Wow, the favelas are amazing. They are shanty towns, slums, which began when people needed to go to work in the city, but could not afford accommodation. There are hundreds of favelas in Rio, on the hills surrounding the city. We went to Santa Marta today. It has been made somewhat famous by Michael Jackson's visit to make his video Don't Care About Us, or something like that. Anyway, I was a bit wary and fearful of guns, drugs, crime, and robbery...but it was fine. You are not supposed to go in there without a guide, so we did that. Now i have to say, walking around the favela, it is filthy, dog shit everywhere, garbage, rotting wood, dodgy concrete steps, scary scaffolding. However peeking into some people's 'homes', they had sparkling white tile floors, and tidy, neat, just lovely homes. There were barber shops, hair salons, sandwich bars, grocery shops, drinks shops, a children's soccer school, churches, martial arts clubs....just like a real city. The people we ran into were lovely. I said hello, a lot, and smiled, and got friendly responses. Just goes to show you, just because people are poor and have nothing, they are still PEOPLE. Loved it. Of course, Rio has been on a campaign to clean up the city and its favelas, ready for the onslaught of the upcoming World Cup and Olympics. And good on them. There is a fairly noticeable police presence, and although I would not wander about there at night, it was a great experience.
