Beach Behaviour: Surviving in Style

Maintaining an even tan and tight musculature is still the principal occupation for most of Rio's beachgoers. Joggers swarm up and down the pavements, bronzed types flex their muscles on parallel bars located at intervals along the beaches, while the tradition of beach football is as strong as legend would have it on the Copacabana - certainly, there's no problem getting a game, though playing on loose sand amidst highly skilled practitioners of Brazil's national sport has the potential for great humiliation. There's lots of volleyball, too, as well as Frescobol - the ubiquitous batball, a kind of table-tennis with a heavy ball, and without the table.

A lot of people make their living by plying food - fruit, sweets, ice cream - and beach equipment along the sea shore, while dotted along the beaches are makeshift canopies, from which you can buy cold drinks. Like bars, most of these have a regular clientele and deliver a very efficient service - remember to return your bottle when you've finished. Coconut milk, côco verde, is sold everywhere, and is a brilliant hangover cure. You don't need to be wary of the edibles either: if the traders were to start poisoning their customers, they'd soon lose their hard-won trading space on the beach and their livelihood.

Beach fashion is important, too, and you'll come across some pretty snappy seaside threads. Fashions change regularly, though, so if you're really desperate to make your mark, you should buy your swimming togs in Rio.

The Bad News

Many of the beaches are dangerous. The seabed falls sharply away, the waves are strong, and currents can pull you down the beach. Mark your spot well before entering the water, or you'll find youself emerging from a paddle twenty or thirty metres from where you started - which, when the beaches are packed at weekends, can cause considerable problems when it comes to relocating your towel. Copacabana is particularly dangerous, even for strong swimmers. However, the beaches are well served by lifeguards, whose posts are marked by a white flag with a red cross; a red flag indicates that bathing is prohibited. Constant surveillance of the beach fronts from helicopters and support boats means that, if you do get into trouble, help should arrive quickly.

Pollution is another problem to bear in mind. Although much has been done in recent years to clean up Guanabara Bay, it is still not safe to swim in the water from Flamengo or Botafogo beaches. While usually the water beyond the Bay at Copacabana and Ipanema is clean, there are times when it isn't, especially following a prolonged period of heavy rain when the city's strained drainage system is unable to cope. Fortunately, these periods are rare.

Take Note: Giving your passport, money and valuables the chance of a sun tan, rather than leaving them in the hotel safe, is madness. Take only the clothes and money that you'll need; it's quite acceptable to use public transport while dressed for the beach. Don't be caught out either by the young lad who approaches you from one side, distracting your attention with some request, while his mate approaches from the other side and whips your bag: it's the most common and efficient method of relieving you of things you shouldn't have brought with you in the first place.