The citizens of the twelve-million-strong city of Rio de Janeiro call it the Cidade Marvilhosa (Marvelous City) - and there can't be much argument about that. Rio sits on the southern shore of a landlocked harbor within the magnificent natural setting of Guanabara Bay. Extending for twenty kilometers along an alluvial strip, between an azure sea and jungle-clad mountains, the city's streets and buildings have been molded around the foothills of the mountain range which provides its backdrop, while out in the bay there are innumerable rocky islands fringed with white sand. The panoramic view over Rio is breathtaking, and even the concrete skyscrapers which dominate the city's skyline add to the attraction.

Although riven by inequality, Rio de Janeiro has great style. Its international renown is bolstered by a series of symbols that rank as some of the greatest landmarks in the world, the Corcovado ("hunchback") mountain supporting the great statue of Christ the Redeemer; the rounded incline of the Sugar Loaf mountain, standing at the entrance to the bay; and the famous sweep of Copacabana beach , probably the most notable length of sand on the planet. It's a setting enhanced by the annual, frenetic sensuality of Carnaval , an explosive celebration which - for many people - sums up Rio and her citizens, the cariocas.

The major downside in a city given over to conspicuous consumption is the rapacious development which is engulfing Rio de Janeiro. As the rural poor, escaping drought and poverty in other regions of Brazil, flock to swell Rio's population, the city is being squeezed like a toothpaste tube between mountains and sea, pushing its human contents out along the coast in either direction.

The city's rich architectural heritage is being whittled away and, if the present form of economic development is sustained, the natural environment will eventually be destroyed, too. It's a process unwittingly hastened by Rio's citizens who look forward optimistically to the future, most with the hope of relief from poverty, some with an eye to the main chance and greater wealth.

The state of Rio de Janeiro, surrounding the city, is a fairly recent phenomenon, established in 1975 as a result of the amalgamation of Guanabara State and Rio city. Fairly small by Brazilian standards, the state is both beautiful and accessible, with easy trips either east along the Costa do Sol or west along the Costa Verde , taking in un spoilt beaches, washed by a relatively unpolluted ocean. Inland routes make a welcome change from the sands, especially the trip to Petrópolis , the nineteenth-century mountain retreat of Rio's rich.

The best time to visit both city and state, as least as far as the climate goes, is between May and August, when the region is cooled by trade winds and the temperature remains at around 22-32°C. Between December and March, the rainy season, it's more humid, the temperature more like 40°C; but even then it's never as oppressive as it is in the North of Brazil.

Rio de Janeiro
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Rio pictures 1
Rio pictures 2
and see also

Pictures of Rio by
Thereza Eugenia

Pictures of Brazil by
Cecilia dos Guimaraes
Bastos

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