The Truth About Rio

Rio is a very fun place. A lot of beaches, tropical drinks, and beautiful people; but we have all heard and seen this before. What you don’t hear about is the weather. I assumed it must be quite beautiful for the beaches to always be packed, when the truth is there are times when it was miserable (90F, 90% humidity). YUCK. Maybe I just had unreasonable expectations after having to go through the headache of getting a visa or years of hype from different media sources. I don’t know. Fun place, but far from my favorite.

Getting Here

When you fly into Rio, you get a good view of the city, or rather the beaches and skyline, but it’s not until you drive through the city that you get a true picture of the situation here. Between the airport and where I was staying in the neighborhood of Botafogo, you see where the city is getting ready for the world famous Carnival but you also see the favelas (slums) and smell the polluted bodies of water for miles. Once you get through the many miles of that, and start heading south, things start to look (and smell) a lot better.

Botafogo

Many of you may have not heard of Botafogo Bay, as it isn’t known for it’s beaches, but it is home to the best boating areas in Rio and has a great view of the Sugarloaf Mountain (One of the best panoramic views of the city). Also, there are many restaurants and street vendors open at any time of the day or night.

Copacabana

There’s that song right, “at the Copa, Copacabana”. Well, you weren’t the only one to hear that song. This beautiful beach is HUGE. Highly suggest it for your day(s) at the beach. A ton of people, but there is room for everybody and plenty of chilled coconut for sale to keep you hydrated. Along the boardwalk you find a lot of activities going on: soccer, volleyball, samba, and tons of street vendors. Across the street, there are many hotels, bars, and restaurants (beware: HUGE tourist tax being paid here). During the day and night, there are also many prostitutes here; the later you are out, the more aggressive they become. They usually walk in pairs of two, make advances on you, and have very strong forearms. My first night out going to the different bars in Copacabana, I had to use the pull my way out the grip of more than a couple of these girls. The working girls really aren’t my thing, and they don’t like that answer. So, just know that.

Ipanema

Ipanema is another place that has a song about it, “the girl from Ipanema”. I did meet a couple girls from there, but couldn’t track down “the girl from Ipanema”, sad I know. This is a place that is much smaller than Copacabana, but just as packed. The feel here is that of somewhere in Jamaica. A lot of Rasta themes and a lot of open marijuana use. Be careful here. When I visited there was a large police presence (close to 50 visible officer, many vehicles, and a police helicopter) and large brawl including a large group teenage boys and girls happened. I attempted to enter the water, but couldn’t work my way through the crowded main beach. If you head towards the end of the main area, there are some boulders and on the other side is a much more secluded beach. I recommend this area.

Christ the Redeemer 

This is one of the most famous landmarks in Rio. The giant statue of Jesus Christ on top of a mountain, with his arms out; a symbol of Brazilian Christianity. Look, I’m Catholic and love visiting Holy places, but this place is overrated and overpriced. You go up there and everyone is taking the same picture of them mimicking the outstretched arms. If you think that there will be a good view of the city, there are very few times in a day where that would be correct because of how much pollution there is. Most locals say it’s not worth going up there and I agree. You can see the statue from almost everywhere in the city, pollution permitting, so take a picture from there or go to the Sugar Loaf Mountain.

Sugar Loaf Mountain

The Sugar Loaf Mountain is awesome! Not expensive at all. Fun to ride the cable cars. Good food at both stops along the way. 360 views. Activities. Seriously recommend this place.

Escadaria Selaron

Escadaria Selaron is in the neighborhoods of Lapa and Santa Teresa in Rio de Janeiro. Chilean artist Jorge Selaron began this madness in 1990, and in prophetic way claimed that “this crazy and unique dream will only end on the day of my death” (prophetic because he was found dead on the famous steps in 2013). There are 250 steps, with more than 2000 tiles from over 60 countries. An interesting place indeed.

The Women

Okay. I’m only discussing this because it has come up in every conversation I have had about going to Rio. “Brazilian women are some of the most gorgeous women in the world”. People in Rio don’t have a certain “look”. I could put five different women born and raised in Rio in a line up and all of them could look different. There are people from all over the world: Spanish, Portuguese, Eastern European, Asian, African, Arab. With the weather, diet, and active lifestyle in Rio, there are many very attractive women here. Yes, they don’t wear much clothes (I think more as a necessity because of the weather). Yes, the people of Rio are very open with their sexuality….That being said, this city of nearly 7 million people isn’t a living Latin American rap video. You are going to wish some of these people were wearing more clothes.

Overall

If you do come to Rio, make sure to check out the beaches, food, and nightlife. The people are very warm and welcoming, but English isn’t very widely spoken, so learn some key phrases in Portuguese ( if you have something very specific in mind, make sure to use google translate). I don’t regret coming to Rio, but I don’t think I will be back anytime soon.

You are awesome!

-Mike

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