Driving from the Airport

I arrived in Rio de Janeiro at 6:35 a.m. and had arranged for a shuttle to take me to my hotel. You need a visa to visit Brazil, which is $160 for American citizens, which, as is pointed out on the visa website, is the exact amount that the U.S. charges for Brazilian citizens to visit the U.S. The Brazilian visa cost for other countries is much less. However, I saved $100 by being able to get my visa at the Brazilian Counsulate in Beverly Hills rather than having to use a visa service to get it.

The ride to the hotel was about 30 minutes. It was what visitors to the World Cup in 2014 and to Carnival and those coming to the 2016 Olympics  and other visitors will first see of Rio. We saw this vendor selling wares in the middle of the highway.

Driving from the Airport

We also saw this vendor.

Driving from the Airport

A very congested highway.

A Favela

This favela could be seen above the highway wall. It is one of about 600 favelas in Rio. They are shanty towns controlled by criminal organizations who sell illegal drugs quite openly. I was the visit one the next day.

Another View of a Favela

A favela seen through the highway wall.

Another View

More of the favela.

A Church on a Hill

A church on a hill can be seen in the distance.

A Church on a Hill

Close–up.

The Favela

Close–up of the favela.

Shipping Containers Lined Up

Rio de Janeiro is a major port.

Another Favela

And another favela.

A Large Venue

All of a sudden, a modern Rio emerges.

A Large Venue

Probably a music venue from the picture of a guitar on its face.

Modern Houses

Modern houses on a hill.

High Rises

High rise apartments and hotels.

High Rises

There are many, many tall buildings in Rio.

Christ the Redeemer Statue

My first view of Christ the Redeemer statue on top of Corcovado Mountain. It can be seen from almost everywhere in Rio. It is Rio’s most recognizable landmark.

Christ the Redeemer Statue

Closer–up. I was to go up the mountain to see it several days later.

On the Water

Rio is starting to look very beautiful now.

On the Water

Another view.

Copacabana Beach

My first view of Copacabana Beach. My hotel was not facing the beach but was around the corner from it.

At My Hotel

After three flights, two nights with hardly any sleep, plus a tour of El Salvador, I had arrived at my hotel. I had booked my hotel a day early so that I would have a room available when I arrived. I planned to spend the day sleeping.

The hotel was the Windsor Copa and would be where I was to join a Gate 1 tour in a couple of days.  Though it was not facing the beach, its location was good and it was only a short block from it. It also was a safe block to walk even at night. Rio does not have a good reputation for being a safe city. The hotel was modern and nice, but no wash clothes provided. As in Europe, bring your own wash clothes to South America. Also, bring European–style plug adapters.

But first I wanted to buy some bottled water and was directed to a supermarket down the street. Before reaching the market, I spotted a small restaurant selling water and I went there. I was going to buy three small bottles of water and the counterperson took out his calculator to show me the cost: 12000 reals. That couldn’t be right. A Brazilian real is worth 33 cents in U.S. money, so each bottle would cost me 4,000 U.S. dollars. The higher math to figure this out was too much for me as I was just too tired, so I didn’t buy the water and went back to my hotel to think it through. You will notice that it was 12000 reals, not 12,000 reals. You just ignore the zeroes and the cost is really 12 reals or $4 U.S. Sometimes you would get a price such as 125000 reals and that really means 12.5 reals or $4.15 U.S. So simple!

I brought Brazilian reals with me that I had gotten from my bank––no where near 12,000. But you can get your money exchanged at the currency exchange at the airport or in the city (one was right across from our hotel), at ATMs, or at hotels.

Photo: I was wondering if I would be seeing black and white cobblestoned sidewalks in Brazil as they have these everywhere in Portugal and Brazil was a Portuguese colony from 1500 to 1822. I was told that these sidewalks were laid by the Portuguese. This sidewalk was in front of my hotel. Portuguese, not Spanish, is spoken in Brazil and you don’t see much English except in most but not all menus. Nor does English appear to be a second language in any of the South American countries that I visited on this trip––Brazil, Argentina, and Chile––as it is now in so many countries in the world.

I ate dinner at my hotel.