Clang Clang Clang! Went The Trolley

When I arrived in Rio de Janeiro, I was disappointed. Where was the amazing and beautiful city I had imagined? Not here. Instead, there was a conglomeration of ugly buildings that I pictured still housed furniture from the seventies, cluttered sidewalks and graffiti tagging every wall. Occasionally, there would be a surprise around the corner; an interesting monument, a park or a colonial style building wedged between plain concrete ones. The main square in Centro expectedly had some attractive buildings surrounding it, but there was not much more beyond that.

This was what I saw initially. But on closer observation, it was a lively city bustling with people doing their daily things. With every other step I encountered a suco (juice) bar or restaurant, vendors selling delicious coconut water or snacks. For every wall that was a canvas for a vandal there was a bold graffiti art that was welcome on the otherwise grey street. The boulevards were shady and everything was convenient. Wherever you turned, there was a bank, a bus stop or a subway station. But what sold me on Rio's beauty was seeing it from above.

Apparently, there was a streetcar station just behind the Rubik's Cube building. I spent a good hour circling it, making the Military Police on guard nervous. But just before I was to give up, I found it, tucked behind an MP post. For just sixty centavos (less than forty Aussie cents) the rickety streetcar took us up to the hillside barrio of Santa Theresa, home of artisans and bohemians.

Screeching up the cobbled streets, the mostly tourist passengers enjoyed the open sided ride, the cool breeze welcome during the hottest part of the day. A local singer was even using the streetcar to film a music video, and we watched, amused, as he lipsed to a backing track that was drowned out by the car's rattling. It was a quiet neighborhood with artisan shops and cafes here and there, but the thing that attracted me to Santa Theresa was the view. Not that it was a perfect view. Far from it. There was no mirador platform from which to see Rio, only snatches of the city between trees and beyond the tangle of telephone wires. But it gave me a taste of just how beautiful Rio was from above.

I couldn't wait to get to the top of Pao de Açucar and Corcovado. Zing! Went the strings of my heart.