Days spent: 5

Days recommended: more than 5!

Where we slept: Airbnb private room in a shared flat in Copacabana, hosted by Jeff [if you’re traveling as a couple in Brazil, Airbnb can prove to be cheaper than hostels]

What we ate: a lot of tapioca, tropical fruits, feijoada (black beans stew with beef and pork), moqueca (salt water fish stew in coconut milk with veggies), roast-chicken (try Galeto Sat’s), biscoito globo (a beach snack made of polvilho, a manioc starch), açai (thick smoothie of açai berries, covered in oatmeal).

What we drank: tropical fruits ice cold shakes, ice cold chopp (/draft) beer, everything made with cachaça, matte leão (a refreshing iced tea, sold by beach vendors directly from metal barrels carried on their shoulders). A Brazilian would never accept a lukewarm drink, and ice-cold actually makes a considerable difference in the taste.

How we travelled: by foot, with the underground and buses during the day, Uber by night.

Km walked: 65

How Rio affected our wallets: not so much! However, we skipped churrasco which would have made a much bigger impact!

Issues we encountered: maybe a basic knowledge of Portuguese could have proved to be helpful in some occasions. Otherwise none. Cariocas are quite welcoming and nice, Wifi can be easily found and credit cards are accepted pretty much everywhere.
We (actually I) was very worried before our arrival because of Rio’s bad reputation as far as safety issues are concerned. It’s a big city, favelas and poor neighborhoods are around every corner and wealthy or middle class people are far from being the majority. If you plan your trips, avoid some areas, keep a low profile and your eyes wide open, you really shouldn’t get into trouble. We felt much safer than we thought we would.

Would we recommend it? Definitely yes, up to date one of the highlights of this journey and a place where, if we knew Portuguese and didn’t mind living away from Europe, we would consider moving to.

Analogue tips:
Rio is so colourful that you really should consider if it’s worth to shoot monochrome. If you own it, it would be great to bring a wide angle lens or a panoramic camera. The viewpoints allow you to take some proper picture perfect shots.

What to do:

[to be continued]

 Olympus OM-10, Fuji Velvia 50 (35, expired) and Lomochrome Purple 100-400 (35), 24-25/11/2016, Rio De Janeiro (Brazil)

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January 14, 2017

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