Word of advice

Rio is ready, so let's make sure you are ready for Rio too!

Rio has crime, usually common sense is enough, but just a couple of warnings to make sure you are prepared:

DO NOT WALK ON THE BEACH AND PARKS AT NIGHT.

LEAVE YOUR BELONGINGS, ANY JEWELRY, EVEN YOUR WATCH IN YOUR HOTEL.

DO NOT CARRY YOUR CAMERA IN YOUR NECK, KEEP IT IN A BAG WITH YOU. THE BEST MEMORIES OF RIO WILL NOT BE REGISTERED IN PHOTOS BUT IN YOUR EXPERIENCE.

DO NOT BRING YOUR PASSPORT WITH YOU, MAKE A COPY AND CARRY THAT WITH YOU.

IF YOU ARE IN ANY TYPE OF TROUBLE, DO NOT REACT, DO NOT REACT, DO NOT REACT. GIVE AWAY SOME MONEY AND THEY WILL GO AWAY.

Rio is a wonderful city, but it does have poverty and crime, do not underestimate it.

ANY TROUBLE?

DEAT – DELEGACIA ESPECIAL DE APOIO AO TURISMO
SPECIAL POLICE UNIT FOR TOURISM SUPPORT
COMMISSARIAT DE POLICE TOURISTIQUE
POLIZEI-SPEZIALEINHEIT TOURISMUS

Av.Afrânio de Melo Franco, 159 - Leblon
Tel. (21) 2332-2924 e (21) 2332-2885/2889
e-mail: deat@pcerj.rj.gov.br

Public Transportation

Rio has a really good subway system. I recommend to always take the subway instead of buses and taxis. Traffic jams are painful in Rio, it is better to be in a crowded and clean metro than stuck in a crowded and dirty bus... trust me on that one!

You purchase the metro card at the metro stations. You can add as many Reais (Brazilian currency) as you want to the card, minimum R$10 reais to start the card and minimum R$5 for aditional trips. You pay by trip, not by distance. Each trip is $2,80. You can also buy individual trips every time, but queues can be long. One doesn't need to show the card after entering the station. It is a bit confusing when going through the gate since some of them don´t take the pre-paid card (cartão pré-pago).

You enter the bus from the front door and exit from the back. Everyone pays to the driver and each trip costs R$2,20. Try to bring change, but driver will give you change if you need. Some buses might have a person in charge of collecting the fare, but they are changing the system now and most of the buses have drivers doing the collection.

Buses are known by their number, not by direction. So, you better find out the number of the line. Just the location won't help. BUS DRIVERS ARE CRAZY, they drive really fast and will only stop at the bus stop if you pull the cord (press the button) or if you waive at the bus stop.

Only take yellow taxis or the ones with taxi written on it! and if your hotel can arrange a taxi, it will be a little more expensive, but probably nicer and safer. I am not a fan of the taxi drivers in Rio... They drive like maniacs and can be dishonest.


ARRIVAL AT THE CONVENTION CENTER by metro - Estacio Metro Station

Take the right side of the metro exit and look for the sign written Centro de Convenções. The building is in between a modern blue building and a yellow old building.

WOMEN´S ONLY: One of the cars in the subway is for women only from 6am to 9am and 5pm to 8pm. It is marked with pink colors and written Carro das Mulheres.

Weather and Dress code

Rio is a beach town, so people are quite relaxed. It is a little bit like California, but warmer... even in the winter. I am in Rio right now and had 90F (32C) yesterday, but a cold front arrived and it is now in the low 70s F (low 20s C) and overcast. I expect the same trend during the first two weeks of August.

Anyway, I recommend that you wear two layers, but no need for a thick jacket or even a thick sweater, even during the evening temperatures are rarely below 60F (15 C). But if you are planning to go to São Paulo or south, I recommend a jacket. Temperatures can get below 50F (10C) there.

Some of you have asked me about how to dress for dinners etc. Although Brazilians are informal, they do tend to dress up for dinners and night events. During the day many people wear shorts, but rarely at night, specially this time of the year, since they think it is cold :-)

Voltage and plugs

Rio is 110 V (other cities may be 220, check it out) and outlet shapes are weird... either Flat blade plug or Two round pins. So, computer's 3 pins one will NOT work in Brazil, but if you have something that will make it two flat blade, then it should be fine in most of the places, after using a bit of brute force :0) The flats are really flat and the American flats are uneven... Some older houses will have only round ones, then you will need an adapter. Google is great, here is an image of the plugs: http://www.deltatranslator.com/two-prong.jpg

Arriving in Rio

I am counting down the days now! so, here is the post about arrival in Rio.

After you pass customs with your luggage, but still inside the customs' area, you will notice some stands with some people waiving and offering you taxis. Those are legal taxis and very comfortable ones. You pre-pay it there, which is a positive thing since most drivers will not speak any language but Portuguese and might even be nasty and take you for a longer ride than you need. The average price for Copacabana-Ipanema area is around US$40, but you need to say where you are going to the agent before closing the deal. These special taxis (radio taxis) can be white with some color stripes, or blue, or red. Reliable ones are Transcoopass, Cootramo, and Coopertramo.

If you decide to deal with the drivers in Portuguese and get a hopefully cheaper rate, you can go outside and look for yellow cabs queued at the entrance (only the ones in the queue should be trusted). They have meters and drivers don't expect tips (at least not from Brazilians), but you can always make the change easily.
Another option is to take the Bus! not a bad option, if your luggage is not not too heavy and you know the address of your hotel and have a map to follow. The driver of the frescão (means super cool because of chilly AC temperatures during the summer) bus by Real company, will try to help you, but it is not his responsibility to find your hotel, and he will only recommend a stop that is near the hotel.

By the way, you will need Brazilian currency to pay for transportation. Business cannot be conducted in dollars or any other currency than Brazilian, it is illegal to use other currencies.

BE CAREFUL WHEN USING ATM'S, ALWAYS HIDE YOUR PIN CODE WHEN TYPING IT. MINE WAS CLONED AND MY ACCOUNT WAS IN THE RED AFTER A FEW DAYS. They had a camera somewhere checking what I was typing and made a copy of my card with some kind of device that I didn't see. These are professionals, don't understimate them. Most of the time, only Bradesco ATM's will work for US credit cards, not sure about europeans.

I recommend you bring cash and do a small exchange at the airport's official cambio offices for your first day. US$100 will be enough to pay taxi, get you 3 meals and still do some shopping. Rates in Copacabana and Ipanema Cambio houses will be better, probably 15% better, but that changes quite often. They are located in the main avenues, Avenida Nossa Senhora in Copacabana and Rua Visconde de Piraja in Ipanema. Look for Casa de Cambio.

Brazilian Fruits

Every time I think of things I miss from Brazil, I get a sweet taste in my mouth and a parade of tropical fruits in my mind... Fruits are a very important part of our diet and we always associate them to vitamins and cure of illness. If you feel weak, you should have some guaraná and-or açaí. If your metabolism is too slow, eat some papaya, or if it is too fast, eat some guava. If you have a cold, time for lime and cajú! and always have freshly squeezed orange juice! anyway, I found a webpage that has all that, but it is in Portuguese. However, no need to panic, enter the url in the babelfish page and you will have it translated (click on each fruit to see the translation, the names will not be translated, but descriptions are). I have checked the translation and it is good enough.

I recommend you do some homework and practice your fruit knowledge before going to Brazil. Someone mentioned to me the other day, how stomach sick his wife was in Brazil all the time. I was surprised since I never really heard that before, except for some occasional ones, which I am also famous for... Anyway, I asked him what type of food they were eating and he said that she loved Brazilian fruits, in particular papayas. That she ate several papayas a day.... Anyway, I recommend you read about Papayas (Mamão) before you eat several of them per day:

The papaya, rich in vitamin, B, C, match, carboidratos, calcium, iron and potassium, is laxative, calmante, diurético, assists in the digestion of foods and absorption of nutrients for the organism, attenuates the inflammations, the swells and the burnings, alliviates pains ..... (taken from http://www.frutasnobrasil.com/mamao.html Babel translation).

Let's have a fruit juice in Rio in one of the Juice Houses (casa de suco), you can have a different juice every day. Photo was taken from Copacabana Tropical Sucos Guide - great page in English about the Juice Houses in Rio.


Here is a list of fruits

Plum; Cambucá; Fig; Guaraná; Lemon; Quince; Pitanga; Avocado; Almond; Khaki; Raspberry; Jabuticaba; Mace; Watermelon; Rome; Pineapple; Blackberry; Chestnut; Fruit of the Conde; Jenipapo; Papaya; Cantaloups; Sapotí; Abiu; Arrack; Cherry; Guava; Kiwi; Sleeve; Strawberry; Tamarindo; Acerola; Banana; Coconut; Graviola; Orange; Mangaba; Pear; Tangerina; Açaí; Cashew; Damson plum; Grumixama; Rasp; Maracujá; Peach and Grape.

Happy in Rio

By now you probably have googled Rio de Janeiro and found out lots of stuff. I did too and I found this great: http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/henrikstrodl/round_the_world/1180742280/tpod.html (Mugged, drunk, sick, but happy in Rio!).