Snapshots from sao paolo rivera
Watching the magnificently dramatic F1 Grand Prix yesterday reminded me that I haven't yet received the DVD of photographs taken on my recent helicopter trip over Sao Paolo. It was a fascinating half day journey, which completely shattered my preconceptions of what the city would be like. Alas, I will write more about that when the DVD arrives, so for the time being, let me focus on another - even less well known - part of Sao Paolo that the Paolistas know simply as Riviera...
On a good day, Riviera San Lorenzo would be about an hour's drive from downtown Sao Paolo, but in traffic terms, there's rarely a good day in this city. The traffic in Sao Paolo is almost as bad as Moscow, little wonder that the residents grow up into famous racing drivers like Ayrton Senna and now Felipe Massa. Is the traffic bad in Stevenage? Why are there no Russian motor racing drivers? I digress...
The Riviera occupies the full length of a huge sweeping bay, fronted by a wide beach of powdery sand and with a forested headland at either end. Neither superlatives nor photographs really do it justice. We can but try though, so I've picked out some of my better snaps and included them below to give you an idea. And here are a few superlatives to throw around: unsurpassable beauty, a completely idyllic morning view and what the hell am I still living in London for? - ok so maybe I am getting carried away, but I thought it was a bit special.
It was also a completely different side to Brazil to any that I had seen before. The sand was practically without a visible blemish - Pure, fine and wonderfully clean - although that's not uncommon in Brazil, as you might have heard. But the Riviera is wonderfully well-maintained, with fashionable and upmarket developments that are built to the highest standards of design and taste, all well-planned, giving residents a feeling of space and calm. The area is completely free of crime, devoid of advertising hoardings and understandably popular as a weekend destination for Sao Paolo's upmarket wealthy residents.
Sadly, it's almost fully constructed, and my hosts didn't really have too much appetite for marketing the units internationally. Local demand is strong - units sell quickly and the few developers that still have buildings under construction are seeing prices rise rapidly.
Once the last few vacant lots are built on, the whole town will be fully developed with no more space to build. So the local market is quickly absorbing any available units, without too much effort from the developers. So close to Sao Paolo, it's a place that is unlikely to go out of fashion any time soon, but sadly it's one that the Brazilians look set to keep to themselves!
