Easy steps to good life

THERE'S a formula to the lust for life in South America's two most vibrant cities and only a dance is the difference , writes Geoffrey Williams.

Samba sensation ... Rio de Janeiro's annual February Carnaval runs over four days and nights in a section of old Rio and shows the city at its most frenetic. Picture: Reuters

THERE'S a formula to the lust for life in South America's two most vibrant cities and only a dance is the difference.

In Rio de Janeiro it's samba, soccer, women and coffee.

But in Buenos Aires they step to the tango, and the rest comes naturally.

To really enjoy a South American holiday, get involved with all of them – and it's not hard.

In both cities there are samba and tango dinner-and-nightclub shows aimed at tourists.

Certainly they are commercial, but colourful, and are a must on any South American touring agenda.

The annual February Carnaval in Rio over four days and nights in a section of old Rio shows the samba at its most frenetic with 14 samba schools, each with up to 5000 students, and bands parading before 100,000 spectators long and loud into the night.

Tickets are from $308 for the festivities from 9pm to 8am.

From September, when the clubs begin rehearsals, visitors are allowed to watch.

The entrance fees vary and Rio hotels have details.

For the rest of the year the samba dinner shows are a microcosm of Carnaval. The best known is Platforma 1 with brilliant dances of Rio and Brazil, as well as musicians, jugglers and steel and bongo drummers.

Eventually, the audience gets a chance to join in.

Rio has a multitude of nightclubs. For tourists staying at Copacabana, Bunker 94 is close and worth a visit. For an up-market contrast try Melt, which is a quick taxi ride to the Ipanema/Leblon area.

Bunker 94 is for locals and tourists. Melt attracts models and many of Rio's beautiful people. The dance is the thing at both and they are worth an after-dinner visit, even if it's just to watch over a few drinks.

In Buenos Aires, La Boca and San Telmo have tango shows. La Boca is a vibrantly colourful barrio, or district. It was the city's first port on the Rio de la Plata, with most of its old buildings of sheet iron built on piles. Many remain and are painted in garish colours.

La Boca is an arts and music enclave and home to a spectacular range of street art and performers, cafes and restaurants.

There are dinner/tango shows there on most nights for tourists.

San Telmo is probably BA's most historic area, dating back to 1536. About 30 years ago its closeness to the city and cheap rent attracted intellectuals and artisans. It was a rebirth and now San Telmo, based around Plaza Dorrego, is a major tourist attraction.

At weekends the square becomes a marketplace with a huge range of curiosities, both in the artists, buskers, tango exhibitionists and the goods for sale to the stalls in the square.

Football is the sporting passion in both Rio and BA and the interest is reflected by their soccer stadiums.

Rio's main stadium fills a complete city block and it's like driving past a fortress.

Not far from the Carnaval streets and grandstands, the stadium is being renovated to host the Pan American Cup in 2008. It has two main entrances, for home fans on one side and visitors on the other. The two never meet, which is not a bad thing considering the attendance record is 200,000, a size that is no longer allowed.

Buenos Aires is the home of Argentina's favourite soccer club, Boca Juniors. The stadium, known as La Bombonera – "the chocolate box" – is at La Boca and soon supporters will be able to die for their club.

A cemetery associated with the stadium is proposed as the final resting place for the die-hard fans who want to take their love for their team into the next life. Boca's arch rival is River Plate.

The mix of races, colour and culture has blessed South America with some of the world's most beautiful women who have perfected the art of ocular seduction, particularly with tourists on Rio's famous beaches of Ipanema or Copacabana.

Yet the most famous Girl from Ipanema was not a beach beauty but an attractive schoolgirl in a uniform who walked past a coffee shop each day.

Thanks should go to the songwriter who regularly watched her – and the coffee shop is still in business.

In Buenos Aires, it's not on the beaches that women like to show their style and looks.

For them it's promenading in the parks and Plaza de Mayo, the city's oldest square, or in La Recoleta, BA's most beautiful residential and exclusive shopping area, or looking chic in business hours on Florida Street.

The streets running off Florida have excellent Argentinian-style barbecue places.

There's plenty to see in South America – if you can drag yourself away from the good life of BA and Rio.

The writer travelled courtesy of The Travel Directors.

Sunday Mail (SA)