Tale of two Saturdays. One in Leme and yesterday in Duque de Caxias.
Leme sits at the north end of Copacabana Beach and a path takes you up through the military encampment to the fort - really a gun battery with four big guns surrounded with concrete. (Not Kate's sort of thing at all, on the face of it but we'd heard that it gave great views over Rio so worth a look...)
From a superb defensive poistion it commands a perfect view of the entrance to Guanabara Bay. It started life as an observation post and only became armed in the early 20th century. Apart from firing at a german boat in 1930 it was only briefly used during the rebel standoff as a command post for the military - the rebels held the fort at the other end of Copacabana.
Last weekend it was a steep climb up in the heat but a good view from the top and we were pleased to see that it's now more about protecting the local environment than the military. When we got back to the bottom it was sardines and beer for lunch on Fishermans path at the foot of the hill.
Yesterday we gave up our Saturday to visit/help at an Onda Solidaria project. The charity has been decorating and generally fixing up a creche/facility and planting a kitchen garden in a small community, Parada Angelica, in Duque de Caxias, about an hour from Rio. Ricardo, the director of OS, explained to us on the journey out there, that the level of poverty was far greater than Rio, despite the fact that the community receives a lot of public funding from Rio state but is another sad example of corrupt officials siphoning the money off rather than spending it on those it's intended for.
The neighbourhood we were in is actually served by a train to Rio - although the three wagons we saw looked very basic. Ricardo told us that many of the DdeC inhabitants will 'commute' into Rio to act as maids etc and will be away from their homes - and their famiies - from maybe 4am to 8pm every day.
Our job was a bit tokenistic - to cut and fill plastic juice bottles with soil but we hope it was seen as it was intended - as a gesture of support, solidarity, interest and cooperation with the locals who were trying, in a small way, to improve their environment. The bottles were then planted - by local and expat children - with flowers and herbs. There was also a team of volunteers painting tyres to hold other plants in future.
The international club had been giving some support - buying tools and finding books/toys. We spent the afternoon in the rain (v unusual out there but great for the chances of the plants surviving) and the children ended up having a game of puddle-football in the car park. It's always genuinely fascinating to see places outside of Rio, particularly with a knowledgeable guide and to go into different communities. Hope this doesn't all sound patronising - it isn't meant to.
To finish with another example of the huge contrast between rich and poor in Brazil, I was chatting to a Scottish ex-pat out here who was telling me about her experience of giving birth in Rio. If you've got money in Brazil, there's a very high chance your baby will be born by elective caesarian and within hours of giving birth there will be someone coming round offering to apply make-up or give a manicure/pedicure.....She described the whole experience as being 'very pampering'.
On a final, final note: Hooray for Barack Obama!!