Brazil - Rio, Angra, Paraty, and Belo Horizonte

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I traveled here with two great friends and we happened to have friends that lived in Rio, Angra/Paraty and Belo Horizonte. While we did a bit of wandering on our own, we were fortunate enough to receive hospitality and recommendations of where to best soak up the culture in each of these cities.


Rio de Janeiro


You can't help but get swept up in Rio's lively and diverse culture. It makes you wish your ancestors would have diverted their ships south instead of ending up on boring Plymouth Rock. Below are my recommendations on what to do and what to skip if you're time crunched.

Areas to stay:
Impanema Beach is the best area to stay, solo or with friends, if you’re looking for quick access to the nicest beaches. Hotels are a bit more expensive, similar to US prices, but well worth it. I would not recommend staying in Copacabana, the area is overrated, the water is dirty and the cut in cost isn't worth skipping Impanema. If you're looking for more of a city vibe, Lapa is also a nice option, but be prepared to see a wealth gap. Better to stay closer to Rua do Lavradio if you're a solo traveler.

Leblanc Beach (Post 9 - huge rainbow flag), on the Impanema side, is the place to be. A chair and umbrella are super cheap. Buy a "canga" on the beach, 25 Reals, instead of bringing a beach towel; no one uses towels. Get the BBQed cheese on a stick and ice cold beer (if that’s your thing). They bring it right to your umbrella and it's also incredibly cheap.

Sights to see:
If you want to make it to the Cristo and not wait 4-6 hours, buy your Cristo ticket online (http://www.guicheweb.com.br/bondinho/). Thank god the site has improved its English translations. Honestly, pay the few extra bucks to take a cab to the area where you have to get the vans to take you to the top. B/c you bought your ticket online, you get to go into the express line. After you’re done, you’ll be able to get a cab down by the van area.

If you want to see Sugar Loaf, also buy your ticket online. After you bought your ticket, you can hike up the first mountain, which provides beautiful views and wildlife, but can be a bit laborious, and then take the tram to the 2nd mountain. Or take both trams if you're time constrained. If I had to pick b/t Cristo and Sugar Loaf, I’d pick the Cristo. But if you can do both, do them on separate days or you'll be burned out.

After Sugar Loaf, you can pop over to Urca and eat at Bar Urca. Be prepared to wait at least an hour if you don't have a reservation, which you can make online. However, you can buy cold beer and Bolinhos de bacalhau (cod fish balls), sit by the water and soak up the atmosphere while you wait. Everyone does it.

Definitely take a half day to wander around Santa Teresa to see awesome street art, beautiful views of the city, and great local bars and restaurants that you can just pop into. Lapa is close as well and great to walk around.

Night Life:
Rio Scenarium, especially if you want some great Samba music.
Jockey Club, which is outdoors under a tent.

Food to eat:
Pao de Queijo (cheese bread for breakfast)
Bolinhos de bacalhau (cod fish balls)
Coxinhas (creamy chicken balls)
Acai (kind of a berry smoothie - you can get this at the top of Cristo or Sugarloaf as a nice cooling treat)
Requejao (spread for toast)
Any fish - the fish is amazing

I seriously fell in love with the food in Brazil….and gained 5 pounds.

Angra & Paraty

I would recommend taking the bus from Rio down to Angra. If you can swing it, instead of staying in Angra, take a Ferry out to Ilha Grande. This is quite a time consuming trip (5-6 hours total), but I think well worth it. Sadly, I could not make it to Ilha Grande though; you have to book your place there well in advance and I missed out. The accommodations are all little beach huts, but my friends have said it's truly paradise.

There is no boat that goes from Ilha Grande to Paraty, so if you want to see Paraty, you must go back to Angra and then take a 2 hour bus ride down to Paraty. While Paraty is nice and can easily be done in a day, if you had to pick, I would pick Ilha Grande. Paraty is a bit of a tourist trap, although has interesting history in trade roots. Nothing really exceptional in Paraty except cutesy tourist shops and cobblestone streets. The food is okay but a bit over priced.

Belo Horizonte

I had some of the best cheese in my life here! While a bit more laid back than Rio, this city still has much to offer, but can easily be done in two days. I would recommend the short flight, instead of the long bus ride if finances work out. It's not too expensive of a flight, around $200 round trip from Rio. Check out the Instituto Inhotim, the Sao Francisco Church, and the Santa Tereza District. Minas Gerais is known for their cheese, so be sure to visit the Central Market to purchase some for home. To be honest, we had friends living in Belo Horizonte, so I spent most of my time lapping up their hospitality. However, NYTimes has a great article: 36 Hours In Belo Horizonte, if you're interested in spending more time here.

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Photos

Cod Fish Balls and Beer
I think I may have ate this every day!