Entering the favela
When we planned for Rio, Michael came up with a longtime dream of spending some time in a favela - one of the vast slum like areas, which are covering the slopes of some of the many mountains in and around Rio.
I wasn't keen on doing it, having heard of the violent crime and abject poverty inside the favelas - but Michael worked hard to persuade.
He had found an apartment in Vidigal, a township, which within the last couple of years had almost come to the threshold of being gentrified.
All his research told him, Vidigal would be vibrant, exciting, safe - and when he showed a photo of the view from what could be our future rooftop terrace - the Atlantic Ocean with huge waves crashing towards the rocks below the terrace - it was a done deal!
And now, we're here. The last two days, we've found our way through the narrow alleys and dizzying steep stairways, which you have to climb to access the different parts of Vidigal as it's clinging to the steep slopes of Dois Irmãos - The Two Brothers mountain - in the South Zone of Rio.
Many of the local people, whom we meet in the alleys, greet us with friendliness, the local shops are filled with a vast variety of groceries and in contrast to some of the other favelas around Rio: In Vidigal, you have electricity, water, sewage - and our apartment even has a solid high speed Internet connection.
And - speaking of our apartment for the next couple of months: I really need to describe exactly where I'm sitting, with my laptop on my knees, writing these lines:
Our apartment is one of the smallest, we've ever lived in - just a bed, some shelves, a tiny kitchenette and an even tinier bathroom. Tiny, tiny, tiny. But on top of the apartment, after you've climbed up a steep staircase, the world suddenly broadens up to what is one of the most exciting views we've ever had.
Our house is built about 200 meters up the mountain. Below us, the slope is so steep it is impossible to erect any buildings. There is only dense jungle, where, we're told, you can meet both pythons and monkeys.
And further down, the huge waves of the Atlantic Ocean are crashing towards the rocky coast with such might, you can hear the roar of the surf even all the way up here.
In front, a few miles out, you have a small group of uninhabited islands, the Cagarras, which recently were declared natural monuments.
And - the coup-de-grace of this absolutely gorgeous view: Towards the left, the white stretch of the Ipanema beach and the blue, distant mountains on the other side of the mouth of the Guanabara bay.
From the open windows in the buildings above, you hear chatter, laughter, the sound of samba rythms from a radio.
A huge flock of black birds are forming a perfect V - flying along the surf, towards their nesting areas somewhere down the coast.
Tomorrow we're going to explore a little bit of Rio beyond Vidigal. But just now - this is our world and it couldn't be a nicer place.
The word WOW covers my thoughts when reading about your favelian life. The busdrivers may be speeding for safety reasons actually. Who would want to ambush a rocket...
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