene Kaspersky’s Official Blog

Hey everyone!

As I write this I’m recovering after a 32-hour multi-stopover flight back from Latin America; however, despite the exhaustion, I’m already back into reminiscing about Rio de Janeiro while the memories are still fresh…

The first time I visited this splendid city (and Brazil, for that matter) was way back in 2006. We were having our second Latin American partner conference in a place called Salvador (here), and we figured it’d be a shame not to spend a few days on some banal tourism. I mean, why fly halfway around the world just to work and then immediately head back home? No – you need to stay a while longer and take a good look around.

But since I wasn’t blogging in 2006, there aren’t any photos on the internet from back then. Still, I do have a few pics in my archives – for example the following. Yes, it was windy! ->

Oh, how long ago that was! Judging by the photos, about 15-20 partners attended the modest event – unlike today’s huge, polished ones ->

The presentation topics were a lot less exciting back then:

And our company was still in its “teenage years”:

As for the tourism, we popped down to Iguazu (both the waterfalls and hydroelectric plant) and, of course, to Rio!…

And that of course meant Copacabana beach ->

We had another partner conference in 2010 – that time in Rio itself. But that’s enough of nostalgia. Back to the present and current events…

My previous visits to Rio de Janeiro always made a grand impression on me – perhaps mostly because the city is so lucky to be nestled in such stunning natural surroundings. Besides, humans have managed to enhance and improve things somewhat – though it would be even better if the city were made safer (cleaning up the favelas, providing guaranteed jobs for folks, eradicating teenage crime); then it would be an urban masterpiece.

Despite its flaws, there are still some must-see spots in this city: (i) Copacabana Beach, (ii) Sugarloaf Mountain, and (iii) the Christ the Redeemer statue, for example. I’ve been to all three, so this time we decided to start by flying over them all in a helicopter. Here’s how it went…

Spoiler: alas, Jesus was mostly shrouded by cloud:

We took off from near where we were staying in Barra da Tijuca (around 20km from Rio’s center as the crow flies) ->

…And zipped along the shore:

There’s our hotel ->

A multi-level roadway system! But during rush hours there are still bad traffic jams here ->

And there’s Rio proper:

And the favelas on the hillside:

They say there are now paid tours around the favelas, and the tourists come to no harm. But there’s one strict rule: no photos of adult locals (everything else – including kids – is fine). Er, tempting, but… I’ll pass )

The famous beaches. This one’s Ipanema ->

Rio – one of those cities known for its contrasts ->

And there’s Copacabana. “The hottest place north of Havana!” [sic.] ->

Turns out the beach is… artificial! Who knew?! I couldn’t believe it – so I looked up old photos, and sure enough… ->

Source

We fly on past “the Copa, Copacabana” [sic.] Alas – no cha-cha along it this time…

Sugarloaf Mountain got its name from how sugar used to be exported from here in cones of roughly the same shape:

To be more precise – sugar syrup was poured into cone containers where it would solidify and then get shipped overseas. Btw: the adjacent mountain is called “Urca” because it resembled the Portuguese ships of the same name that carried the sugar from here.

The narrow entrance to one of the largest oceanic bays in the world:

Interestingly, due to the bay’s narrow entrance, one January the Portuguese explorers mistook it for a river, and named it the January River – Rio de Janeiro! So, turns out this grand old city’s name is the grand result… of a mistake!

Oil rig – right in the bay:

A look back at Sugarloaf Mountain:

Plus a look at charming rocky outcrops in the bay:

On the other side of the bay – the city of Niterói, part of the Greater Rio area:

The… UFO there below is the Niterói Contemporary Art Museum ->

Heading back – past the airport for domestic flights:

Views of the non-resort sections of the city:

Another museum – the Museum of Tomorrow (Museu do Amanhã). I ought to visit next time. No info on what’s inside, but the architecture of the place lives up to its name ->