from sorocaba, we drove to rio de janeiro. along the way, we drove in the outskirts of sao paulo — what a big city! we were stuck in some traffic there….so it took us over an hour to get through the area. the road to rio changes pretty dramatically after you cross the hills (it becomes much more tropical).
the first thing that greets one when driving into rio are the favelas (slums). it’s one of those things that is appalling, depressing and beautiful at the same time. we were fortunate to be there around 7ish and saw a majestic sunset over the miles of shacks. at one point we were stopped by some cops….where i had the most ‘traumatic’ experience with latin american cops thus far….even worse than the one with the argentinian who requested a $100 bribe.
as we were driving by the checkpoint….three cops immediately raised their arms to wave us to the side — it was as if they all had the same immediate thought: $$. the first guy came up to the car and shook my hand (as latin american cops tend to do), asked me if i had any marijuana (i said no…which is true), and then asked me to step out of the car. i did, and he proceeded to search by body for any drugs/guns. at one point he touched my penis…which was a bit weird, and i made a remark…and he basically replied that it was his job. then, he went to search adrian, and another cop came up to me. for about 2 minutes he proceeded to feel my crotch….kinda reminiscent of that scene from ‘crash’. it was really awkward, disturbing and (probably) illegal. after the ‘hand job’, he proceeded to sift through a ton of my belongings with out any regard for my privacy or the things he touched. he threw the receipts out of my pocket, threw the maps around, almost broke the visor where the time-lapse camera is, etc. one interesting thing, however, is that when he came to my stack of 600 reais (~$300…i had just gone to the atm), he did not go through the money. it was a surprising action, since that is all that he really wanted. meanwhile, the first cop was searching through adrian’s wallet, telling him about how he lives in a favela, and saying that adrian should bang some girls in rio (at one point, even acting out a sexual scene with the sentra….poor ushi). after they couldn’t find any drugs, they still wanted some money, so they said that the pepper spray was illegal. i told the guy he could keep it….at which point he tried to spray it a foot away from himself on the ground (…it was a bit windy too….what an idiot). after that, he said that my cracked windshields would result in a fine and towing of the car. i tried to explain that the cracks had been patched (in ushuaia)…but he didn’t understand (or care?). finally, i just went back to my ‘que?’ trick….and played dumb. it worked and we were back on the road to leblon. (follow-up note: sometimes when it’s sunny or windy, my eyes get red….like earlier today….which is apparently why the cops were convinced i had marijuana).
after that traumatic experience, it was nice to see the beautiful city of rio. it’s a cool mix of tropical green vegetation, beaches and buildings. after a nice dinner at their beautiful apartment (a block from the beach, with views of the water), simon drove us around town. it was cool seeing the two apartment buildings that my grandfather built several decades ago. it will be interesting to see what the beautiful/empty beaches will look like in the daylight.
on a side note: brasilians have really beautiful smiles
