Postcard: Greetings from Flamengo!

Posted in Random Musings, Rio de Janeiro on 19. Feb, 2011

Hi all!

When I returned from the US recently, I moved into a new apartment here in Rio, in the bairro (district of town) of Flamengo. Awhile back at a party my friend Carolyn chided me that I move every 4 months. Well, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but it’s true that I’ve moved around, trying to find the place that truly feels like home.

I believe that I’ve finally found it.

You may not be familiar with this area. That’s no surprise: Most folks equate Rio with Copacabana and Ipanema. In actuality, those are only two of the scores of bairros which form the prefeitura of Rio.

Flamengo, it is sometimes said, is Rio’s little secret. Predominantly middle-class, there are also many wealthy here. While not cheap, it is cheaper than Ipanema, certainly cheaper than Leblon. There are very few homeless to be seen here.

And few gringos, which I like.

If there is one drawback to Flamengo, it is that the geography could flummox an eagle scout. Everything seems to converge here. Though I live in Flamengo, I am less than 10 minutes’ walk to Botafogo, a mere 2 blocks from Lanranjeiras, and perhaps 4 blocks, if that, to Largo do Machado – all neighboring bairros. I often don’t know which bairro I’m actually in – not that it really matters – and haven’t much idea which direction is north, which east.

The tree-lined street on which I now live, Rua Paissandu, epitomizes Flamengo’s layout. For part of its length, it runs one-way toward the beach. A bit farther down, it runs one-way away from the beach. But still farther down, it changes again to run toward the beach. Getting to my place by taxi involves going around the proverbial elbow.

But the metro station is close, and I typically get around here by foot anyway. And this is a great neighborhood for pedestrians – assuming you stay alert to the drivers, who are as unheeding of pedestrians here as they are anywhere else in Rio.

There are a score of restaurants and small bars within 5 minutes walk of my place – although curiously, my street is extremely quiet. My new gym is 1 ½ blocks away, so I have no excuses not to go and shed this weight I picked up in the US.

The square at Largo do Machado is 5 minutes away, and on Sunday there is live music there; families gather to share a beer and catch up with friends.Very much the sort of thing that made me fall in love with Brazil when I first visited here so many years ago.

And the beach! The beach is only 3 blocks away. While the water here is not considered by most as safe for swimming (it receives some pollution from the marina and doesn’t get flushed well by the ocean), the beach itself is clean, and there are 2 paved walks where folks can get their exercise.

Three times now I’ve gone running on the beach in the morning – trying to lose these pounds picked up in Texas. As I make the turn and head back home, I am greeted by Sugarloaf on my 10 o’clock, and Christ the Redeemer over there on my 1 o’clock.

Yup, feels like home.