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HBOs show Vice shadowed police in Rio dealing with more violence since the 2016 Olympics... While the info on the show wasn't anything that I didnt already know.. I always advice people to use your best judgement and be on your Ps and Qs at all times.. The whiter/more touristy areas of Rio are still very much safe...its the areas outside of these areas that are sketchy I was surprised some of the places the camera was allowed to show.... Here is some of the info...

Or the priests and church goers from across the street.....

Thanks for teaching me something new today, RA1. Details like this are fascinating, especially when received from someone in whom you can have a high level of confidence.

Previous posts: I felt that I wanted to share my third “newbie” trip to Brazil. This is my third visit in 9 months, and by this time I have found a winning formula for my Brazil trips that enabled me to eventually visit all the states in Brazil. My trips averaged about 10 days each, and I am thinking I will always want to visit either Rio or Sao Paulo in each of those trips, since these two are the major cities and have all the good saunas, but since I was interested in visiting all the states in Brazil eventually, I had to pair my trips to those cities with a city that was not in RJ or SP state. Since my trip 4 months ago was in Sao Paulo, with companion state Rio Grande do Sul, visiting Porto Alegre and Gramado and Canela, this trip I decided on Rio de Janeiro as my base city. Choosing the companion state was easy. Belo Horizonte was one of the few cities in Brazil that had international flights flying directly into its airport. Copa Air had flights to Belo Horizonte (BH, or Beaga) from Panama via a 6.5 hour flight, and it was easy enough to get flights to Panama from California. So my 6th state will be Minas Gerais, the state where BH is located, joining RJ, SP, Rio Grande do Norte (Natal), Bahia (Salvador), and last trip Rio Grande do Sul (Porto Alegre). After booking my California to Belo Horizonte flight outbound, and RJ back to California inbound on Copa Air, I booked my BH to RJ flight on Azul airlines. Azul was an easy choice. I had a great experience with them flying to and from Porto Alegre on Azul on my last trip, and eager to erase my horrible LATAM and Avianca Brazil memories. As for touristy things to do, my search of Minas yielded a shit-ton of tourist places to visit, like Capitolio and Ouro Preto, so I had to narrow down my choices because of the limited time I had. For Rio, I wanted to check out the beaches outside the Ipanema-Copa-Leblon cluster, and I had to figure out how to get these places as well. As you will see in this report when you read it, my choice of travel to these RJ beaches was a semi-life changing one. With companions, I was of course eager to meet new men, but two guys who I had tremendous rapport with in past Brazil trips will be making appearance this trip. Gabriel, the 117 Garoto de Programa who was featured prominently in my last trip, is going to be in this trip as well. I’d be remiss if I didn’t see him while I am in Rio since he lives there. Also, a free boy I met last December in Sao Paulo, a cute/handsome Paulista cabeleleiro (hairdresser), upon hearing that I was coming to Brazil, invited himself to the Rio portion of my trip. I didn’t mind his company, because he bought his own plane ticket from SP to Rio, as well as promising to pay for his food and drinks and fixing my hair. I just made it clear to him that I was going to be a slut this trip. He said he would do the same. As far as saunas are concerned, I was really motivated to check out more than just my 1 visit to 117 in Rio last January, my paltry 2 visits to Sauna Mezzaninu (in which I did not get a programa with anyone) in Porto Alegre, and my 1 visit to Lagoa last trip in Sao Paulo. For BH, Sauna Olimpo seems to be a favorite with BoyToy members, so I was excited with my choice of city this trip. For Rio, I want to see what all the hubbub was about with Manhattan Rios, and I also wanted to visit Pointe 202 and of course re-visit 117, where I met my superstar GP, Gabriel. You’d be surprised how many saunas I went to this trip, and with whom. So this is the setup. I write very detailed trip reports because it is the only way I know how. Continue or no?

So this is the setup. I write very detailed trip reports because it is the only way I know how. Continue or no? coax me a little bit -

Amazing landing in the Hudson.

Funny you mentioned that about priests. During my visits to that sauna I used to talk with some of the clients I saw there who were there on a regular basis. One client (who will go unnamed because he still goes to Lagoa) used to be a regular at that sauna. He was usually there when I arrived and stayed after I left. He is a priest but he was not a priest at that new church across the street that caused the sauna to close.

With tickets being so low out of Miami...you could find a reasonable flight from LA to MIA...?

More than likely it was low time pilots and heavy loads which left little to no room for error in flying the aircraft. Best regards, RA1

Thanks for the vid. Did you notice that before starting they motored each engine through about 8 blades? That is because round engines had top, side and bottom cylinders. The bottom cylinders can collect oil in them if various seals are not perfect. That will cause a hydraulic lock in that cylinder and cause it to become separated from the main engine. Not good. On large round engines there is a clutch to disengage the starter if there is a hydraulic lock and that is why they motor the engine. Smaller engines like on the DC-3 do not have this clutch and a smart crew will do this "motoring" by hand before entering the aircraft. Next and before the actual start they motor the engine while fuel is available but not ignition. This charges each cylinder with fuel so that when ignition (the magnetos) are engaged, the engine will start. Again they count the blades (meaning counting each prop blade as it advances) before ignition. Old airplanes are lots of fun but lots of work. Best regards, RA1

Sounds like a familiar situation from the USA doesn't it?