Blogs from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America - page 219

We discovered the bonde station closed upon our arrival. Bewildering! Later we would learn that the conductors of the trolley to Santa Teresa were on strike. But today, just outside the locked gate, sat we and a small handful of equally bewildered tourists. One woman was crying. She was German, which I could tell both from my innate sense of heritage and from the accent in her weeps. I thought, It is only a trolley, lady. As it turns out, she and her husband had been robbed at knifepoint, in broad daylight, mere moments earlier and mere meters nearby. That the station was closed, bewildering as I have already discussed it was, only added insult to their injuries. A couple of overweight American empty-nesters were trying to console the Germans, but it didn't seem to be ... read more

English With “only” six hours of bus we could reach from São Paolo one of the best attraction we were dreaming of during our trip. However, it took us two days to leave the comfortable Toninelli’s house and the Parmigiano… Rio is called the cidade meravilhosa by the Brazilians for some more than justified reasons. In this city nature and civilization combine together in a dramatic and harmonious setting. Rio is made of contrasts: astonishing beaches and mountains of unusual shape, tropical forests and horrible concrete buildings, luxurious neighborhoods and favelas, peace and caos, happiness, music and violence. It is difficult remain indifferent to such an disordered and amazing scenario. In Rio we chose one of the best neighborhoods to stay: Ipanema, famous for the beaches and the song “The girl of Ipanema”. In comparison to ... read more

I can't seem to get past my initial concept that the cultural differences between the United States and places outside the United States would be much more significant than it turns out they are. I had pretty much built it up to the point that I expected to feel as though I landed on another planet once I got off the plane this morning. This, both fortunately and unfortunately, is not the case. While their numbers may contain only eight digits against our ten, Brazilians still use phones just like I do. I'm still holding out hope that the occasional South American can... oh I don't know, grow wings and breathe fire? Just a little? kyle t.... read more

Hello Everyone! The time after Carnaval has just seemed to fly right by, so fast that we can’t believe we are returning to the states in just 4 days! We had an amazing send off from Recife (more on that in a bit), but currently we are in Southern Brazil near Sao Paulo in a suburb called Alphaville and have been since the beginning of March. We also just returned from a 5 day trip to Rio de Janeiro where we made many new great friends and saw some fantastic sights. So without out further ado, let’s tell this tale. When we last wrote, we had been unwinding from Carnaval and getting ready for our send off party before we headed south. Samuel wanted to have a big send off for us and there were talks ... read more

What's up everyone, Sorry about the lack of blogging but it's amazing how south american laziness can be so time consuming. I have been here a week and have pretty much just been surfing, eating, taking naps, going out at night, and spending time relaxing on the beach. I know, I know, it's a tough life. Everyone talks about the crime in Rio, but I have never personally witnessed any in my previous time here. That is until a few nights ago when a couple of friends and I were walking out by the beach/bar area in Copacabana. It was kinda late and about 15 street kids between the ages of 6-15 swarmed us trying to take any possesions we had. I had some money in my pocket and a beer in hand and was somehow ... read more