Her name is Rio and this city isn't safe...

[Mad Doggy Dog]

Pictures from my first trip to Rio de Janiero.


Frankly, I was really disappointed.

The city has beautiful natural scenery.....think Yosemite on a tropical beach.

But.....

This place is kind of a dump. In fact, Rio makes Mexico City look like Provo, Utah.
Oh my heck!

Certainly not worth the brain frying 10 hour double all nighters to get there and back.

I do not speak freaky deeky Portugese, but I think the english translation for Rio de Janierio means "more hookers than Dakar."

I was expecting a glamorous place along the lines of the French Riviera, but Rio has much more in common with Africa than Europe. Sweltering heat, stifilng humidity, rampant crime and heartbreaking poverty.

Most of the people of Rio do not speak English, and when they do, you can't understand their thick accent. Fortunately 1/2 the people speak Spanish. I had to use Spanish to communicate the whole time. Good thing Rio's number one industry isn't tourism...... Oh, wait...

The beaches are pretty.......Pretty dirty..... Go swimming only if you like sewage.

In picture #6:
I put the rum in dee coconut and drink em bod up, I put dee rum in da coconut and drink em bod together, I put the rum in dee coconut and den I feel better!
[These chilled coconuts were mighty good!]

Unlike Africa, the food in Rio is pretty good. There are great restaurants located at Copacabana Beach, and they are cheap in US dollars, but be careful.... Especially at night. The gangs of teenage boys wearing running shoes aren't doing so in order to practice for their track meet.

And if you like hookers in all shapes and sizes....and genders.....or transgenders, this is the place for you! A very entertaining sidewalk freak show.

But be careful everywhere and at every time of day.

Last week, two pilots from United got robbed walking back to our hotel. They were held up. The thiefs stole their money.....and their pants!.....they stole their figgin pants!.....can you believe that? And this is considered a safe area. Like Los Angeles, abject poverty is often only one block away from riches. Our hotel, is located on the beach, but there is a slum up the hill, maybe 200' away, [see picture #4.]

But here are some cool pictures. I even saw monkeys!

And behave if you go.........the big Jesus on the mountain is watching!

[Soul Brotha']

A friend of mine went with a bunch of other guys. They got robbed at gunpoint, on the beach, in the middle of the day, while thousands were around. Those young men took everything he said. Left them with only their swim trunks. He did say the woman were beautiful.

[SeanD]

I went there with my parents a few times when I was younger. They used to go all the time. That was a long long time ago when it was a lot safer and a much prettier place. I think it was the late 70s. Anyway I remember riding the cable car up Surgarloaf Moutain to see that big Jesus (Corkovada). The beaches were beautiful. What a shame it has gone down the crapper over the years. I do believe Rio is the birthplace of the thong.

[coa787]

That's strange; the beach did not look so dirty from way up there.

[Van_Hoolio]

They don't speak English there? How outrageous!

[coa787]

That's just the way of things for Americans; every country you travel to had better know English, or else!!

[Mad Doggy Dog]

Originally Posted by Van_Hoolio

They don't speak English there? How outrageous!

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Like I said, their number one industry is tourism.

But that is their problem, not mine.

And I am certainly not one of those ugly American tourists types that walks up to people in foriegn countries and yells:
"DO-YOU-SPEAK-ENGLISH !!!?"

I always learn at least a few words or phrases before I go. Such as "No falo Portugese."


That being said....

Nobody in the world speaks Portugese outside of Portugal, Brazil and few Atlantic islands.

There were people there from all over the world. In addition to us Yanks, there were lots of Brits, Germans, French, Asians, and other South Americans. Do you deny the fact that among most educated persons from developed countries, [ie. those who can afford to travel,] they all have learned English?

Now, I don't expect the local general population to speak English. But in a large high end chain hotel catering to such tourists? Yes. A similar argument can be made for other popular tourist sites and high end restaurants.

Like I said, I got by on Spanish fairly well. But I am guessing most of the other tourists like the Brits, Germans or Asians do not even speak Spanish, let alone Portugese.



Off to fly a trip to GUA to practice my Spanish and maybe climb a volcano,

Adios amigos

[EDUC8-or]

Originally Posted by Soul Brotha'

A friend of mine went with a bunch of other guys. They got robbed at gunpoint, on the beach, in the middle of the day, while thousands were around. Those young men took everything he said. Left them with only their swim trunks. He did say the woman were beautiful.

I went to Rio and all I got was robbed.

[SkyCougar]

Originally Posted by Mad Doggy Dog

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Off to fly a trip to GUA to practice my Spanish and maybe climb a volcano,

Adios amigos

Cool...take pictures to share with us!

[Doug Taylor]

Originally Posted by EDUC8-or

I went to Rio and all I got was robbed.

Ooh, I'll have to keep that on the AVOID list on pbs!

Being from the San Joaquin valley of California, I can curse in Portuguese and have been to a variety of "festas" down at the "Our Lady of Perpetual Something-Or-Rather" church , but for the most part, I'd probably just point and nod a lot!

[jtrain609]

Originally Posted by Doug Taylor

Ooh, I'll have to keep that on the AVOID list on pbs!

Being from the San Joaquin valley of California, I can curse in Portuguese and have been to a variety of "festas" down at the "Our Lady of Perpetual Something-Or-Rather" church , but for the most part, I'd probably just point and nod a lot!

Exactly what I do on Mexico trips...

[coa787]

Originally Posted by jtrain609

Exactly what I do on Mexico trips...

That's pretty much what I did in Punta Cana this past summer.

[Soul Brotha']

Originally Posted by EDUC8-or

I went to Rio and all I got was robbed.

Now the funniest part of this story is when they went to the police station to file a report. The cops told them to take a seat next to the others. Amongst his group were two sets of Americans, and three European couples. They all had the same look on their faces.

[EDUC8-or]

Originally Posted by Doug Taylor

Ooh, I'll have to keep that on the AVOID list on pbs!

Being from the San Joaquin valley of California, I can curse in Portuguese and have been to a variety of "festas" down at the "Our Lady of Perpetual Something-Or-Rather" church , but for the most part, I'd probably just point and nod a lot!

I think if you were cautious you'd be fine, but I don't plan on going back. I think the 20 or so Caipirinhas I'd consumed (kinda like a Mojito with no mint) impaired my judgment and might have had something to do with my little run in.

Originally Posted by Soul Brotha'

Now the funniest part of this story is when they went to the police station to file a report. The cops told them to take a seat next to the others. Amongst his group were two sets of Americans, and three European couples. They all had the same look on their faces.

I'd already been warned and all I had was cash, which I was more than happy to get rid of given the situation. I was more interested in getting my swerve on, so I went back to my hotel room to restock with more cash and hit some more clubs.

[Minnesota_Flyer]

Originally Posted by Van_Hoolio

They don't speak English there? How outrageous!

True story. I was in Italy a few years ago, in line to buy a train ticket back to Rome from Florence. As I get near the window, it becomes clear that the ticket guy speaks only Italian, which was causing no small amount of difficulty for all the tourists trying to get tickets. Just as I'm starting to think about how I'm going to buy the right tickets, this young French woman behind me starts ranting loudly (in English) about how stupid it is that the ticket guy can't speak English and what kind of stupid, backward country doesn't have customer service staff who can speak English.

After some trial and error, Spanish ultimately yielded me the tickets I was looking for.

[TexasFlyer]

Originally Posted by EDUC8-or

I went to Rio and all I got was robbed.

Hmmmm... Sounds like Atlanta.