Si Tu Vas a Rio

Sevgili Dario Moreno nun dedigi gibi " eger Rio'ya giderseniz, dagin etegindeki vahsi ciceklerin altinda gizli o kucuk koydeki tepeye cikmayi unutmayin." Corcovado gercekten de Rio'nun betonarme mimarisine hala meydan okuyabilen bir cennet.
Nasil gidebilirsin? : Heykele ulasmanin en populer ve eglenceli yolu her 30 dakikada bir kalkan kucuk kirmizi ve oldukca old school olan tren bence. Istasyona ulasmak isterseniz, sehir merkezinden "Cosme Velho'ya" giden herhangi bir otobuse binin. Portekizce bilmeseniz bile sizi istasyona geldiginizde indireceklerdir.
Ps: Muhtemelen jet-lag olacaginizdan erkenden ayakta olacaksiniz. Bunu avantaj olarak gorun ve hem gunes isigini heykelin uzerinde yakalamak hemde uzun bir sira beklememek icin erkenden istasyonda yerinizi alin. Ama yok arkadas karga bilmemneyini yemeden ben sehri gezmeye baslayamam once uzuun bir kahvalti ederim sonra ortalarda gezinirim ve gun batimini da Corcovado da yakalarim derseniz uzuun bir bekleyisten sonra sehrin uzerine inen o guzel isigi yakalar, gunu de bitirmis olursunuz. Tercih sizin.

As Dario Moreno says "If you go to Rio, don't forget to climb up there, in a small village, hidden under wild flowers,on the slope of hill" Corcovado is a real heaven still withstanding the concrete structuring. 
How to go ? : According to me the most popular and enjoyable way to reach the statue is to take red old school train  that departs every 30 minutes. To reach the cog station take any "Cosme Velho" bus and even though you don't speak Portuguese, they easily understand from your tourist behavior and let you know when you arrive there. 
Ps: You will be probably jet-lag and take it as an advantage, don't wander around and go directly to the station early in the morning not to wait long lines and to catch sunshine on the statue but if you say I am a sunset person, after waiting a long time you will get that awesome light on the city. 

Eger Rio'daysaniz plaja gitmek kacinilmaz bir sey. Belkide yukariya tirmandiktan sonra yapmaniz gereken ilk sey. Bizim yaptigimiz gibi. Plajlar dogrusunu soylemek gerekirse, bu zamana kadar gordugum sehir ici sahillerinin en guzelleri, en dogali, en manzaralisi ve tabi ki de en goz doyurani. Denizden cikan sorfculeri guneslenirken yandan yandan kesmek de ekstrasi. Bizim tercihimiz hem dogalligindan hem de sakinliginden oturu Leblon Plaji oldu. Zaten ilk iki gunumuzu Leblon da gecirdigimiz icin ulasimimiz da kolay oldu. Buarada Leblon a Rio'nun Nisantasi benzetmesini yapabiliriz. Leblon Rio'nun alisveris ve restorant noktasi diyebilirim. Guzel bir aksam yemegi icin ise tercihiniz mutlaka Zuka olmali. 

If you are in Rio, going to beach is inevitable. Maybe after you climb up there, it should be the first place to go as we did.  To be honest, beaches are the most satisfying ones when I compare with other city beaches I've ever seen. They are more natural and giving a lot. As well making eye at surfers leaving ocean is another free joy that one of those beaches can give you. So, our preference was Praia de Leblon. For us it was more natural and calm compare to Ipanema or Copacabana. In addition, we were staying in our first two days in Leblon so, it was always easy to reach there. By the way we can say Leblon is the shopping and restaurant area of Rio. Over the long street you can find many nice restaurants and well-known brands together. If you want to ended your night with a delicious dinner around Leblon, you should be definitely in Zuka.

Weather is not always good in Rio. In one day you can live 3 seasons together. So, your luggage needs to be well prepared before your visit. 

While Copacabana (which I have no picture) has the view of Sugar Loaf, Ipanema and Leblon Beaches have the view of little islands in front of them and this lovely sugar-loaf-kind mountain. 

Another thing you should do if you are in Rio; The Hippie Fair. It's a big market set on every sunday btw 9am-6pm. I found almost every souvenir and my traditional jewelries from that market. You really shouldn't miss that. 

Soylemem gerekir ki, hayvanat ve buyuk botanik bahcelerini gezmekten oldum olasi kacinirim, hatta zevk bile vermez o canliyi dogal ortaminda goremiyorsam ne yazar dunyanin en buyuk hayvanat bahcesi. Ama eger Rio'daysaniz bes dakikada degisir butun isler. Kapidan adiminizi atar atmaz sizi kocaman bir palmiye bahcesi ve gecidi karsiliyor desem. Biraz da olsa ilginizi ceker mi? Boyle bir sehrin ortasina bu kucuk Amazon'un ne isi var dedirten bir yer desem biraz daha bu tarafa dogru yaklasir mi mi gozleriniz?  

I must say that, I'm not a big fan of botanical gardens or zoos. But if you are in Rio, everything can easily change in 5 mins. If I say, as soon as you arrive from the gate big palm trees lane and garden welcomes you, is it enough to draw your attention even a little bit ?  If I say, it makes you say "how such a thing like a little Amazon can stand still in the middle of a concrete city, are your eyes move closer through the screen ?

Eger Rio'daysaniz, buranin meshur favelalarini yani gecekondularini gormeden gitmeyin. Biz en buyuklerinden biri olan Favela Rocinha'ya gidebildik. Gun gectikce buyuyen, sehre daima tepeden bakan bu mahallelerde sizleri bambaska bir Rio karsilayacak bundan emin olabilirsiniz. Kendi basiniza gitmeye kalkmayin, kaybolur kendinizi polisin bile girmedigi sokaklardan birinde bulursaniz kimse sizi kurtaramaz. Aslinda Tarlabasi'nin ne kadar da masum kaldigini anlarsiniz. O yuzden mutlaka turlara katilin. Her ne kadar etik olarak bana uymasa da, insanin baska insanlarin yasadigi yeri hayvanat bahcesi gezer gibi rehberle gezmesi fikri beni rahatsiz etsede malesef guvenligimiz once gelir dedik ve bu turlardan birine katildik. 

If you are in Rio, you shouldn't leave without visiting Favela. We've been one of the biggest one; Favela Rocinha. On this view-from-above place growing every day,  you can be sure you gonna face with another Rio. Don't try to go on your own. Otherwise you have high chance to get lost and find yourself in the streets even police can't enter. Thus, join one of the favela tours. Although it's not ethic for me and disturbs visiting a human place as if you are visiting a zoo with a guide, for the security reasons it's a must. 

Eger Rio'daysaniz, favelalarin ve tum Brezilya'nin sembolu haline gelen Havainaslardan almadan donmeyin. Ayrica Turkiye'nin neredeyse 1/4 fiyatina. 

If you are in Rio, don't forget to buy a pair of Havaianas which is the symbol of favelas and of course Brazil. 

Eger Rio'daysaniz. Santa Teresa'da kalmali oranin atmosferini tatmalisiniz. Leblon'da sik restorantlarin butiklerin ve plajin tadina doyup, biraz daha yukarilara cikmanin temiz hava almanin zamani dedik ve kalan 3 gunumuzu bu bolgece gecirmeye karar verdik. St. Teresa bol agacli, oksijenli bir Bobo bolgesi. Istanbul'un Cihangirine hos geldiniz diyebiliriz ozaman :) Biraz lokal olmak isterseniz, dogru yerdesiniz. Restoranlarin ve barlarin etrafta turist yokmus gibi takindiklari hal ve tavirlar ise cok keyif verici. 

If you are in Rio, you should stay in Santa Teresa and gasp the atmosphere in here. After we're full of restaurant, boutique and beach in Leblon, we planned to stay rest of our 3 days here. It was really good idea climbing a bit up and breath more oxygen in this greenly area. While Leblon is more bling bling, St. Teresa is more Bobo. If you want to be local, you are in the right place. As well, it's really joyful the behaviors of the restaurants and bars as if there is no tourist around.  

Bar do Mineiro lokal halka karisacaginiz restorantlardan biri. 

Bar do Mineiro is one of this places that you can mix easily in local people. 

Feijoada Brezilya mutfaginin geleneksellesmis tatlarindan. 

Feijoada is one of the traditional foods in Brazilian cuisine. 

Eger Rio'daysaniz, insanlarin sokaklari nasilda sanat eserine cevirdigini gormek icin lutfen Lapa'daki Selarón merdivenlerine gidin. Silili artis Jorge Selarón gordugunuz merdivenleri renkli mozaiklerle kaplamis ve bunu da butun Brezilyalilara adamis. 

If you are in Rio, go and see Escadaria Selarón in Lapa to see how people can change streets easily to an art work. The artis Jorge Selarón decided to cover the steps with colorful mosaics as a dedication to Brazilian people and 215 steps are a vivid riot of color. 

Son olarak, eger Rio'daysaniz ve seyehatinizi klasik bir olayla bitirmek istiyorsaniz, tabi birde sansiniza klasik Brasileirão maclarindan her hangi birisi varsa, Maracanã bicilmez kaftan. Biz ise klasik Rio derbilerinden biri olan Flamengo-Botafogo macina denk geldigimiz icin kendimizi sansli sayan onca insandan biriydik. 

Lastly, if you are in Rio and want to end your trip with a real, classic attraction. Go an watch a Brasileirão game in Maracanã. We were lucky to encounter Flamengo-Botafogo one of the Rio derby. 

Next post will be about Ubatuba. Stay tuned !