Got here 2 days ago and I could not love it more. We got off the plane and after going through customs, the driver promised us by the people we rented the apartment from, was there waiting for us. He even spoke English, much to our surprise. According to him, it took a bit longer than usual to get into Copacabana due to rush hour traffic. Got to the apartment and Ken was there waiting to greet us. He has a website www.ez-riorentals.com. He’s an American that has been in the apartment rental business in Rio for years. The apartment was just like in the photos on their website. Clean and comfortable. Ken even gave us a cell phone to use while we are here. We are about 30 yds. from the beach. After doing the paperwork, we slept for a few hours just to recover from the flight. I can’t sleep on planes all that well.
When we awoke we walked to the beach and took in the sights. I have never seen mountains go right into the ocean before. We walked around a bit and found the Kilo restaurant Ken told us about. What a deal! Lunch for 2 cost us about 30 reals or about $18 US and that included drinks and desert. It’s hot here, hotter than we expected. Spent about ½ hour on the beach. We are both as white as ghosts and don’t want to ruin our vacation with sunburn. Called the driver that picked us up at the airport and asked him if he could show us around that night. We felt safer with someone we knew. He came by at about 8PM and we all went to dinner. He took us to a few clubs and to different neighborhoods. We liked Leblon best but there is not much as far as tourist activities go in Leblon. My wife said shopping is even a bit more expensive here than back home. Amazingly we did not find a single outdoor café on the beach in Leblon or in Ipanema for that matter. They only seem to be in Copacabana. There are the juice bars or Kiosks on the beach side of the street in al 3 neighborhoods. I found out that Copacabana is not actually the name of the city, it’s the name of the neighborhood. Well we’re off to the beach again for another bit of sun today.
There are a lot of sidewalk cafes in Ipanema and Leblon but none on the beaches like in Copacabana. We like sitting and watching the pepole on the street. Every so often vendors try and sell us cheap tourist stuff and that can be quite annoying. Most everything was closed yesterday so we just relaxed and took it easy. Thank god for the cable tv in the apartment. I think we are going to try Lapa on Thursday. Our driver said it’s a good night to go.
OK, glad for the cable tv in the apartment again. It rained from late afternoon yesterday until about 8am this morning. We went to a Churasceria restaurant last night in Copacabana. It was one that Ken mentioned when we arrived. It was nice enough but I ate too much since it was an all you can eat place for one fixed price. By the way, even when you ask them to stop bringing the meat, they continue to stop by your table and ask.
I hope it will be nice for our trip to Lapa tomorrow night.
Today we spent some time on the beach. Yep sunny day today. My friends will be surprised to see "ME" with a tan.. I live in a sunny State but spend almost no time in the sun. Just back from lunch and need we a nap before Lapa tonight. Can't wait.
Well, we leave tonight for the US. What a great trip. We were in Lapa on Thurs. night and hit about 3 clubs. Ken's driver Rodrigo was a great help. He knew the best locations to hit. We did not get back to our apt. until 5am. Yesterday we were in Centro. A bit dingy but safe enough. After all the reports about the danger in Rio we are pleased to say we never even felt uncomfortable once during the entire trip. We are thinking about coming back for Carnival and will use Ken again for an apartment.
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We are home safe and sound. I actually have a tan! My friends and co-workers can't believe it. After spending a week in Rio we are glad to be home though.
First off we would like to mention Ken at www.ez-riorentals.com and thank him for the apartment and all his help while we were there. We would also like to thank his driver Rodrigo for his time and efforts to show us a good time. Especially in Lapa.
We did not know what to expect in Rio due to all the stuff we read about the crime in Rio. The most dangerous thing we had to contend with was the mosquitoes. There is a problem with dengue fever right now. However we did not even get 1 bite. Go figure.
If you abide by a few simple rules you should be ok.
Don’t flash cash.
Don’t wear jewelry, even costume jewelry.
At night take a yellow cab. Like Ken told us over and over. The later is gets the more important it is to use taxies.
Don’t take romantic walks along the beach at night or to watch the sun come up.
Restaurants are plentiful and the amount of food they provide for one is actually is enough to feed a small family. We found that the Kilo restaurants in Copacabana are the best value for your money. The Churrascarias are cheap enough but with an all you can eat policy you find that all you want to do is go back to your apartment and sleep.
Taxies. Yellow cabs are everywhere and rates start at 4.30.reals. A trip to Ipanema from Copacabana should cost you about 9-10.reals.
Beach chairs.. You can rent them for about 5.reals a day each but the apartment we had rented came with 2 chairs.
Drinks at the beach.. Don’t let the chair guys get them, they over charge you like crazy. Just take a short walk to one of the kiosks on the beach and get your own.
Beach vendors.. they will try and sell you everything.. Just tell them no thank you……..
Clubs.. By far the best we found were in Lapa. However if you are looking for a club like back in the states there are as few in Ipanema and Leblon. Just like home. We preferred where the locals go, the clubs in Lapa.
Hope this simple advice helps.
