Jardim Botánico = Botanical Garden

Apparently, I wasn't supposed to walk to the Botanical Gardens from Gávea, or at least not in the 95 degree heat.  My landlady told me (or so I thought) that it was just on the other side of the university, which is only a 3-minute walk from the house. I either misunderstood her or we were conversing about directions at perpendicular angles. By the time I walked through the university campus, around the lake (did I mention there's a lake in the middle of Gávea?), and finally began following traffic signs to the gardens, what should have been a 40-minute walk turned into about an hour and a half. Thank goodness I brought a bottle of water with me. Now I know that the tall, super-straight palm trees, pictured at the left in this picture, make the garden easy to locate from afar.  You live, you learn. (Actually, that may be my motto for this trip!)

John VI of Portugual founded the Botanical Garden in 1808 (Fun fact: In typical Portuguese fashion, John VI's full name is "João Maria José Francisco Xavier de Paula Luís António Domingos Rafael de Braganças.")  He originally wanted to cultivate various trees and plants for spices, but 14 years into the project, the garden grew so large that it was opened to the public.  Today the park covers about 140 hectares (~0.5 sq. mile) and is home to more than 6,000 species.  Half a square mile doesn't look so impressive on paper, but when you're surrounded by half a square mile of trees for as far as you can see, you begin to change your perspective.  I saw a small portion of the garden and hope to return soon to see more. 


I started with this trail:

and came upon a tree with an interesting fruit: 

A prickly guava?  An oblong, unripened lychee?  

I still don't know.
[UPDATE: Thank you, Dani, for informing me that this is a jaca, or jackfruit.]

What I do know is that I was hit in the arm by a falling lychee later that day and it hurt! Tropical cities should have tourist courtesy signs:  "Caution: Watch for falling fruit!" 

The two photos below are from the water / hydroponic section of the garden. 

Anybody need some bamboo? I've seen more bamboo in Brazil in the short time I've been here than I've seen in my entire life. (And yes, the background image to this blog is bamboo, not sugarcane.)

Those steps (below) look so inviting. The little gazebo at the top almost looks like the beginning to a Japanese garden. It's not, but I do hope to visit the actual Japanese garden next time.

On the way out, don't forget to thank Demeter, Goddess of agriculture, harvest, and fertility.  (Or you could just enjoy a maté and croissant in the adjacent café and peruse the gift shop, where I almost bought a shirt made of bamboo-fiber. I still might ...)