Complexo do Alemao

We received an invitation to go Samba dancing from Mike (who lives at Connection Rio) and Thais, his girlfriend. We needed to go to Centro (this is the extent of my knowledge about where this place actually is, even after going there :-)) a place where Cariocas come out on Monday nights to flaunt their Samba skills. I followed the group along a cobble-stone street, passed caipirinha and beer carts, and drinking crowds, with the beat of music heard from a distance. We arrived on a wet street, so filled with people that we could barely move through the crowd single-file, avoiding puddles as you could gather from the smell that it wasn't water. As you might have guessed, we didn't stay there very long, and ended up having dinner together, ordering the most delicious caipirinhas I've every had, strawberry-kiwi. We began with passion fruit caipirinhas, which were good but the seeds get stuck in the straw and becomes a bit of a nuisance, and once we were introduced to strawberry-kiwi by Mike, there was no going back. By the night's end, all the gringos (except Mike) were happily buzzed and we had received an invitation to lunch for the next day at Thais' father's home.

Her father lives near Complexo do Alemao, a group of favelas in Rio's north end. There are favela tours you can take, one popular one is to Rocinha, and usually the proceeds go to social projects in the favelas, improving living standards for people there. In all honesty though, the idea of going to see how Rio's poor live in a guided tour just does not sit well with me, even though the money goes to social projects. So when Thais invited us to lunch, and to see how the real Rio lives, I was really interested. I would much rather be invited to a friend's home, and see a place from her perspective.

We were escorted to a rooftop terrace with twenty something people who were curious about the visitors who had just arrived, and were happily greeted by her smiling father. What was for lunch was a very typical Brazilian dish of feijoada. A slow-cooked stew of black beans and salted pork and beef, served with sauteed collards, rice and orange slices. It's a hearty meal, that's mild and salty in flavour and so filling that you are not hungry for the rest of the day. We had Thais' famous mango-passion fruit caipirinhas, which were delicious, followed by kiwi and lime ones, especially made for Jan who had challenged the hostess by suggestion that the caipirinhas she had made were not strong enough for him. We lounged, lethargic and content after the meal, taking in the panoramic view of Alemao from their terrace, sharing yummy flan with home-made doce de leite for dessert, just enjoying the good company and the sunny afternoon.

Complexo do Alemao, with a population of 120,000 in an area of 3 square kilometres, received a transit upgrade in 2011. A cable car system servicing the area is the first transportation system built in a favela anywhere in Brazil. Very much like the gondola system we took in Medellin, it consists of six stations that link the hilltops of the 13 favelas that are part of the Complexo. Along with Thais' sisters' family, we headed up to the nearest station. It would be the first time anyone had taken the cable car, and we were all pretty excited, especially Mike who said that Thais had promised him a visit for several months now. Since it was built, it has attracted many Cariocas and tourists to the area, for the unique panoramic view of Rio from the gondolas and hilltop stations -the intense concrete jungle of the sprawl below, and the landmark features of the city seen in the distance. After taking in the view, we walked down from the station, getting lost in the windy stairs and streets, and then finding our way back home at sunset. What a terrific day- a delicious meal, an opportunity to see a face of Rio we hadn't seen before, new friendships formed and an experience of Brazilian hospitality!