2005 General Reports

[DJ FourMoney]

Hey thanks to all for the responses, I do appreciate it the help! I think I will pass on the bus system because it is a little lengthy for myself but sounds like it would be great to see the country.

Okay my next question is a concerning one I noticed on another site so maybe some of you can help. I'm a white guy and I am not really into black women, will this be a major problem in Brazil? I hope this isn't a racist comment because I really love all people and have been with black women but they are not my preference at all. Anyway if I offend anyone I apologize. Back to my point, I found another site that said the women in the North are basically all black and don't even like many white guys to begin with, is it true? My ideal girl is dark skinned, like Adriana Lima, so as you can see I love color but I am just not into really dark skinned girls. Well hopefully these people were wrong but they were mainly talking about Bahia and Fortaleza which were two areas I wanted to see. I know most of the girls I meet in America from Brazil are gorgeous but they are mainly from the South or Sao Paolo areas. Thanks for the help and sorry if this seems like a stupid question but I would like to know.

No offense taken.

I think you'll find more dark chicas (Morenas) in Northern cities and towns, than you would in Sao Paulo or south of there.

I come from the premise that I can get freebies from black women here, why would I go down to Rio for that? Granted most of the black chicas in Brasil are thinner and some even have blue and green eyes, but that's not enough for me.

I date white/latina woman, makes sense for me to chase Loiras and Morenas, so its Sao Paulo!

That's the impression I get from ISG and just research on Brasil's background.

[California Guy]

Hey thanks to all for the responses, I do appreciate it the help! I think I will pass on the bus system because it is a little lengthy for myself but sounds like it would be great to see the country.

Okay my next question is a concerning one I noticed on another site so maybe some of you can help. I'm a white guy and I am not really into black women, will this be a major problem in Brazil? I hope this isn't a racist comment because I really love all people and have been with black women but they are not my preference at all. Anyway if I offend anyone I apologize. Back to my point, I found another site that said the women in the North are basically all black and don't even like many white guys to begin with, is it true? My ideal girl is dark skinned, like Adriana Lima, so as you can see I love color but I am just not into really dark skinned girls. Well hopefully these people were wrong but they were mainly talking about Bahia and Fortaleza which were two areas I wanted to see. I know most of the girls I meet in America from Brazil are gorgeous but they are mainly from the South or Sao Paolo areas. Thanks for the help and sorry if this seems like a stupid question but I would like to know.

[Sperto]

Airpass is a very good value. VARIG or TAM.
Four destinations:411 US$.
Five destinations: +100 US$ etc...
Valid for three weeks.
It's great value specially if going to places like Manaus, Cuiabá etc.

Between some cities there are regular tickets to be found quite cheap, Rio-Salvador, Rio-Fortaleza.

If you're starting in Rio and going north along the coast, stopping in smaller cities, the bus will be a good option.
Rio-Porto Seguro, 17 hs
Rio-Salvador, 27 hs
Rio-Fortaleza, 48 hs (get a flight ticket)
The buses are excellent, very comfortable. It's quite safe except when travelling in the interior of Pernambuco and Bahia.

[Double]

California Guy,

You can purchase a Brazil airpass from Varig that will allow you to see 1 to 4 places for around $400, and 5 places for around $600. There are restrictions, I believe that one of them is that you can only pass through a city one time. It is very reasonably priced, and for someone that wants to the most during one visit it seems like a great deal.

Give Varig a call, and inquire about the airpass.

[Trippleecks]

Sorry guy but I will never spend 20-24 hours or possibly more on a bus ride in Brazil, just to save a few dollars... You gotta be crazy.........

[Liucio]

Take the bus
I will send u more info
I traveling there this wk and will b going from Rio to Bahia and further north on buses.

[California Guy]

I am trying to plan my trip to Brazil for Feb. and I have no idea how easy or hard it is to get to Bahia or Fortaleza so if anyone here has been I would appreciate some help. I was planning to stay in one of these smaller cities for 8 days and go to Rio for 2-3. Thanks in advance for any advice or help you can lend, you can also send me a PM if that is easier and I would appreciate it.

Take Care!

Cali

[Liucio]

These stations are great
Spent the entire day dreaming about arriving next week

[Sui Generis]

Winter in Europe :-(

To "matar a saudade", here's a good link with tons of on-line brasilian radios. For each state there's a huge choice of stations.

www.radios.com.br/novo/estados.htm

Personnaly I listen MPB-FM (Rio de Janeiro) : no axe/pagode crap, only good MPB. www.mpbfm.com.br/radinho.asp


Cheers

Oi!
Today it's snowing in Montreal.....

I have also my way to lighten "saudade". I also listen Brazilian music or watch TV from Brazil. Here's a link:

http://www.musikcity.mus.br/radiosdobrasil.html

Hey Pro! MPB-FM (Rio de Janeiro) is also my favorite radio station. Each Tuesday I listen to Palco ao vivo: live show with the best singers in Brazil.

[Member #4156]

Winter in Europe :-(

To lighten "a saudade", here's a good link with tons of on-line brasilian radios. For each state there's a huge choice of stations.

www.radios.com.br/novo/estados.htm

Personnaly I listen MPB-FM (Rio de Janeiro) : no axe/pagode crap, only good MPB. www.mpbfm.com.br/radinho.asp


Cheers

Pro,

Do you know where I can find an online station that plays baile funk?

[Prosal]

Winter in Europe :-(

To lighten "a saudade", here's a good link with tons of on-line brasilian radios. For each state there's a huge choice of stations.

www.radios.com.br/novo/estados.htm

Personnaly I listen MPB-FM (Rio de Janeiro) : no axe/bahiana crap, only good MPB. www.mpbfm.com.br/radinho.asp


Cheers

[Jayf1970]

I might need to combine a little business with pleasure on my next Rio trip.

Does anyone know of a place that provides business services in the Copacabana area? I need a place that can make laser printouts and provides a decent internet connection for business work.

If not in Copa, where else in Rio? How about in Centro?

Thanks a lot in advance for your help!

[Sprite13]

While I was in Brasil, I had a hard time in the beginning to find an ATM which would accept my canadian cards. At the Galeão airport, first, once I had located the atms in the food courts, in the top floor, near departures, I tried Banco do Brasil, HSBC and a couple of others but to no avail. The funny thing is that I had opened an HSBC account specially for my trip knowing the large presence of this bank in Brasil and to my surprise, I wasn't able to use my card on the HSBC machines (despite being assured by the bank here in Canada that I would be able to do so).

However, the only bank which accepted my cards were the Itau bank. It accepted perfectly my HSBC card, gave me a great rate of exchange but also the lowest transaction fees. A plus for Itau bank is that branches are plentiful in Rio and all over Brasil and that they have an English option for language. In Rio, since I was staying in Ipanema, I used the branch in avenida Visconde de Iparaja during daytime. I had no problem nor felt insecure at any times that I withdrew cash, despite seeing some shady characters at times on the streets.

Since I had the hardest time to obtain Reais in Canada prior to my trip, I brought with me enough to last me for next trip. That's something that I would recommend people do as well. Bring Reais with you, at least enough to get you through the first day upon your next visit.

For my next trip, I'm planning on spending 2 months next summer (june-july). What is the weather at that time of the year in Rio and around Ilheus, Bahia and in Fortaleza? Has anyone been to the Fernando de Noronha island? I heard it's sublimely beautiful. I'd like to hear the experiences of someone who's already been there, if possible.

[Santa3]

HTC, Liucio, Generis
Thanks for the info / advise. Folks, contrary to what you think, Portugese as such is no longer spoken in Goa save for some old timers. So it's the other way round, the language has got me licked.

[Liucio]

U will find a great culture.