Bemvenido a Rio!
Brazil | Monday, August 17, 2015 | 22 photos
... and the journey continues. We last left our courageous adventurers at the brink of a 25 hour bus ride from Iguazu to Rio. The transition to Portuguese has been rude - we understand nada?! Luckily Brazilians don't care and just smile!
Exhausted we arrived in Rio to another couchsurfing experience. Lucho, like Anne-Flore, works in environmental health and safety. Passionate conversations about properly attaching dust masks lasted until the wee hours of the morning!! ;-) Hahaha. Sorry, Kurt couldn't avoid the joke. Lucho lives in Copacabana and was awesome! It really is sad not knowing when we can see all these people again.
Did we forget someone's birthday? Kurt's too humble but Anne-Flore is too thoughtful to forget. We actually had friends of friends in Rio (Marie and Mathieu) and their friends (Johanna and Jeremie) so we drank and danced until the sunrise. Too many fun people and not enough time. Are we taking one year off or two?!? ;-) Our livers and legs need a break now, but we'll come back to do it again anytime!
The verdict on Rio? Bad: damn hot, even in winter. Good: everything else!!! Beaches, architecture, gorgeous verdant mountains, parties and friendly people. It's so good even Anne-Flore would come back again and she never does that. ;-)
The natural setting is stunning, and the effect doesn't wear off. We were pleasantly surprised at the richness of the history and architecture. Honestly, it's not fair for other cities. Rio has everything!!! :-)
Oh, there is of course crime and poverty. But safety is often slightly exaggerated - better safe than sorry though of course. We went several times to the Favelas in fact. They have the best views because they're on the hills! Many have been "pacified", which means gringos like us can actually stay in hostels here or just grab a sunset drink.
