Precerpt from In with the East Wind: A Mary Poppins Kind of Life - Brazil: Rio de Janeiro


 

Rio de Janeiro was a brief stop in my life, but it left impressions that have stayed with me far longer than the details. What I remember most is the sweep of the city—mountains rising abruptly from the sea, neighborhoods spilling down their slopes, and that great stone figure of Cristo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer), often called Cristo do Corcovado (Christ on Corcovado) by the locals, referring to the mountain on which it stands, watching over everything. From my hotel window, He stood with arms outstretched, serene above the bustle and contradictions below. At night, Cristo do Corcovado glowed above the city, washed in shifting purples and greens that made the stone seem almost alive.

I spent time on two beaches during that visit. The first was Copacabana, Rio’s famous crescent of sand. Its wide black‑and‑white wave‑patterned promenade ran the length of the shore, a bold mosaic between city and sea. Copacabana was beautiful, but I never quite relaxed there. Even in daylight there was an edge to the atmosphere, a reminder that Rio’s glamour has always lived alongside real concerns. Crime was an issue at the time, and I felt it—an undercurrent of alertness that kept me aware of my surroundings.

A short walk and a turn along the shoreline brought me to Ipanema, which carried a different energy entirely. The beach felt lighter, more open, with a kind of effortless elegance. As I walked the promenade, The Girl from Ipanema played on a loop in my mind, as if the place itself insisted on its own soundtrack. Sunbathers, vendors, families, and the steady rhythm of the Atlantic all blended into a scene that felt quintessentially Rio.

My time in Rio was short, just a glimpse of a city that deserves far more pages than I can give it here. But even that glimpse carried its own blend of beauty and unease, music and memory, and the unmistakable presence of a city that lives vividly in the world’s imagination.


From the forthcoming book:

In with the East Wind...A Mary Poppins Kind of Life

Volume 1: ABC Lands

by Dr. Betty Lou Leaver


For more posts about and from this book, click HERE.

For more posts by and about Betty Lou Leaver, click HERE.


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