Rio Pollution & Beauty

Smog & pollution hangs over the city in Rio. At first I just ignore it, but after a few days that becomes harder. I start to feel it in my throat, my eyes, my nose, my body. Did I catch a cold or some infection? It's possible, but I think not. The pollution is entering my body and causing it distress. My eyes weep, my throat is sore, muscles ache, frequent sneezing. My skin is laden with pollution and contaminants.

I've been to other large pollution-ridden cities before and had only minor problems. What will I encounter in Beijing in a few weeks, with it's pollution problems? My eyes are red and aching. White pus seeps from my eyes, and dark bags hang under them. I wake one morning and my right eye is glued shut from the pus which has seeped out of it during the night, then dried and latched the top & bottom eyelashes together. I carefully rinse & pull away the crust in the morning. Lord, deliver me from this purgatory.

Rio also has some of the most lush scenery and beautiful trees that I've seen. Most streets are lined with trees that I haven't seen before, except in movies of jungles or Amazon forests. They have palm trees that grow tall and straight and strong.

Does the pollution someone help the trees grow? Plants need carbon dioxide to grow, perhaps all that pollution contains larger amounts of carbon dioxide to help the plants. It could also help that it never gets too cold in Rio, certainly never freezes. I don't think any of these trees could survive even one winter anywhere in the US, except maybe in LA or Key West.

Rio has a botanical garden that is large and wonderful. It is nicely laid out with organized columns of trees and other plant life. Take a look at the picture on the right. It looks like a fake backdrop, but it is the actual scene behind us as we sit on a bench in the botanical garden. I make you this promise: This photo is untouched, not even color corrected.