Written by J. Warren:

After spending two months at the university in Juiz de Fora, Brazil, I headed to Rio de Janeiro for a long weekend.  As a tourist who visited for 5 days, I can only remark on some stereotypes of Rio.   Did I see the girl from Ipanema? Not even close. Like other countries, Brazil is suffering from an obesity problem.  Was soccer everywhere? Yes, yes, yes.  There are four professional teams in the city, two have dorms where teen prospects from throughout the country can live-- school in the morning, practice in the afternoon. Every bar has a TV showing a soccer match, live or reruns. On the rare moments when a game is not on, there are talking heads commenting on upcoming matches. Violence? I stayed in Copacabana, ground zero for tourists. There are a lot of police. I felt completely safe going out and about. However, I was careful about where I went and when.

Max joined me in Rio. We went to the usual tourist haunts- the Christ the Redeemer statue, Sugarloaf Mountain, Ipanema and Copacabana beaches, and Santa Teresa. They were all interesting to visit. What I had not realized is how beautiful the city is. There are parks throughout the municipality. Mountains are in and around the city, offering amazing vistas. It is easy to find a location that feels like it is far from the problems of this urban area of 6 million.

The Brazilians I know all agree that Rio is a troubled city, but they offer varied perspectives about why and how to fix it.  They are frustrated about the status of their country. This led to last fall’s election of Jair Bolsonaro, a.k.a. the Trump of the Tropics.  Since taking office, Bolsonaro’s approval has fallen quickly, the current rating is 36%. However he has a die-hard group of supporters (the Trump comparison continues). I encountered a huge rally in support of Bolsonaro as I exited my hotel in Copacabana.  Sadly, it was a very enthusiastic group.

From Rio, I headed to Ecuador. Why Ecuador? My Brazilian visa permits me to stay in the country a maximum of 180 days. The university has asked me to extend my time there by two weeks, putting me into August and 2 weeks over the 180 day limit.  I opted to check out Ecuador.