ORUA - Passe LPRio de Janeiro, where the mountains dramatically merge with the sea, is riddled with contradictions. Its a cliche to say that a city is full of contradictions, but Rio de Janeiro is not just any city. Many elements are often in opposition: the beauty of the coastline contrasting the decay of the center city; the wealth of the valleys and coastline at odds with the poverty of the hillside favelas and the periferia (periphery); the idyllic sand and surf