Rio de Janeiro Brazil (A) 巴西里约热内卢 (上）4/2017 (26)

30/4/-7/5/2017. I left São Paulo behind and boarded a bus for a six-hour ride to Rio. Yes, this was the city of the last Olympics.

Waking up in the morning, stepping out of my residence, which was in an unassuming neighborhood, the sea, the beaches, the odd-looking rock formations, and the glorious sunshine immediately surrounded me. Beauty surrounds Rio; the sea and beaches are all for the taking. Great to be alive—yeehaw!

30/4/-7/5/2017 离开圣保罗六小时后，大巴驶进里约热内卢。就是这地方，上届奥运举办市。住的民宿就在军营附近，我刚到，大家安慰道，“这里安全，军警就在附近，歹徒不会不知好歹的”。难道其他地方没军警就不安全吗？

一早起来，踏出门外就被海滩，海水，奇山，蓝天，阳光包围 , 里约真是被美景包围，诱人山水近在咫尺。精神顿时抖抖，这是使人振奋的一天！

Sheds of Rio's residents 里约周边平民房 — Bus approaching Rio 大巴开始驶入里约

I took the cable car up this tourist attraction, the Sugarloaf, a rock formation next to the beach. The 360-degree panoramic view was “wow!” The unobstructed views of the shoreline, the rocks, the calm sea below, and the human add-ons that each blended into the picture, what a spread for the eyes!

下午就坐缆车上状似面包的山头上，宠名为糖面包 (Sugarloaf)，在山顶三百六十度里约尽收眼下。青山绿水蓝天白云和仿佛奇妙错位的怪石，里约美得出人意料!

I asked a family for directions to the restaurants. The black man who was meeting up with the white girlfriend and family quickly finished up his conversation and drove me to the recommended place. In the car, I commented how impressed I was to see the white and the black mingle as one, quite unlike Malaysians, appearing to be cohesive outwardly but really very polarized. He explained that some of his relatives were still slaves as recently as 40 years ago. There was little animosity now; they are now in it together.

This Brazil was so full of life, so passionate—they dined, drank, danced, they almost could never sit still. The music and dance had a very heavy African tone. I saw people of all colors dance to the same beats. The African and white Brazilians ate at the same table. I came from Malaysia. We are also multi-racial, a blend of Malay, Chinese, Indian, and other smaller minorities. We work happily together in the office, we cheer for the same sports teams, we are nice to each other most times, but curiously, we may be in the same restaurants but not often at the same table. As the Chinese saying goes, within the four seas, all are brothers, no? Or, are they not good enough for you? To see the Brazilians so happy together, was heart-warming.

问路找地方吃饭，一非裔巴西人跟见面的白人女友和她家人抓紧道别后驾车把我送到到推荐的餐厅。在车里我告诉他看到巴西黑白一家，感觉很温馨，不像马来西亚，表面和谐，却勾心斗角。他说四十年前一些亲戚还是奴隶，现在已不分黑白。

巴西人真充满激情，吃饭，喝酒，跳舞，这巴西怎么就没坐得住。音乐也是浓厚的非洲音调，舞姿也是非洲风味，非裔白人舞池一起跟着旋律舞动，餐桌一起共餐。非族白人搅在一起，没看过一个国家黑白族那么融合，好像巴西球队一样。白人黑人，贫的富的，我都受他们的款待。我们常听到的犯罪，我倒多感到他们的文明。

People of all colors dancing to the same African beats 白人黑人随非洲鼓律激情舞动

Everyone, believers or not, knows the most famous landmark in Rio: Christ the Redeemer. Believe it or not, I don’t have the photos—the snatch thief took my phone together with the photos with him. This was an enormous statue, perched high on a mountain, visible from miles away in the city, as though he was watching over this city. On the mountain, I came within feet of Jesus’ feet. Everyone was there to have selfies with Jesus.

I took a quick spin around the Rio city center. Unlike the Spanish, the Portuguese did not leave behind many elaborate colonial buildings. These buildings seemed more modest, their legacy, therefore, less ostentatious.

里约最出名地标是耶稣救世主雕像，我也跟不少游客到山上自拍，遗憾没照片跟大家分享，因为手机连照片一起被抢了。这雕像的确高大，虽高在远山，耶稣市内仍依稀可见，如在天上眷顾下面市民。

城市中心转了一圈，没看到叹为观止的地标，葡萄牙人留下的遗产看来没西班牙那么夸张。

Historical Roman Catholic church, Candelaria Church, Rio 老罗马天主教教堂

Rio Square 里约广场 — Historical Roman Catholic church, Candelaria Church, Rio 老罗马天主教教堂

Rio was not just beaches but also strange-looking rocks. They seemed to compete with the beaches for attention, looking almost comical and disproportionate, but together they looked intoxicatingly gorgeous. The Brazilians were fun-loving—how not to be? Look at the place they grew up in.

里约真是山水世界。今天路过，眼前还是那么使人陶醉的沙滩美景。沙滩还罢了，那奇石，好像没按画家套路出现在画内，形状怪异，在后面侧面搞笑，好像在跟性感的沙滩强镜头。巴西人豪爽好玩，也不奇怪，你看他们住的这环境！