Rocinha

In July of 2006 we were those tourists. We had seen favelas on tv and knew that they were dangerous but still we were intrigued. While visiting Rio de Janeiro we happened upon a favela tour of Rocinha. So for the day, we treated other’s lifestyle as a tourist attraction. I am glad we went; it was eye opening. Our tour guide was very informative and we eased our guilt by learning that profits from the tour are used to help develop schools in the favela.
Our tour starts at the bottom of the hill. The tour guide hires numerous men on motorbikes to take us up to the top of the hill of the town. From the top we begin our descent down.
The first thing we notice is the power wires. This cluster is a result of generations of power “borrowing” from the utilities.

As you walk down through the favela you will notice normal people, with most of life’s luxuries. They all had tvs. They all had phones. They just lived in much smaller and more rundown houses than us.

It wasn’t until later on that I notice the awkardness of this photo. We are capturing the intimate moment of a family on their back porch. They have a great view but there isn’t much privacy here.

Further down the hill conditions deteriorate. The sewage flows down the hill. It is less clean. There is noticeably more trash lying around.

I asked these ladies if they would mind if I took their picture and they were more than happy to pose for me.

Something striking about favelas in 2006 is that they are secured by the gangs that run them. Young men with guns (even teen boys) patrol the favela and keep the peace. The goal is to keep the police out so business is good. At first is was a bit intimidating but in realty I felt the safest there in all of Rio.

Cinque Terre

One of my all time favorite travel locations is in peril. Cinque Terre experienced flash floods a couple of days ago. I hope that Cinque Terre is able to recover from this disaster.
These videos are of two of the towns:
Monterosso
Vernazza
In honor of these 5 lovely towns, I am re-posting my travel journal entries from July 2004 and adding photos taken during that trip.

Cinque Terre
July 08, 2004, 09:30
We just arrived at our lodging in the Cinque Terre. Sorry I haven’t been able to update the journal in a while, we have been in the Amalfi coast where internet and modern technologies are in second place to relaxing and swimming in the ocean. I will write as much as I can for now and I will update my journal for Amalfi Coast later.
We decided to skip Florence and Tuscany for this trip due to lack of time- We did not want to rush through it in 1 1/2 days. I will have to come back and enjoy all of Tuscany on another trip.
We took an overnight train from Salerno to La Spezia. La Spezia has trains that connect you to all of the Cinque Terre villages. We have decided to stay in Riomaggoire, the first and I believe the largest village. We will be doing light walks only today. After the lack of sleep, I don’t think we will have the energy to do the heavier walks.
I must go, there is a nice gentleman waiting to use the only computer here. I promise that I will update more later.

I love Cinque Terre
July 09, 2004, 11:46
Yesterday we arrived here on the morning train. We first took the train from Salerno to La Spezia and then inadvertently got off at the wrong stop because we did not realize that we had reached our stop (We were stuck in a tunnel and could not see the signs). We got off at the next town and stopped at the hostel there and waited until 7 am when it opened. Realizing that the hostel had a lock out time of 1-5 everyday and it looked like it was to rain yesterday, we decided to check out the lodging in the original town that we were supposed to stop at.
We decided to take the path called Via dell’ Amore (path of love). The path was a 15 minute walk. Ah, they had beds for us at Mar Mar. Not only did we have beds, we got a private room! We are staying in a dorm with eight other awesome people. We have a huge functional kitchen that we later use. We soon get along famously with others in the dorm. We a meet a couple of others who are not staying at our dorm but have been hanging around. After our nap, we go to the beach in Monterossa with our new friend Marissa. We sit on the beach and relax and I go for a swim. Floating in the ocean with my eyes closed and seeing where the waves take me is so relaxing. Unfortunately, it started raining so we decide to walk back to the train.
When we get back, it is time to prepare for dinner. Since most shops close at 7 here, the entire group goes shopping to pick up what we need for the meal. One gets wine, another pesto, another pasta, etc. We pop open the wine and begin cooking what I can only describe as an awesome meal. We set up the table on our patio outside which overlooks views of the town and the ocean. Soon the rain begins again. Thinking quickly, we grab all of our towels and lay them over the clothesline above to protect the food from the rain. It made the meal much more charming. After cleaning up from dinner, we hear music in the courtyard and decide to check it out. We arrive and find a charming puppet show. An authentic Italian puppet show. We do not understand a word that the puppets are saying but the tone of voice of the characters and the crazy movements of the characters make us laugh. We then decide it is gelato time. I have not talked about gelato like Nikki has (see her journal entry) but I believe that gelato is the one of the most awesome things in the world. It has become a staple of our diet. We finish the night at a pub that plays American popular music. As the night progresses, our entire group becomes dancing fools (except poor Nikki, I had to walk her home early). Even the owner “Franka”, a woman who I believe is in her fifties, comes out to dance and boogie with us. Unfortunately, all good things have to come to an end. The bar closes and we stumble down to the water. It is so refreshing to be by the water at night with the cool breeze. Some guy plays the bongos behind me as Marissa dances. I decide that I am too tired to hold a conversation anymore so I stumble back to my room.
I don’t want to leave this place.
Well it is time to go do the monster 5 hour walk.

Another late start, and back in Rome
July 10, 2004, 18:10
Yesterday, after Thursday nights events, we were on to a late start for our big hike. We decide to start at Monterossa which seems to be the popular thing to do. I think I have never walked up so many steps in my life(Not even in the Amalfi Coast). When we arrive at the top, it is totally worth it. From the top, you can see the most picturesque of villages and it continues that way throughout our walk. Along the way we also witness lemon farms, olive farms, and of course grape vineyards. All I can say is that all of the beautiful pictures that I have seen of Italy, have been proved to be true.
Most of you know that I have been preparing for this trip by walking long distances, well it wasn’t enough. I can walk far distances now but those darn steps (or what I call non-steps – random rocks thrown on the ground to resemble steps) kicked my butt. I survived though, and I am really happy that I did the walk. It was the most spectacular view that I have ever seen – well almost as good as the Amalfi coast. I guess they are about tied in my opinion.
We take only the first and second trails, Monterossa to Vernazza, and Vernazza to Corgnelia. Those two were the best, hardest, and longest trails and we didn’t have time to do the rest.
While stopping for Gelati in Vernazza (I swear they put drugs in the stuff – can’t resist) we stop to watch these insane boys jump into the water off of a ledge that is about 8 feet higher than the water only to be thrown back onto the ledge when a huge wave comes in. It was crazy. After talking to others we discover that they have been doing it since they were real young and it is a daily event for them – for hours a day. It kept us entertained for quite a while. Later on, we saw the boys by the pharmacy patching up their bleeding legs and arms. Nikki and I have pictures of this event if you want to see it.
Returning back to Riomaggoire, we meet up with our roommates/new friends for dinner. New roommates join us later for wine on the terrace. Good conversation. We again return to our bar for a drink. Franka greets us with hugs and kisses. I am tired after one beer and have to leave on early train next morning, I go to bed. While getting ready for bed, hear group of drunken Americans/English speaking nationals singing loudly by the water. I get to sleep despite this.
Today, I am back in Rome after a four hour train ride this morning. I visited the Colosseum and wandered around town before I happened upon this internet cafe. I have already had gelati twice today. I am going to need gelati detox when I get home. I might try to get an authentic Italian meal once more and visit the pub around the corner from my hotel. Maybe I can meet some new people before I leave. Anyway, don’t want to waste any more time indoors, must get ready to see Rome at night.
Be home soon!

Note: Some of the entries were edited for grammar and readability.

Rome

sweat, the vatican, drunkeness [Jul. 3rd, 2004|10:36 am]
I arrive yesterday morning fresh from my nap on the plane and I finally found my hostel by the train station. I was imediately greeted by Nikki and her friend Cliff (the boy who got stuck in the belly of the bus in Greece). Apparently he and his traveling companions decided to come to Rome coincidently. When I arrived, too early to check into room so we went sight seeing. We grabbed a bus at the train station to see Vatican city. It was amazing. I, like most americans see St. Peters Basilica only on TV and never give it another thought. But being there, you will understand the importance of religion in Roman everyday lives. The money and time that was spent to create what i can only discribe as masterpieces. The vatican additionally has a great collection of art. We followed up our tour of the vatican with a visit to the sistine chapel – something that you will also have to see for yourself. Interesting enough, our tour guide told us that Michelangelo didn’t even want to paint the sistine chapel. We are all glad he did.

Nikki, Cliff, I and cliff’s other traveling companions decided we were going to get drunk last night. We to Rome’s equivalent of a happy hour. It only lasted until 9:30 so we went off to find another bar recommended by our hostel. When we find it, we discover beers to be 5-7 euros, definitely not within my companions’ budget. We ultimately end up buying wine bottles and beer and find a nice piazza to drink the night away. We meet three guys who have the same idea and drink with us. We go back to the original bar for a while an dance. Much more I don’t remember, I guess Nikki and someone else help me to my bed. I woke up to a loud thump from the street in this noisy hostel. I feel like something that the street sweeper picked up from our piazza last night. I need to get over it and just go cause much more to see and alot more sweating to do.

The colesseum, roman forum, etc [Jul. 3rd, 2004|04:59 pm]

Hungover as I was from yesterday’s drinking adventure, we didn’t get started until about noon. Believe it or not, we got alot done in a matter of hours. Our journey started as we walked a couple of our new friends to the train station because they were off to a new destination 😦 We almost broke down and bought Mc Donalds(hangover cure) but we stopped ourselves and bought nice cheap sandwiches instead. Besides, Mc. Donalds isn’t as cheap here. We walked down to the Colosseum and ate our yummy sandwiches in front of the colesseum under a shaded tree. The struture had me in awe. It was so great, I tried to imagine what it would have been like to be a Roman watching the debachery and slaughter in this monument. Because Nikki and Andrew had already been inside, I decided I will come back on my day alone in Rome.

Next we wandered over to the Roman Forum. From a distance it looks like just a bunch of bricks and stones lying around. We however happened upon a free tour (like the one we had at Basilica di San Pietro). Through the tour, the roman forum came alive for us. We learned of saints being grilled alive and an old emperor’s indiscretions with a horse. The view from the top had me speechless.

Later we visited the Trevi fountain and made our two coin tosses (One to return to rome, and one a wish). It was spectacular also but was spoiled a little by the crowd and street vendors.

Finally we visited the spanish steps, took pictures of course and walked to the top.

I am happy because we found an internet place where I can check my aol mail, it didn’t seem to work in the hostel. Speaking of the hostel we are in, it is great. The people who work there are very nice and cool, and we are meeting many new people there. A charming and playful kitten also wanders around (it lives there). The “cute” kitten gnawed on my hand when I tried to pick it up. Spunky kitten. My only complaint about the hostel is the showers. Cold water, small water stream, and no pressure make a poor shower. Well, enough for now. We have a couple more things to see today and then a nice dinner. Tomorrow I suspect we are heading south to isle of capri and pompeii. See ya later.