Blogs from Botafogo, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

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Teesside Travellers icon
Teesside Travellers
March 10th 2013

10th-12th March ’13 Catete, Rio. It was quite sad to be leaving our little hotel and the laid back Urca (especially as I had read the reviews of the hostel we were staying in next!) but it will be nice to find somewhere else to eat! We took a taxi to the metro station, sussed out buying a multiple journey card and caught the tube to Catete. As soon as we got out of the metro station it was obvious this was a much livelier area, with lots of restaurants, shops and bars. The hostel – Hostel Republica was just a couple of minutes’ walk away down a road off the main street, so location wise it is excellent. Check in involved lots of hurrrumping and sighing by the man on the desk and eventually he ... read more




Teesside Travellers icon
Teesside Travellers
March 9th 2013

9th March ’13 Rio, Sugar Loaf Mountain and Copacabana Well we got up early today and were first for breakfast so we could leg it round to the cable car for Sugar Loaf Mountain and hopefully beat the bus trips and we did. The sky was clear and so we paid our money and got in the cable car, which first took us to Urca Mountain (of mountain view room fame) and then on up to the top of Sugar Loaf. The views were glorious and stunning, a 360 degree panorama of Rio with all its bays, beaches, mountains, suburbs and the statue of Christ the Redeemer looking down from its perch over the whole city. There were paths leading down and around the mountain and I think we explored them all (no surprise to those ... read more




Teesside Travellers icon
Teesside Travellers
March 7th 2013

7th March ’13 London to Rio de Janeiro We were only slightly late taking off from Heathrow terminal 5 for our 11 ½ hour flight to Rio and considering the length of the flight it wasn’t too bad – I put this down to a nicotine patch and inflight movies! I have to mention one of these films – Cloud Atlas, it was superb and even though I couldn’t hear all of the dialogue clearly due to the naff headsets and the picture was tiny it was one of the best films I have seen in a very long time. On the downside British Airways have obviously decided to cut down on the amount of meals you get on such a long flight and to try and convince you that what you do get is gourmet ... read more




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Delek Delek
February 23rd 2013

This blog entry chronicles the last day and a half I spent in Rio by myself before flying back out to London. It also gives me a vehicle to show off some more of the photos I took in the this stunningly scenic city.... The name of company taking me from Paraty back to Rio was called easytransferbrazil.com but in reality it was anything but. Again, it all started well - one of four people in a massive minivan with air-conditioning and DVDs playing on the main screen (even if it was Welcome To The Jungle starring "The Rock"). As with most people here, the driver seemed pretty laid back, and didn't speak any English. We then stop for "five minutes" which was more like twenty, while the driver decides to get the minivan washed by ... read more




JonSonyaTravel icon
JonSonyaTravel
February 22nd 2013

Rio Carnaval 2013 - Part one We start our trip with a week in Rio de Janeiro at the time of Carnaval, a immense festival of colour, music and general indulgence before the start of lent. Really a visit to Rio during Carnaval should come with a note of caution - if you value your sleep, are averse to large raucous crowds or are in anyway claustrophobic - Carnaval is not for you! We arrive in Rio late in the evening, after our first sweaty, meagre nights sleep we arise with one thing in mind - the beach! Rio is famed for its miles of sandy beaches and striking views (girls with big butts and tiny g-strings) so we thought what better way to start our stay than with a trip to Ipanema, the next beach ... read more




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JonSonyaTravel icon
JonSonyaTravel
February 22nd 2013

So for the first three days we were in Rio we really had no intention of going to the Sambadrome because of the inflated cost of tickets but after speaking to people from the hostel every morning, hearing what an amazing atmosphere it was, we soon changed our minds and bought two tickets for the last parade on the Monday night. It was the best night we had in Rio. Whether it was down to the litre of cheap rum we drank or the buzzing atmosphere I'm not sure . The Sambadrome is made up of two long lines of grandstands flanking a concrete runaway where samba schools parade to impress the audience and the judges. The parades featured giant, weird and wonderful floats and they were surrounded with thousands of beating drums and amazing dancers. ... read more




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adamandemma2011
March 31st 2012

The flights you will be glad to hear went completely without a hitch, taking us all over the continent until eventually we touched gracefully down at Rio international airport last Friday. We spent one night squeezed into an 8 person dorm and as quickly as possible hopped into a minibus down the coast. A short ferry crossing and 3 hours later we were on Ilha Grande a stunning island around the size of Manchester just off the Brazilian coast. The beaches were really beautiful, and the ocean invigoratingly bracing, so our 5 days flew by in a daze of sun and seafood in what felt like no time. With much better tans we were off, back to Rio! Being old hands at busses and ferries and the such the journey was no problem whatsoever, even having ... read more




manjnkesh icon
manjnkesh
February 14th 2012

As far as going out went on Saturday night, our prematch nap may have continued through to the morning, so we woke up fresh and ready to hit the beach. There´s a fine line between being tanned and being frazzled, but in our case there was no doubt we were the latter. Thinking it was cloudy and that clouds didn´t have the ability to move (and the fact that we´re English), we ventured out to Copacabana with no sun cream and paid a price we are still feeling today. Copacabana is a five kilometre stretch of unrelenting sunbaked sand filled with the upper echelons of beauty. The sea, while clogged with a bit of rubbish and sewage here and there, is a warmish temperature. It´s quite nice. That paved the way for the favela funk party ... read more




Finally there...

Published: February 11th 2012South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro » Botafogo
manjnkesh icon
manjnkesh
February 11th 2012

So here we are, finally, after a couple of flights. The first was fairly uneventful apart from Mr Kinobi (at least that´s what his XL England shirt said on the back - might have been a tribute to Obi Wan who, as far as we know has never been near a rugby pitch, aeroplane or Italy) complaining that it was too cold. The second was even more uneventful for the first few hours - so much so that we weren´t actually moving and both hads time to get through a film an a nap in the three hours it took them to de-ice the plane, runway and probably whole of Rome. In hindsight, a direct flight with British Airways might have been a better call. Anyway, 13 hours later and the snowy chill of England was ... read more




The Rough Lonely Feet Guide icon
The Rough Lonely Feet Guide
December 15th 2011

Ok, last ever blog from a grey, glum-looking Rio. The sun has barely shone here, but the beautiful Costa Verde coast has definitely made up for it. Looking forward to seeing everyone at Christmas and glad to see the back of our backpacks, grimey hostels and SA scumbags, but we'll definitely miss this way of life! 09/12/11- After publishing our last blog in Paraty, we returned to the pousada for crackers and a poolside beer before catching a minibus to Penha village. We were dropped off next to a church perched on top of a massive boulder, and walked down to an even bigger boulder in the river, creating a crazy natural water slide! Lunatics sometimes surf down this monstrous rock (there's even an annual world cup!), but we only saw people sliding down it. Olie ... read more









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