People here are beautiful. There are no beggars in the street, where are they? Maybe they get kicked out by the police when they show up. Valet parking attendants are everywhere. People here do not park their cars themselves you see.
Buildings around here are very posh, protected with high gates, security guards and security cameras. In that respect it reminds me of the Beverly Hills neighbourhood in L.A. This is weird: it feels safe and very unsafe at the same time. All this protection has been implemented for some reason.
Ipanema stands next to the beach. From the beach you turn your head to the right and discover one of the sugar loaf kind of mountain peaks which make Rio so beautiful and unique. The mountain is covered with unstable contructions; a huge favela.
From within the apparent wealth and order of Ipanema you are easily reminded of the two sides of Brazil: the richest and the poorest live side by side in a constant struggle.
A Nato index measures inequalities within a country, comparing the richest and the poorest people. Brazil comes in at number 1 (or 2, can't exactly remember) in the list; Brazil is the country where the gap between the richest and the poorest is the highest in the world.
