General Info

thanks again for the speed of answer christopherd ;)

estação gourmet is in my list of things to try next time, funny enough as i went back home just couple of days ago and i cannot wait to go back....it seems saudade took a bit of time to born in my heart....

and it was enough just two times in rio to make me so "hungry" and curious to everything that is not full of turists, i am pretty sure i yet did not see the best part of cidade maravilhosa.

leme for example, in january i lived close to prado junior for 2 months, so close to leme and never been there neither once. i have the feeling that if you not "pay attention" you really risk to end always to the same places, terma late afternoon after beach and help at night and that 99% of turist know nothing about the real rio where as "real rio" i mean place not full of pros.

i am happy i learned from my mistakes in january, when i was in hurry, after 2 months spent in russia, to find only top notch girls without take it all easy, slow down, relax and enjoy the difference that brazil has in comparison to russia.

a week ago, thank to speaking basic portuguese, feeling better cause i know a bit more the city, that btw looked to me a bit smaller than the first time, dressing almost as brazilian one....all this gave me the chance to real taste and enjoy rio and it is only the beginning as i only saw the potencial of this city, but indeed i still saw almost nothing.

chris you are right, ipa much more cleaner and nicer and maybe even the regular girl are a bit more approachable than the ones in copa, that for the fear to be taken as pros, they pay attention to even answer to an innocent smile if did by a turist.

so my goal for the next trip is to date a normal girl and to really slow down with terma and terma and with pros. at the end is what i do here in europe and in my home town, to use pros only as last chance not as ordinary thing to.....have a shower together a nice girl i like ;)

[QUOTE=Lukasek]
...
But on opposite side, ipanema to me looks much much more elegant and class than copa, with almost no gringo.
So close to copa, but it seems another city, so I am asking now, how many of you actually in Rio stay in copa and how many stay in ipanema ?
I have the feeling, but I know I can be totally wrong, where in copa you almost never meet regular girls in ipanema you never meet pros.
Anybody who would like to share some POV about stay or living in ipanema VS copa ?

Thanks in advance guys.[/QUOTE]
I have made 7 trips to Rio, and on my 7th trip finally stayed in Ipanema (vs Copa) because my buddy wanted to stay there. I was pretty unfamiliar with the Ipanema area, as I had only gone there a few times to eat and go to the beach. But since I was able to finally stay there for a week, I really liked it.

[b]Pros:[/b]
1) It is pretty clean there, and there are [b]so many beautiful women[/b] walking around. I hardly see that in Copa.
2) [b]Much quieter[/b] than Copa. I could actually sleep peacefully every night because there was little noise from traffic and late night revelers. In Copa, no matter where I have stayed, it just has always been so noisy.
3) Nicer beach in my opinion, with better looking garotas
4) Plenty of nice restaurants, especially if you like sushi
5) Plenty of bus stops. Well, this isn't really a pro, but a nice surprise. I thought getting around might be a problem, but there were a good number of bus stops and it only took me 10-15 minutes to get to MC or Luomo by bus, and 20 minutes to Solarium.
6) Apartment standards are higher. Of course, with that comes cost. I was able to pay R$130 (R$260/2 persons) a night for a nice place with Internet and gas heater for water, but that's because it was a 2-bedroom where I could split the cost.

[b]Cons:[/b]
1) It is further away from the Subway metro, so it's a hassle to go to Centro. I ended up taking the bus to Cantagalo station and then taking the subway to Centro. Extra R$2,20 bus fare cost each way. I also took the bus all the way to Centro once, but there were just way too many stops that it took like an hour.
2) Not as many small restaurants and juice bars as Copa
3) Most places seem to shut down by midnight, which sucks because I always have the late night munchies. There were still a couple of juice bars open 24 hours
4) Almost no cambios around. I walked into one and they were giving a rate of 1.70 which was as bad as the airport. The cambio in Copa that I go to was giving 1.90 that day.

I have actually booked an apartment in Ipanema for my next trip at a cost within my budget (R$130 a night w/ Internet). I like Copa and have normally stayed in the Posto 2 area, but I want to experience a bit more of Ipanema and also get a better night's sleep this time.

Azn Safado thanks for your POV too.

I have time to decide where to stay, but I think for a short holiday, till 10-12 days, maybe it is more practical copa, longer holidays can be fine ipa too.

Luckily I have no problem to fall asleep even with noise streets ( it helps me to not sleep too long too ).

After reading your post, I bet next time you will be back to copa.

I agree about beaches, even the water seems to me better in ipa and I liked a lot that you wrote much better looking girls in ipa ;)

What always made for me a travel from a good experience to unforgettable one was the capability to stop to be a turist and to get inside normal life of the locals. It improves a lot your chance to score a regular one instead to pay all the times you are horny.

Using autobus is just an example, even if thanks to it in Ufa I was able to date a student and it was not bad lol.

From ipa to cantagalo is short time by bus to get then to centro and short too to get to rua seabra and to planetarium in gavea in weekend days ;)

It sucks a bit to have cambio in ipa at rates of airport, but again 4,40 reais of bus till copa and it is done.

130 reais with net is not bad for ipa I guess, so I am looking forward your next report.

Cheers

[QUOTE=Lukasek]Azn Safado thanks for your POV too.

I have time to decide where to stay, but I think for a short holiday, till 10-12 days, maybe it is more practical copa, longer holidays can be fine ipa too.

Luckily I have no problem to fall asleep even with noise streets ( it helps me to not sleep too long too ).

After reading your post, I bet next time you will be back to copa.

I agree about beaches, even the water seems to me better in ipa and I liked a lot that you wrote much better looking girls in ipa ;)

What always made for me a travel from a good experience to unforgettable one was the capability to stop to be a turist and to get inside normal life of the locals. It improves a lot your chance to score a regular one instead to pay all the times you are horny.

Using autobus is just an example, even if thanks to it in Ufa I was able to date a student and it was not bad lol.

From ipa to cantagalo is short time by bus to get then to centro and short too to get to rua seabra and to planetarium in gavea in weekend days ;)

It sucks a bit to have cambio in ipa at rates of airport, but again 4,40 reais of bus till copa and it is done.

130 reais with net is not bad for ipa I guess, so I am looking forward your next report.

Cheers[/QUOTE]
Actually, the ocean water is better in the Copa side, as the canal between Ipanema and Leblon release human crap out to sea. As for the babes on the beach, thats a different story.

I get a tan in Ipanema, but I do not get into the water. Ask the locals, they will tell you.

[QUOTE=Hughdad]You ever know anyone that had bulimia? It is a very horrible and tragic disease.[/QUOTE]
Yes, many, on a professional basis, and I have treated it professionally. Your assessment is absolutely correct. It can be, and has been, fatal.

[QUOTE=Mangera]Actually, the ocean water is better in the Copa side, as the canal between Ipanema and Leblon release human crap out to sea. As for the babes on the beach, thats a different story.

I get a tan in Ipanema, but I do not get into the water. Ask the locals, they will tell you.[/QUOTE]

One can argue over this quite a bit, but the fact is that the ocean water is extremely polluted everywhere in front of Rio de Janeiro. I wouldn't put my foot into that sewer.

If you do not believe, take a walk in the Copa fortress. Look the wake on the Copa side. See the foam and all that brown matter.... human waste.

Even in Barra da Tijuca and Recreio all shit is tunneled to the ocean.

Baia de Guanabara is WORST of them all.

One have to go quite a far from Rio to be able to swim without any worry.

[QUOTE=Perkele]One can argue over this quite a bit, but the fact is that the ocean water is extremely polluted everywhere in front of Rio de Janeiro. I wouldn't put my foot into that sewer.

If you do not believe, take a walk in the Copa fortress. Look the wake on the Copa side. See the foam and all that brown matter.... human waste.

Even in Barra da Tijuca and Recreio all shit is tunneled to the ocean.

Baia de Guanabara is WORST of them all.

One have to go quite a far from Rio to be able to swim without any worry.[/QUOTE]

Thats just another way of saying "same shit", which in this case it can be mean't literally as well :)

I never really go in the water, even though I hang out quite a bit by the beaches.

The last time I swam in the ocean (Copacabana beach) was in 1984. Even then you could notice a yellowish foam floating on the crests of the waves.

You have to go relatively far from Rio in order to find clean beaches.

As I hobby almost exclusively in São Paulo, when I want to go to the beach I go to Ubatuba or beaches located on the Norte Litoral. Next month, on my trip to Sampa I expect to visit the beaches near Santos like São Vincente or Guaruja. I expect them to be polluted but it's always good to feel the sea breeze.

[QUOTE=Sui Generis]The last time I swam in the ocean (Copacabana beach) was in 1984. Even then you could notice a yellowish foam floating on the crests of the waves.

[/QUOTE]

About the same timeframe I was swimming in the water by the beach off the Rio Sheraton hotel. It was just after a rain but the sun was out, as I was relaxing in the water a dead rat floated by me, I never moved so fast in my life, haven't really been back in the water since, maybe just to get my feet wet.

I have a friend who shoots video in Rio as he walks along the edge of the water, he got some type of fungus/infection on his foot, took months to get rid of.

Back home I never tell people the water is polluted or there is a threat of violence because they would ask me: Why do you go? Can't tell everybody why. One time my friend’s wife wanted to come with us to Rio, he told me that he was going to tell her that she wouldn't like it there because the beach is polluted and there’s too much violence. I told him you better not because she'll ask you why you are going. He no longer accompanies me on my trips.

[QUOTE=Lukasek]
Sangue Bon thanks too, next time I will go for sure to Shirley, mainly cause I still never been to Leme and it is in my plan during my third time to Rio to explore as much as I can out of copa.[/QUOTE]

Not a good time to discuss seafood restaurants while discussing polluted waters but here are some alternatives to Shirley:

Probably the best seafood restaurant in all of Rio is Satyricon in Ipanema, very expensive even when the dollar was getting 4 reals but very good.

Another good one in Ipanema is Margutta but again at current exchange rate, not for everyday but high end.

Then of course don't forget Dom Camilio in Copacabana, its Italian but it's also a seafood restaurant, Gamberi and risotto is my favorite.

This is not a seafood restaurant but I thought I would just throw it in and that's Jobi's in Leblon. Very popular for the residents of Leblon, small and packed all the time and I never saw a gringo in there except myself and the gringo who introduced me to it, good food, cold beer and good prices.

[QUOTE=Perkele]One can argue over this quite a bit, but the fact is that the ocean water is extremely polluted everywhere in front of Rio de Janeiro. I wouldn't put my foot into that sewer.

If you do not believe, take a walk in the Copa fortress. Look the wake on the Copa side. See the foam and all that brown matter.... human waste.

Even in Barra da Tijuca and Recreio all shit is tunneled to the ocean.

Baia de Guanabara is WORST of them all.

One have to go quite a far from Rio to be able to swim without any worry.[/QUOTE]


If this is true, then how come so many mongers love to eat seafood in Rio? I never knew they sent all thier human waste into the ocean (never eally thought about it) But knowing that now, I couldnt imagine eating fish and shrimp in rio anymore.

[QUOTE=Bravo]I never knew they sent all thier human waste into the ocean (never eally thought about it) But knowing that now, I couldnt imagine eating fish and shrimp in rio anymore.[/QUOTE]

I never knew too, but I am happy I wrote about "water" and that came out about dead rat and infections to foot....for me it is solved from now, no more sea food in Rio from now and I will think twice before to relax long time in the water.

Ipanema had a lot of problems with pollutions 10 years back, until they moved the exit of the sewer.

Being on one of the most famous beaches in the world, sweating in the sun and having lots of hot women in the waves... of course I enter. It's mostly for a dip or some bodysurfing. I can't imagine it would be that bad as the descriptions below.

The only problem I had was once when I accidently happened to catch some human faeces in my hand. :(

[QUOTE=Bravo]If this is true, then how come so many mongers love to eat seafood in Rio? I never knew they sent all thier human waste into the ocean (never eally thought about it) But knowing that now, I couldnt imagine eating fish and shrimp in rio anymore.[/QUOTE]

Well. I never eat seafood in Rio. Only when I'm traveling in Brasil. Now I'm in Recife and the food is great here.

Of course I do not know if the shit goes straight to ocean, but water is much cleaner here.

If you go up to Sugar Loaf and look down to the ocean, the water at Copacabana beach looks greenish blue, while the water in the bay next to Leblond and Centro looks black like mud.

It's obvious that Rio's sewage and municipal wastes are pumped out into that bay. The contaminations would gradually spread out into the surrounding water. The ocean water in Copacabana does smell like sewage. It's not smart to dunk around in water that carries human wastes of million of people for decades.

The water over Ipanema looks cleaner but the beaches are littered with trash of every kinds. The water in resort town, Buzzio, is also heavily contaminated with sewage.

There are many beaches in other parts of the world that are beautiful, clean, healthy, fun. Rio is very low on the list. I was told by my Brazilian friends that Southern parts of Brazil have far cleaner beaches and more beautiful women of the blonde hair, fair skin types.