Rio and nearby sights: what's fun? What's boring?

[Tomcal]

that’s the one! it is directly across the street from my apartment! it is similiar to Sunday swap meets we have her in SoCal only all new goods like t-shirts, Jewelry, paintings, women’s clothes.

[docbr]

On 6/22/2018 at 7:36 PM, numazu1 said:

2. Gabriel insists on me staying in his apartment in Sao Goncalo partially for my visit next time (to save money he says). I intend on having an AirBNB in Ipanema the whole time to store my valuables and other things, but thought staying with him in his usual habitat is a good experience. Good or bad idea? 

This one is tricky... If you feel inclined to do so make sure you have built a safe network around you... knowing where you are going to stay, knowing if he shares his home with somebody else and letting other people know you are staying with Gabriel there. Unfortunately São Gonçalo is one of the most dangerous parts of the metropolitan area. I would not advice any tourist going there if not with someone he really trust.

[trencherman]

A sweeping view of Ipanema taken from a spot on Pedra do Arpoador which is now used by homeless people as toilet.

A short view from the same spot looking East.

 

[dmontes1999]

Hi Caeron,

 

Thank you for this thread. Great suggestions. I've been to Rio a handful of times and I'm still learning about and doing new activities each time I go. I simply love Rio. I'll be there in a few days. This thread has helped.

In regard to restaurants, I suggest Fogo de Chao.  It's a Brazilian steakhouse. It's my most favorite restaurant in Brazil. It's just amazing food. If you haven't tried it, you GOTTA. 

I'll definitely be visiting the saunas (will you be there?) just about nightly. I'm happy to meet up with you there or somewhere else. I'm traveling solo, so any company is certainly welcome. Any one else reading this post is welcome to PM me. 

 

TOMCAL- I read you are going to be in Rio when I'm there. How fortuitous for me. Are you there now? Please let me buy you a drink (or several!). I learned most of what I learned in how to navigate/negotiate time with the garotos by reading your posts. You are an excellent instructor. I dont think I cudda ever gone into a Brazilian sauna without your help. Your posts are the best Travel Guide posts out there. Hopefully I can meet you and at least shake your hand with warm gratitude!  It will be most excellent to meet the Master Teacher.  

[Tomcal]

I sent you a  PM

[pauleiro]

16 hours ago, dmontes1999 said:

 

In regard to restaurants, I suggest Fogo de Chao.  It's a Brazilian steakhouse. It's my most favorite restaurant in Brazil. It's just amazing food. If you haven't tried it, you GOTTA. 

 

I totally agree. The Fogo de Chao restaurant in Rio is in Botafogo. Service, Food, Drinks, Atmosphere, Scenery, everything is perfect. It is quite expensive for Rio. With the buddy I travel, we like going there after a session in a sauna to ... recover.

Since it is a chain, there are others in other cities in Brazil and 10 or 12 in the US.

[episevilla]

I add my two cents. The Botânico Garden near lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas is worth the visitar

[caeron]

 

Ok, did the paragliding yesterday while strapped to a handsome guy.

Standing there staring off the cliff you know you are going to shortly run off is terrifying, though once you actually do the deed, it is only merely frightening and also pretty amazing.

I also did the hike up to Cristo Redentor. I've gotten into pretty good shape in the last couple of years, and it was a pretty grueling 2 hour climb. Some parts of the climb have bars hammered into bar rock so you ladder up. It was also quite muddy and you will be using your hands a fair bit.  But you really enjoy the view from the top when know you earned it! it also makes the trip cheaper.

I agree with others that Fogo de Chao is a great meal. Not cheap, but excellent. The art museum was a bust for me. some of the photography was nice, but most stuff just not that interesting. A big thing on the history of Samba, but since I don't read Portuguese, and am not really into music that much, a yawner. The roof top restaurant looking out over the water was excellent though!

Across the street the naval museum was pretty typical of that sort of thing. Walk around an old sub and an old destroyer. Most interesting part to me was the history of Brazil's involvement in WWII. 

 

 

 

[trencherman]

[Tartegogo]

On 8/10/2018 at 6:13 AM, caeron said:

Ok, did the paragliding yesterday while strapped to a handsome guy.

Standing there staring off the cliff you know you are going to shortly run off is terrifying, though once you actually do the deed, it is only merely frightening and also pretty amazing.

Hey @caeron, was it paragliding or handgliding?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paragliding

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hang_gliding 

or are both available?

[mvan1]

[mvan1]

18 minutes ago, mvan1 said:

 

Suicidal?

[caeron]

Both Paragliding and Hang Gliding are available. Hang gliding tops out at 100KG of weight for most of the companies I looked at, which I'm still a few over.

I'm well under the 140kg limit for Paragliding. 

I used the company Rio Natural Ecotourism to book my flight instructor. They seemed to be a bit cheaper than the others.

[RA1]

Why would anyone want to fly in something that has to be "saved" by a parachute?  That is best left to test pilots in experimental aircraft or so it seems to me.  FAA certificated only, please.  Thanks.

Best regards,

RA1

[Riobard]

I'd consider leaping off Pedro do Telégrafo with an open umbrella with someone like this bathing beauty to soften the blow ...

[Tartegogo]

Anyone know a reliable diving organisation where you can hire a guide to take you 10 meters down, somewhere cool? (I don’t have my padi). 

[Walker]

On 8/14/2018 at 11:29 PM, Riobard said:

I'd consider leaping off Pedro do Telégrafo with an open umbrella with someone like this bathing beauty to soften the blow ...

 

Would be awesome to have sex there.

[trencherman]

Anyone who has hiked along the  Copacabana would be familiar with this:

 

[mvan1]

Photos of people hanging from a rock in Rio de Janeiro look scary for those who are afraid of heights. 

However, the photos are merely an illusion.  The photos, when taken from a specific angle, give the illusion that the people in the photos are hundreds or thousands of feet from falling into the water below.  

The stone rock is only about three or four feet off the ground (see last photo below).  

If someone is spending a lot of time in Rio and wants to do sightseeing or something different or unusual, it is possible to visit the rock and experience and take similar photos.  Google for directions to the rock.

Here are some screen shots with photos and information about the rock and how to get there and, most of all, a couple of photos that show you the scary photos are not scary at all.  They are a mere illusion:

JOKER: Luis Fernando Candela looks like he's suspended in the air

 

"These tourists are not as brave as they look – can you see why?"

"DAREDEVIL travellers seem to hang from a 2,769ft drop in these shocking snaps – but do you spot what's really going on?

Last summer a daredevil couple took breathtaking snaps of them dangling from a precarious 2,769ft peak to "feel alive".

Leonardo Edson Pereira, 23, and his girlfriend Victoria Medeiros Nader, 18, appeared to take living life of the edge to a whole new level.

They seem fearless as they hang off Brazil's Pedra de Gavea in a series of daring images, wearing just bikinis and shorts.

"I love living on the edge! I know people think it's dangerous and crazy but it makes me feel alive," Leonardo said.

"It is really high and I do just hang on using my arm strength. I have to trust myself not to fall."

But, here is a photo of a female leaning into the stone (rock) and you can see that the stone is not so dangerous at all.  It is an interesting illusion that makes for some scary photos.  

Getting to the stone requires about a forty minute walk after taking a metro and bus to an area leading to the stone.  If interested in visiting the stone, google for better instructions - it makes for an unusual tourist stop and photo.  

Here is another link to give you an idea of the distance to the stone from Copacabana:

https://www.adistanciaentre.com/br/como-chegar-de-copacabana-para-pedra-do-telegrafo/ComoChegarHistoria/118867.aspx

YOU SEE, THE STONE IS ONLY A METER OR SO FROM THE GROUND.  IT IS THE ANGLE OF THE STONE TO THE WATER TO THE PEOPLE POSING THAT MADE THE ILLUSION OF THE STONE BEING HIGH FROM THE GROUND OR WATER

 

[mvan1]

On 8/14/2018 at 9:29 AM, Riobard said:

I'd consider leaping off Pedro do Telégrafo with an open umbrella with someone like this bathing beauty to soften the blow ...

 

An interesting tourist draw.  Photo is an illusion - Water and drop is not as it appears in the photo. It is the angle of the photo that gives the illusion of the stone being high above the water.

 

 

[Tartegogo]

58 minutes ago, mvan1 said:

An interesting tourist draw.  Photo is an illusion - Water and drop is not as it appears in the photo. It is the angle of the photo that gives the illusion of the stone being high above the water.

 

 

Ahem, Mvan ...  we already knew from Riobard’s second picture of the same rock in the same post:

 

[mvan1]

2 hours ago, Tartegogo said:

Ahem, Mvan ...  we already knew from Riobard’s second picture of the same rock in the same post:

I saw the second photo but did not recognize the same rock because of all the people in the photo..  

Most Brazilians try to keep it a secret that the rock is only an illusion when it is used for a photo.  

It is a tourist draw that does not have an admission charge, if you don't mind the long metro, train and hike to the site.  

 

 

[Riobard]

One cannot always rely on the axiom "A picture is worth a thousand words."

[Tartegogo]

On 8/13/2018 at 7:20 AM, caeron said:

Both Paragliding and Hang Gliding are available. Hang gliding tops out at 100KG of weight for most of the companies I looked at, which I'm still a few over.

I'm well under the 140kg limit for Paragliding. 

I used the company Rio Natural Ecotourism to book my flight instructor. They seemed to be a bit cheaper than the others.

Thanks for this, @caeron.  I have booked the paragliding experience with the same organisation, for me and the husband, we will be in Rio in Nov. Hopefully it is not a rainy day. I have been very lucky with the weather this year, maybe I am going to run out of luck  before I get to Brazil!

I see they also have a diving day now, as another experience which they sell. My husband doesn’t like that, so I’ll probably go to that with a garoto. 

[Tartegogo]

So I know a lot of people recommend fogo de chão. So I went with my husband on Thursday night  

Fogo do chão wasn’t as good as they make it to be. The price is reasonable but the buffet lacks quality. The meat is too salty for me. Also it’s like a factory. Efficient, but over crowded and lacks any sort of personal touch. The view on the sea is blocked by construction work.

 

I had water dripping on me from the ac unit, I had to ask to be moved and they didn’t seem to even be apologetic. 

 

 If you want a better experience (no view, but much better service) go to churrascaria palace in north copa. Very nice night, the pianist is lovely, and ask the patrons for song suggestions, and the. He plays theses. The people are mostly tourists but the waiters are very attentive. Excellent buffet included, good meat (still a little too salty, but what can you do?) but also more expensive. 

Sorry about the font size, I have serious difficulties controlling that from iOS devices.