Another Angle On Copacabana

The only way is up in Copacabana. Its land area is tiny (under 8 sq. km), and there are only a few buildings left from when the town was first laid out on an elegant, elongated grid plan along the sandy shore with stylish villas influenced by the French 19th century style, with some Art Deco and Colonial thrown in. About 160,000 people live here full time in mainly high rise apartment blocks ranging from ten to 20 stories high. This is from the 15th floor swimming pool area of the hotel where we are staying this week looking down on the tree covered Rua Toneleros which is the third main thoroughfare, running parallel to and three back from the sea. The highest and furthest point on the horizon is Sugar Load Mountain.

We had a quiet day having lunch in an upmarket bistro in the Jardim Botanico area, before retiring poolside for a read, sleep and dip.