Rio de Janeiro: Ipanema and Leblon

This is Amanda. We spent a day together in Rio and it was a beach day! Amanda lives in on the outskirts of Rio and was happy to be a tourist in her own city since she doesn't often get to come to the downtown core.

We decided to go to Ipanema and Leblon, both famous neighbourhoods with beaches, much like Copacabana and Leme a little further North than where we were located. There is a very famous song from the 1960's called "The Girl From Ipanema", originally in Portugues, the English version goes as follows:

Tall and tanned and young and lovely
the girl from Ipanema goes walking
and when she passes
each man she passes
goes Aaah!

When she moves it's like a samba
that swings so cool and sways so gently
that when she passes
each man she passes
goes Aaah!

Oh - but he watches so sadly
How - can he tell her he loves her
He - would just give his heart gladly
But each day when she walks to the sea
She looks straight ahead not at he

Tall and tanned and young and lovely
the girl from Ipanema goes walking
and when she passes
he smiles
but she doesn't see
no she doesn't see
she just doesn't see...

I obviously decided to imagine myself as the girl from Ipanema for the day because I was in love with the beach and the sea. Being outdoors always sends a surge of energy through my body. So, laying on the long beach under the hot sun with the vast ocean at my side made me so happy!

There were a few things to know about going to the beach in Brazil, especially in Rio. First, bathing suit fashion is very different than in North America. Both men and women have typically 'Brazillian cut' swim suits. Men's are very short and tight boxers and ladies, though inappropriate to go topless, let their asses hang out to have minimal tan lines. I definitely felt like a creeper as I tried to get good photos of Brazilian swim suits.

The beach is also a place to be. Like going to the gym, or going to the country club, people make a habit of going to the beach. I don't know what the equivalent term is to Ski Bunny or Gym Rat for someone who spends all their time at or preparing themselves for the beach, but you can tell who they are. Men and women run the beaches in their tiny bathing suits. They lay hours under the sund with their perfectly shaped muscles and bodies, wearing just the right swim suits and bronzing their youthful looking skin. I am jealous of Brazilian skin and how nicely it tans while mine has clearly been designed for the rainy and sunless weather of the North.

One more aspect that was truly remarkable about the beach is that it is a place for everyone - young and old, fit and fat, men and women, straight and gay, and rich and poor. I am always inspired when I see that everyone can recognize and enjoy the natural beauty that the world offers to us.
Next, there is an entire beach economy. Anything you could possibly need, you can get at the beach. The beaches are devided into sections for chair and umbrella rentals - 4R and 5R for the day respectively - and then people walk the beaches up and down selling sarongs, sun glasses, bathing suits, sun dresses, water, drinks and food. Their strength is quite impressive when you see how much they carry as they walk through the hot sand all day long.