Garotas de Ipanema

We all have guilty pleasures that we are not proud of. For me, I’ve always been secretly guilty of being a people watcher. The intention was never intended in an invasive way, but simply from a place of curiosity and intrigue.

As I walk down to Praia de Ipanema, the old habit kicks in, and I fall into a hazy daydream of people watching. The man selling Biscoito Globo (a bizarre doughnut-shaped powder biscuit made of polvilho that can be sweet or savoury), the other man yelling ‘Milhooooooo’ as he pushes his cart of corn on the cob through the sand… while the other seller persuades a passerby to buy “Leão” (cold matte tea).

All of these vendors are what I have quickly come to realise as part of the Carioca culture. I settle on my own agua de coco, and park myself close to the shore. It is here that I begin to time travel.

Not long ago, the neighbourhood of Ipanema was a small fishing village - a far more indigenous piece of land - which was later transformed with Calçadão (boardwalks) that ultimately became the famous location of the beloved Bossa Nova song ‘Garota de Ipanema’ (girl from ipanema) a classic by Vinícius de Moraes and Tom Jobim