Copacabana and Leme in Rio de Janeiro

Copacabana, which is called Leme at its northern end, epitomizes Rio both for better and for worse. Like the city as a whole, it is breathtakingly beautiful from afar and a little ugly close to. The beach is a splendid broad sweeping crescent of fine sand stretching for almost 8 km, washed by a bottle-green Atlantic and watched over by the Morro do Leme- another of Rio's beautiful forest-covered hills. Behind it is a wide neon- and argon-lit avenue lined with high-rises, the odd grand hotel and various bars, restaurants and clubs. The tanned and toned flock all around in little bikinis, sungas and colourful beach wraps, playing volleyball on the sand and jogging along the wavy black and white dragon's tooth pavements, while others busk, play capoeira and sell their wares. But, like much of Brazil, the devil is in the detail and up close Copacabana is a lot less appealing. The sand may be clean enough but those bottle-green waves are far from it. Many of the bars and hotels are tatty and tawdry, some of them frequented by a Pattaya-type crowd of young, thin Cariocas and fat older foreigners looking to buy more than a drink. And at night Copacabana can be dangerous. Soliciting is rife and muggings are not uncommon.