I’m going to Rio- tips/advice please. I think B-Chad used to live there? Or speaks Port for some reason. I’d put money that Righetous H has been.
I think I’m there for 8 or 9 days- what would you rec for guys that are 30? Where should I go (other than the Jesus statue). Should I hit up Buzios, or take a flight to Uruguay?
I just came back from Brazil a week ago. Loved it!
We only spent 4 days in Rio, so went to see Christ, Sugar Loaf, Downtown and Botanical garden. The rest of the time we were on the beach. Tried to do zip lining, but it was sold out.
I am envious; I wish I could go back!
[video:www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdsTUfDTEhQ]
Legit.
^Too legit.
Did you do as the locals and go topless or are you so Americanized you covered up and stuck out like a sore thumb?
Brazilians generally don’t do topless, aside from niche communities. Topless is more of a european thing. Brazilians do tiny dental-flossy like swimsuits (women primarily, though men generally wear small speedo-like stuff; surf shorts are also ok for guys, but not US-style swim trunks), but they don’t do naked on the beach.
Nine days is a long time in Rio if you are just a tourist. By all means do the touristy things like the big Jesus (great view) and Sugar Loaf mountain, and walking down Avenida Atlantica in Copacabana. Get some beach time in, though it’s better to do that on the weekend so you mix with the locals more. Copacabana beach is worth seeing, because of the curve and the wide sandy section, and beach soccer, but Ipanema is nicer for hanging out and taking sun. Posto 9 is the point where much of the Brazilian elite likes to camp.
I enjoyed going hang gliding one time and landing on the beach; you can usually find someone to take you at Sao Conrado beach. That was way fun. The botanical garden is nice, as is a tour of the Tijuca Forest, which is the largest urban-set forest in the world. There’s a large lagoon in the city too, and you can walk around it or run around it for exercise. At night, you can go to the Arcos da Lapa for music and dancing. I like walking along Ipanema and Leblon beach at night, and most of the better local restaurants are in those neighborhoods. I don’t think they have the little trolley that takes you to Santa Teresa anymore, but if they do, it’s worth doing. If you like 1930s style hotel elegance in a beach setting, have a meal or even stay at the Copacabana Palace Hotel.
If you are going with a girlfriend/boyfriend type, Buzios is definitely a good destination. If you’re single, it’s nice, but less fantastic. I like some of the more historical colonial architecture and things, so I personally like the town of Parati (I think they are spelling it with a y these days Paraty), which was an old smuggling port with cobblestone streets and colonial architecture. They also have a nice schooner ride that takes you to the islands in the area.
(sorry for the large pictures, I tried to scale them down, but it didn’t seem to work)
There’s also some of the historical towns in Minas Gerais, like Ouro Preto, Tiradentes, and such. They take longer to get to, but if you are there for 9 days and start getting bored, it’s something to consider. Again, those are good if you like the feel of old colonial towns which still have that architecture. Ouro Preto is also a college town, so lots of young people.
I actually haven’t seen anyone topless, surprisingly. I also didn’t see that many string bikinis! But their typical bikinis are much more revealing, so there is that. I bought one, but I doubt I can get away with it in US. Maybe in Europe.
As for topless, I saw a lot of it in Barcelona beaches and it seemed very natural there. The gf who traveled with me shamed me into not doing it, which I regret. It must feel very nice.
PS: I didn’t need to be Americanized to not go topless, as it’s not common in Russia. Men’s speedos on the other hand are.
I feel like those documentaries on the beaches of Brazil on Redtube and Xhamster have lied to me.
Russian/Brazilian speedos would be considered obscene by most other cultures. Was there really any need to make budgie smugglers more skimpy?
to quit?
Rough timing, we could’ve had that little lover’s rendezvous in I’ve you’ve been hoping for
Respect. Will PM you pics if anything nasty goes down. If you wanna go I’ll rent a camera for the day and follow you around, we’ll tell the dimes you’re the hot new american rapper.
Thanks Bchad… I’ll look into all that stuff. Much appreciated. I think Buzious has a Pacha and Privilege(night clubs), which I’ve been to in Ibiza, so I thought they might have a lot of young party goers.
FTR, no topless in Brazil. The irony is that the bathing suits are tiny. (This is the only research I’ve done thus far). Maybe I’ll rock a banana hammock… What? When in Rome.
If you want topples, go to a beach club in Spain, you’ll end up fapping in the bathroom, it’s unreal.
Prostitution is legal in Brazil, provided it’s not with someone underage. If that kind of stuff is your bag (not saying it is, but some comments suggest it’s possible), the Help discoteque in Copacabana is where a lot of foreigners go and pick up flesh. But take a taxi home from there; there are often people waiting to mug foreigners if you try to go down the side streets as you leave.
How does bchad know about this? Well, when I was travelling in the Amazon and ran into a bunch of aussies telling me “Man, if yew like dahncing, yew gotta gow to dis playce in Rio. It’s called ‘ELP’ annits jest amayzin’. Wahl to wahl jest beautiful girls! An dey jest throw demselves ahtcha!” So next time I was in Rio, got in a cab, told the driver I wanted to go to ‘Help’. He sniggered a bit and took me there. Once I was inside, I figured out what the game was pretty fast.
Prostitution isn’t my thing, because I think the direct exchange of money takes the thrill out of a successful seduction, and in any case I was a poor student at the time, but it was interesting experience. The women were indeed pretty darned attractive.
Another interesting thing is how the street prostitutes on Avenida Atlantica organize themelves. On the eastern end, it’s mostly women looking for men. In the central part, it gives way to a section of men looking for men. On the western end, near where one turns to go to Ipanema, you get men, dressed as women, looking for men. Pretty much everyone (men and women) agree that the transvestites are the most stunning-looking of the whole lot, but anyone who takes one home has to be prepared for that something extra that they have.
One problem is that many foreigners end up meeting prostitutes or quasi-prostitutes on their trips to Brazil, and come to the conclusion that all Brazilian women are like that. It’s not true. It’s true that Brazilians don’t tend to be prudish, but that doesn’t mean they’ll hop in the sack with anyone who looks rich, especially the middle and upper classes.
When Brazilian women go or live abroad and and say “I’m from Brazil,” lots of them hate the characterization of Brazilians as easy lays that foreigners get from the prostitutes and other marketing like CvM’s video. Guys say “Brazil, huh” with a twinge in their voice, and these women put their defenses up unless you can persuade them you understand how the culture works.
By the way, the bit about treating women with respect and being a gentleman really works on Brazilians (and Russians and Europeans). I know that I catch a lot of flack for advocating being a stand-up respectful guy, but I suspect it is more American and maybe other British and British Colonial women who seem to have issues with not liking nice guys. I’ve never had any success with an American woman by being a nice guy, but with these other nationalities, I often do. So try being genuinely thoughtful and gentlemanly with the women in Brazil, and you’ll likely do well and won’t even need to go to ‘ELP’.
Yes, it is the timing indeed
Oh I know that “huh”
Yeah, Russian women have a similar dynamic going on.
I haven’t lived in Russia, though, so I am not as sure what parts are real, what parts are imagined, and what parts are real-but-misunderstood/misinterpreted.
A coworker once implied that I must know some strippers since I am Russian
I assumed all Russian women looked like this…
Yeah… That’s what my high school uniform looked like