On our last full day in Rio it was still cloudy and raining. Not cold, not in the least but definitely not outdoors weather. The last place on our list to visit was the Museu Histórico Nacional, the national history museum (see, my Portuguese is getting better).
Along the front of the museum are all the flags that Brazil has flown, including the one below, for four days in 1889. I really think New Zealand could do with a bit of that, give some of the other flags a try for a week or so, see how they fit.
This impressive chap was at the entrance, and I can see why. I’m sure he left a lasting impression with the ladies.
Next along was a mural depicting the history of Brazil, starting wiht the arrival of the benevolent and peaceful Portuguese, enlightening and saving the natives from themselves, showing them the ways of progress and industry. There seemed to be quite a few exhibits and descriptions that didn’t quite sit right, albeit from my perspective of a complete outsider. Some of the description panels around the museum in English referred to “the Blacks” but I think it is a result of the direct translation from Portuguese rather than old fashioned thinking.
Since I saw that poster a few days ago at the Sugarloaf Moutain about saying no to racism I have noticed a lot more anti-racism posters and signs around. In fact there are a lot of signs about that promote tolerance and inclusion of all races, orientations and genders. I have also noticed a lot of Autism inclusion symbols as well. I also saw a sign that having sex with underaged prostitutes is illegal and not tolerated so there are a multitude of problems they are trying to address.
This is a sugarloaf mould, that was used for crystallising and refining sugar. The shape of the resulting sugarloaf is a similar shape to the mountain, hence the name. Being on holiday is edumicational!
The courtyard in the middle of the museum held a huge range of cannons, dating from the 1400s to WW2. It’s a pity the weather was so wet, I would have loved to have spent more time wandering around learning about them.
The museum focussed on the political history quite a bit, and I was a little lost as to who each of the kings / emperors were, especially when they seemed to change their names each Tuesday. A bit of a family tree would have helped things along a lot. Some of the exhibitions had English translations while others missed out which was a bit of a challenge. There was a pretty grim section about the equipment used to shackle the slaves, it beggars belief that a large section of people thought that this was okay. I didn’t realise that the largest single country that imported slaves from Africa was Brazil, accounting for over 40% of the historical total.
It’s good that they display such bleak examples of history, especially since the repercussions of the practice are still heavily visible today, with the vast majority of people living in the favelas, or in poverty are descendants of slaves.
I recognised a few of the items in this display from the street market yesterday, but these seemed to be more modern versions, and definitely in better condition.
After the museum we headed back to Copacabana for a late lunch, at the world famous Churrascaria Palace. This was probably the best restaurant I’ve eaten at, both for the quality of the food and the level of service. It is a traditional Churrascaria where they bring barbecued meats on a skewer to your table and you take a slice / piece. Then repeat until the meat sweats set in. The difference here was that as soon as a side plate has something on it (eg a bit of fat) it is whisked away and replaced with a fresh one. Drinks are all made fresh, and there is a VAST selection of spirits and wines. There is also the best salad and sushi bar. Anything you could want seemed to be there, and a huge range of seasonings and dressings.
I spotted this sign in the toilets and I just can’t accept that it’s anything but a mis-translation. Louie said that this is a thing, because some toilets aren’t designed to take paper but I just can’t get my head around it.
As a last bit of exercise and to get things digesting we started to walk down Copacabana beach. After a walk over the sand and back onto the footpath we realised we had gone far enough that it probably wasn’t worth getting an Uber the rest of the way, despite it raining. The sand on the beach is amazing, so fine and light but it makes it bloody hard to walk on. It was disappointing to see the amount of rubbish left by the beach goers at the end of the day, but great to see the local authority has crews out to clean it up. Again, a balance of haves and have-nots side by side. It was great to see the Ayrton Senna statue, one the very few sports people I am (was?) a fan of!
What struck me about the sea is that it was so clear, even in the surf. No muddy sand or silt kicked up by the waves like a lot of NZ beaches, just clear water.
And this ended our last full day in Rio. It’s been a very interesting week, loads of amazing experiences, food and people. Tomorrow we fly with Louie’s mum to João Pessoa, her home area for some more laid back touristing.