If u have guessed from the pattern from my previous blogs congrats.Like all my previous trips this has a strange but a interesting story attached to it. Nipping back almost 10 months before this actual trip i watched a wicked film call Motorcycle diaries.The film was a documentary of Ernesto guvera de la serna (che guvera’s) trip across S America.
Saw the film which nevertheless impressed me and wrote to my Brazilian friend about how beautiful his continent was and this is the reply i got.(well this is wht it looked like)
Thanks for ur email yes S America is very nice .Do u want to come here and visit, We both can take holidays together and visit a lot of places
Tell me wht u think
CCB
Funny enough S America was flashing back in my dreams as well (don’t ask me why).Couple of days later google search reveled a £300 ticket to Sao Paulo .Me being too greedy said this
Hey CCB
Thanks for the invite yes , S America sounds good and the plan doesn’t seem impossible. Got some deals and will sort out soon.
C u in Brazil
BBB
But after this email was sent I found out £300 for just a one way ticket and a return would cost over £700 SHIT!!!!!
Several Internet searches later and reading a lot of travel blogs in http://www.travelpod.com/ .I had made up my mind or probably i had reached a point of no return.
After several frantic Internet search (yes by this time i was desperate to see SA) i got a cheap ticket from TAM a Brazilian based airline.Little did i know that they had a appalling safety record with the most recent of crashes in around 2005.All it mattered to me was i got a deal for little over a £500 and a that too to Rio de janerio ehhhhhhhhhh
Well moving onn CCB confirmed since last year that it was a safe airline so went ahead with the booking and fingers crossed will be in Rio one piece.
The time had finally come with Internet searches and found i could hand glide in RIO and CCB being Mr organised planned everything and had got cheap Domestic airline tickets as well .he was joining me the next day.
There was a secret deal between which i won’t propose to revel in this blog. J nothing dodgy mind u
6 Hours before leaving i packed and packed lite .What more would u need in the beaches of Brazil then a swimwear and flip flops :).
I was meeting Natalia the girl who was from Barcelona (previous blog) who was co incidentally was in London the same day i was flying .All she did before flying to London was to tell me she would be waiting in Piccadilly at 2 .
What to say it was a surreal meet up without the use of Modern technology aka mobile phones and stuff. We met for sure and it felt 10 times better when we took the technology out of it .After that i met my other South Korean friend who was now working in London had gorgeous beef bulgogi for dinner in South Korean restaurant .
Flying time
Quick tube from Piccadilly circus was in Heathrow on time and no problems with the Flights .I have to say i was impressed after all the things i had heard , gorgeous Air hostess sorry food or did i say Air hostess , well it was all a taste of things to come!!!!.
Long flight nothing exciting except free drinks and Air hostess (again) .Made it at Sao Paulo at 6 Am and surprising chaos was surrounding me ,tried to calm down and sort myself out.
Voila in South america finally
All the name boards were in Portuguese .Well for those of u who have been in Sao Paulo and Mumbai airports there is one thing common – These are clearly functional airport which are overloaded and none of the instructions clearly written . All i heard was Connections this way i had to run that way and just Cross my fingers thinking i am in the correct line !!!!
Crossing fingers worked this time and arrived in Rio no problems .I would suggest TAM to anyone and everyone decent airline with good food and beautiful well no prize for guessing this time!!!!
Had to go to this hostel called Che lagerto near Copacabana.
Crossing fingers worked this time and arrived in Rio no problems .I would suggest TAM to anyone and everyone decent airline with good food and beautiful well no prize for guessing this time!!!!
Had to go to this hostel called Che lagerto near Copacabana.
Che Lagarto Hostel
Rua Anita Garibaldi number
87 CEP 22041-080- Rio de Janeiro - RJ Brazil
EMail: copacabana@chelagarto.com
EMail: copacabana@chelagarto.com
Phone: (5521) 2256-2776 / 2256-2778#
Although there is a bus service to town from the airport me having a laptop didn’t want to risk it the first day honestly Rio has the reputation of being not a very safe destination.
Cab to the hostel . Rio city airport credit due to the people who planned it , there is a dedicated ring road which has no traffic signals until u reach downtown!! As result transit to and from the airport is very quick. Bengaluru airport are u listening???
Cab to the hostel . Rio city airport credit due to the people who planned it , there is a dedicated ring road which has no traffic signals until u reach downtown!! As result transit to and from the airport is very quick. Bengaluru airport are u listening???
On the way into Hostel 35 mins on the Cab saw pretty sight of christo redentore(Christ the redemmer) and stuff .Already the city started to impress me Lush green vegetation ,beach , Babes and heat which was a surprising change from London where there was snow.
Checked into the hostel and wanted to call the guy on a hand gliding so went to the public booth.Turns out i had to use a card so called them from my mobile and arranged for a pick up had 2 hours to kill so out on the Copacabana it was .
Initial impression - It was the largest crowed beach i have ever seen so it was all new for me.People sunbathing playing volleyball ,soccer etc impressed me .Here looking good bare chested is more important than life itself. The receptionist at the Hostel was the most hottest looking girl i have seen till date .So chatted up with her and guess what me being an indian ,I was put in close to celebrity status because they rarely get to see indians and very very rare to see and indian backpacker .So chatting with her ofcourse clarifing and going to great lenghts explaing about facts and figures of India (never loose and opportunity eh.....)+ u need to be a good ambassador of ur country u know!!!!
Went in for hand gliding thingeee i must admit inspite of seeing all the fotos and reading about it.I had no idea what i was going to attempt.
Here are the contact details and some info
Email Just fly - justfly@alternex.com.br
Take off ramp - Pedra Bonita
Hang glide from Pedra Bonita Ramp, located at the Tijuca Forest National Park, at a height of 1700 feet (520 meters) and the landing is on São Conrado "Pepino" Beach.
The flights last from 10 to 30 minutes depending on the wind and on the weight of the passanger. Weight limit uses to be 100 Kg (220 pounds), but in some special conditions of wind and if the passanger is a good runner we can take up to 240 pounds (110kg)
The whole trip takes approximately from 2 to 3 hours to be back at your hotel.
We are all certified instructors by the Brazilian Hang Gliding Association.It is not necessary any previous experienced. On the ramp, after wearing the harness, you will have a briefing and in few minutes you will be ready to take-off. In normal conditions of weather it is not cold and you can wear light clothes, like t-shirt, either shorts or paints and tennis shoes or a kind of sandal that can be tied on your feet.We can fly from the sunrise to the sunset time, but best times for better flights use to be between 9am and 2pm.
Cloudy days can be even better than very sunny, clear and hot days. The best day to go to the beach is not necessarily the best day for hang gliding. Best flights use to happen right after cold fronts when it is still cloudy or partially cloudy. Of course, there are many exceptions and I will let you know the real condition for flying and will not push you to go if it is not good.
The regular cost is R$240,00 per person. As you are getting in touch directly with me you have 10% discount.
The pick-up and drop-off at your hotel is included.
I offer you a very reliable service, honesty, safety and I will do my best to make a very good flight with you. I don´t push you to fly in a bad wind just to make money. You can read some comments about our service at http://books.dreambook.com/justfly/main.html
You can confirm your reservation by email or you can call me anytime at 2268-0565, 9985-7540 and 9798-1804. You can also talk to me via Radio Nextel ID.: 55*46*13425.
Please, call direct to keep the discount.
I would suggest this company As Paulo the instructor was very friendly and i got from what i know the best price compared to other agencies.Whats more u don’t pay until u complete the flights or just incase u don’t complete u don’t pay !!!!
I signed my life away on a piece of document for a additional 10 R$ was glad to say if i die from a fall from Pedra Bonita these people can continue what they are doing what they do best :)
Went into the Pedra Bonita with a extra crazy driver and made it on top .When i leaned on the ramp this is what i saw !!!!!!!!!!!!
Shit all i could see was clouds and when they drifted i saw the beach far far below .At this point i had a few second thoughs ,Being a from india and a staunch follower of the complex karma principle i forgo all my inhibitions J .What ever will be will be!!!!Easier said than done
Next came a short clear and Precise safety instruction by OK English speaking Pilot !!! He said and i quote
“ Just one thing just keep running don’t stop at any point in the ramp otherwise we dip , Run even after u finish the ramp”
Dip fuck no i didn’t want to dip from this point so i told him i am a good runner not to worry .Actually i was the person doing most of the worrying. Soon the adrenaline kicked in and again decided this was a point of no return.Looking at a woman having endless fags to cool herself made me feel better .
Point came in all the safety harness checked and was ready to go and we just stood there on the ramp for the cloud fronts to clear .I hated this although i much admit i was enjoying the view of Rio from the top and was a bit apprehensive .
3 2 1 Go is all i heard I was running partly becs i didn’t want that " Dip "and partly becs of my life.We tooooook offffffffffffffffffffff any my god .I was looking at the world below me with wings and it felt bloody good and just saw a bird flying past me at that time all my fear vanished into the humid air of Rio
I would suggest this activity to any one brave of course but young and old alike can enjoy the view of the Mountain ,Beach, City centre and the jungle all from one point - Le SKY and u will definitely be impressed.
Came bak from this experience to the hostel cant remember what time but late enough to check into my hostel.A bit of nibblers in a per kilo restaurant to quench my hunger and later i was casually chatting with some people over drinks when my Messiah arrived - CCB there he was at the gate waiting .
It was a wait a long wait almost 2 years and i had waited 10 months since we started planning this trip to meet him .Over a year of sharing a house i taught i knew him well but meeting him after 2 years after that ,I had not even imagined it in the wildest of my dreams.To add to this i told the people i was chatting with about our stay in Europe and how we were meeting after 2 years .They taught it just happened in movies !!!! but yes true friends do keep in touch no matter what the distance and the fact that we were seeing and managed to keep in touch inspite of being so far off was a point of interest for them.Right there a Turkish girl made a pact with her house mate from America to meet up like us .
Hold on let me tell u the amount of communication happening between us when we planned this trip .It was a couple of emails about the trip but once I got the ticket there was around 4 mails from CCB and Myself to confirm the destination and 2 for hand gliding that's all it was .No fancy phone calls confirmations and all that shit both of us just took the plung hoping the other one would also like it .But being ex housemates we pretty much knew each others likes and dislikes.But yeh that was all there was to planning this trip for 10 Days so it was very surprising to see how each other had changed in matter of 2 years.
Well as soon as we met .We set off to a 24hour juice bar ,these juice bars a concept unique to this part of the world open 24/7 and make fresh juices and sandwiches which are heavenly No i am not talking about the processed Tropicana but exotic fruits many of which don't even have a english name because they grow in the amazons.
I had a kind of a blackberry juice and ham sandwich and next pooled in some girls and guys from the hostel to hit the liquor march and clubbing!!
Turns out that the entrance to the clubs are expensive even by British standards 30 R$ for entry but u get free booze inside and girls enter half price or in some places free.Shit gender discrimination.
But the beer kept flowing american music was blasting out loud when at around 2 i called it a night becs by that time the jet lag and stuff started to catch up with me.
Turns out that i was so tired i was asleep within 5 seconds of getting into bed and snoring out loud !!! ehhh i apologise to CCB and all my unfortunate dorm mates who were subjected to this music.
Next day got out early to explore the mighty Rio .There is something unique to this city which i have not seen anywhere the interracial mix and openness to welcome people irrespective of skin colour ,wallet does give it a vibrant twist.
Ipanema- another popular beach were the beautiful gurias (local of Rio) hang out i could see Y the most popular Bossa nova song " Girl from ipanema " comes from this place
Tall and tan and young and lovely
Girl from Ipanema so lovely
Cristo redentor- one of the 7 wonders of the world u have to go there on a clear day to appreciate the beauty .Much more wonderful was people like myself and CCB lieing down fully flat to get our portrait + the Christo was a gigly sight:)
Next came a short clear and Precise safety instruction by OK English speaking Pilot !!! He said and i quote
“ Just one thing just keep running don’t stop at any point in the ramp otherwise we dip , Run even after u finish the ramp”
Dip fuck no i didn’t want to dip from this point so i told him i am a good runner not to worry .Actually i was the person doing most of the worrying. Soon the adrenaline kicked in and again decided this was a point of no return.Looking at a woman having endless fags to cool herself made me feel better .
Point came in all the safety harness checked and was ready to go and we just stood there on the ramp for the cloud fronts to clear .I hated this although i much admit i was enjoying the view of Rio from the top and was a bit apprehensive .
3 2 1 Go is all i heard I was running partly becs i didn’t want that " Dip "and partly becs of my life.We tooooook offffffffffffffffffffff any my god .I was looking at the world below me with wings and it felt bloody good and just saw a bird flying past me at that time all my fear vanished into the humid air of Rio
I would suggest this activity to any one brave of course but young and old alike can enjoy the view of the Mountain ,Beach, City centre and the jungle all from one point - Le SKY and u will definitely be impressed.
Came bak from this experience to the hostel cant remember what time but late enough to check into my hostel.A bit of nibblers in a per kilo restaurant to quench my hunger and later i was casually chatting with some people over drinks when my Messiah arrived - CCB there he was at the gate waiting .
It was a wait a long wait almost 2 years and i had waited 10 months since we started planning this trip to meet him .Over a year of sharing a house i taught i knew him well but meeting him after 2 years after that ,I had not even imagined it in the wildest of my dreams.To add to this i told the people i was chatting with about our stay in Europe and how we were meeting after 2 years .They taught it just happened in movies !!!! but yes true friends do keep in touch no matter what the distance and the fact that we were seeing and managed to keep in touch inspite of being so far off was a point of interest for them.Right there a Turkish girl made a pact with her house mate from America to meet up like us .
Hold on let me tell u the amount of communication happening between us when we planned this trip .It was a couple of emails about the trip but once I got the ticket there was around 4 mails from CCB and Myself to confirm the destination and 2 for hand gliding that's all it was .No fancy phone calls confirmations and all that shit both of us just took the plung hoping the other one would also like it .But being ex housemates we pretty much knew each others likes and dislikes.But yeh that was all there was to planning this trip for 10 Days so it was very surprising to see how each other had changed in matter of 2 years.
Well as soon as we met .We set off to a 24hour juice bar ,these juice bars a concept unique to this part of the world open 24/7 and make fresh juices and sandwiches which are heavenly No i am not talking about the processed Tropicana but exotic fruits many of which don't even have a english name because they grow in the amazons.
I had a kind of a blackberry juice and ham sandwich and next pooled in some girls and guys from the hostel to hit the liquor march and clubbing!!
Turns out that the entrance to the clubs are expensive even by British standards 30 R$ for entry but u get free booze inside and girls enter half price or in some places free.Shit gender discrimination.
But the beer kept flowing american music was blasting out loud when at around 2 i called it a night becs by that time the jet lag and stuff started to catch up with me.
Turns out that i was so tired i was asleep within 5 seconds of getting into bed and snoring out loud !!! ehhh i apologise to CCB and all my unfortunate dorm mates who were subjected to this music.
Next day got out early to explore the mighty Rio .There is something unique to this city which i have not seen anywhere the interracial mix and openness to welcome people irrespective of skin colour ,wallet does give it a vibrant twist.
Ipanema- another popular beach were the beautiful gurias (local of Rio) hang out i could see Y the most popular Bossa nova song " Girl from ipanema " comes from this place
Tall and tan and young and lovely
Girl from Ipanema so lovely
Cristo redentor- one of the 7 wonders of the world u have to go there on a clear day to appreciate the beauty .Much more wonderful was people like myself and CCB lieing down fully flat to get our portrait + the Christo was a gigly sight:)
Sugar loaf -
Another of the cities high point where u can get an arial view and monlitic rock or granite with superb views all round .watched sunset from here would definately recommend it
Maracana
Perhaps the worlds most popular stadium which at one point held about 200000 people, now because saftey concerns they have reduced it to 100000 ohh bugger .Had the fortune of watch 2 best local teams Vasco v/s Flumanes in action and flumanese won 2-1.There were 60,000 in the stadium making the sound of a million.Every time there was a goal or a foul about 10 cans of lager would go in the air so by the end we were all smelling pissed wether or not we were pissed was left to question.The Gurias also taught us how to hurl abuses at the refree like "we know where u live u are a dead meat "ohhh god i wouldnt want to be a refree hereLapa- A older part of town which at night has the colour of its own :)
Favela - most dangerous and safest part of Rio u would see 15 year olds with hand guns here but surpisingly the favelas ruled by particular gangs are suprisingly crime free since they dont want clashes because it would damage there corporate makeup !!
Another Night out this time it was spent in Lapa the magical part of town goes balistic after 12 where even the roads become places where people show off their capuara and samba skills . This was once in a life time experience for me the whole district was jam packed with local and they were selling Caprinnia (a brazilian based cane alcohol 40%) very strong mind u on the streets .Yet i didnt see one person vomiting on the street which is quiet common in here.
Another Night out this time it was spent in Lapa the magical part of town goes balistic after 12 where even the roads become places where people show off their capuara and samba skills . This was once in a life time experience for me the whole district was jam packed with local and they were selling Caprinnia (a brazilian based cane alcohol 40%) very strong mind u on the streets .Yet i didnt see one person vomiting on the street which is quiet common in here.
Last day before we left we were lying around copacabana and then went to the Funk party .Now this is no ordinary party this is a party were people from the favela come down and dance the most erotic way that i have seen.
Next day quick look at the beach and then it started raining , bummer and afternoon off to the airport go to Foz de Iguasssuuuuuuu
There are several Cheap airlines in brazil from where u can fly cheap like GO AIR and stuff book early u can fly cheaper than travelling in busses
well coming to trasport - IN this country long distance train travel is almost unheard of so the alternative is luxury busses .I mean proper buses with beds and overhead entertainment system and bed . some of the busses run 30 hrs journey between cities.
ON wards to Iguassu to see the Might of Parana
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