I thought that page 16 in today's O Globo was a fine slice of daily life here in Rio de Janeiro. Every article moved me in some way.

The main article was about the posting of signs warning of possible assaults on a major footpath from Rio's Zona Sul to the top of Corcovado, site of the world-famous statue of Christ the Redeemer. Last year a German tourist was murdered on the trail.

The article speaks of the tug-of-war between government bureaus that make it impossible to police the trail, and laments the imposition of such a "strange tactic against crime". A small opinion piece gets it just about right:

Vá ao shopping!

No início da trilha que leva do Parque Lage ao Corcovado, uma placa de iniciativa oficial informa, "Perigo de assalto na trilha."

É um aviso lacônico e direto, coma manda a boa técnica.

Mas poderia, em nome da honestidade, ser verboso e contar a história toda: "Prezado visitante: Está à sua frente uma excursão maravilhosa, que pode levá-lo - cortando este parque, administrado pelo Governo federal - até o pé do monumento ao Cristo Redentor. Um passeio imperdível. Aconselhamos que o amigo o perca: infelizmente, o Poder Público não tem meios ou coragem de impedir a ação de assaltantes ao longo da trilha. Desista se tem amor à vida. Vá a um shopping!"

Go shopping!

At the beginning of the trail that rises from Parque Lage to Corcovado, an officially-posted sign advises: "Danger of assault on the trail."

It's brief and to the point, as a good technician would order.

But maybe, in the name of honesty, it should be a little wordier and tell the whole story: "Dear visitor: ahead of you is a wonderful excursion, that will take you - cutting through this park, administered by the federal government - to the foot of the monument of Christ the Redeemer. An unforgettable journey. We kindly advise you to give it a miss: unfortunately, the public authorities don't have the means or the courage to stop the actions of criminals along the trail. Stop if you love life. Go to the mall!"

It may seem that Rio's police have better things to do than to police a forest trail, but that couldn't be farther from the truth - Rio takes very seriously its image in the eyes of tourists. For instance, over 1000 new police have been appointed to keep the beaches safer during the summer months. No doubt O Globo intends to use its bully pulpit to shame the authorities into some kind of redress. I've seen them doing similar many times in recent weeks.

Another article dealt with a homeless man's response to his hunger: he entered a local park and killed a white peacock for food. Onlookers tried to stop the man, but he managed to kill the beautiful bird that had lived in the park for some 14 years. The man tried to flee with the bird, but wound up getting stuck on a tall iron fence. He had to be rescued and treated for his injuries. If he is convicted, he could receive up to two years in prison. The peacock was the only white peacock in the park, although there are three other coloured ones.

The third and fourth articles were slightly more positive: Brazil's Projeto Tamar, which has as its goal the preservation and increase of sea turtles (TArtarugas MARitimas), will be releasing up to 30,000 new hatchlings in the coming weeks from its Rio-state base in Campos. While they estimate that only a few of these filhotes will survive to adulthood, at least they have a chance for having been spared poachers, pollution and the light and noise of beach-goers. Sea turtles return to the beach where they were born to reproduce. By concentrating the effort in protected areas, Projeto Tamar has managed to release more than 2 million baby turtles into the sea in the past 25 years. A remarkable achievement.

Finally, a pod of killer whales has been spotted frolicking off the coast of Rio - a sure sign that summer is upon is. They are apparently quite playful, going around in circles, leaping from the water, as if they cherish the limelight. My daughter loves whales, so I'd love to get out and do some whale-spotting, time permitting. You can see them from the shoreline on Avenida Niemeyer between Leblon and Barra when they're in town.

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