Rio de Janiero, Brazil
Spoiler Alert- We Showed up at the airport on the wrong day and missed our flight because the emails were in Portuguese and I never clicked ‘translate’ (I Know, still kicking myself) and subsequently got the departure date wrong.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s dive into what turned out to be one of our most memorable trips to the most beautiful country we ever visited lol. But as previously stated, this trip was not without its hiccups, from start to finish.
Our trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was purchased through Copa Airlines. Copa Airlines is a Panamanian-based airline, and this was my first time booking travel through an airline that sends emails in the dominant language of the destination country. So all of our emails, including the initial confirmation email as well as the multiple departure reminder emails leading up to the departure date were all in Portuguese (the primary language spoken in Brazil).
Why I did NOT to click translate to English, on any of the emails after confirming the purchase, I cannot explain. It is one of the most costly mistakes of my adulthood.
Historically, I am an incredibly detailed planner but I also have a tendency to rush (bad combination I know lol) and in planning this trip, I was so focused on booking excursions and lodging, that I never took the time to hit translate to confirm the actual dates. In hindsight, my wife and I learned so many lessons and it made us more efficient travelers in the long run, but not without a cost.
Upon arrival on the ‘alleged’ day of departure, and being told our flight left 24 hours prior, we went home, searched for flights leaving for Brazil that following day, booked an entirely new flight, and made sure to make that flight at the scheduled time. *whew* Yes, I know, this is a lot to take in, but stay with me. I promise it gets better because as I previously said, Rio was one of our most memorable trips.
Also, because now the itinerary was almost 24 hours off, I had to reschedule all our excursions and day trips for the following day, but fortunately, all 3 of the vendors were understanding and accommodating us free of charge. It pays to own your mistakes, apologize for inconveniences repeatedly, and speak kindly at all times. People are more likely to forgive and make last-minute accommodations when you hold yourself accountable and stay humble.
Upon arrival to Rio, the route the Uber driver took us to our first hotel (we stayed in 2 during this trip) we could see Christ The Redeemer peering out from the mountaintop. At this moment, seeing one of the 7 wonders of the world, which I’ve wanted to see since I was a teenager, affirmed that all the rescheduling efforts and expensive last-minute flights purchased were undoubtedly worth it.
The first hotel we stayed Emiliano Rio was on Copacabana Beach, and the second hotel JANIERO Hotel approx 5-7 minutes driving distance from the first, was on Ipanema Beach.
Both of these hotels had amazing customer service, with luxury amenities, and were highly recommended. Some may be wondering why we stayed in 2 different hotels, and the reason is that Rio is a very large and versatile city with different neighborhoods that reflect different energies depending on the target population that frequents them. In cities where we split lodgings between 2 hotels, we prefer to book the first location in the touristy and often centrally located area and then, the 2nd in a region more residential and where locals frequent. We also stayed at 2 hotels, on our previous trip to London, UK and those lodging details are in the London, UK article (link below).
On our first day in Rio, we visited Copacabana Beach after getting checked into the hotel. This beach is everything the Snoop Dogg and Pharrell’s Beautiful video, depicted it to be. From the rooftop of our hotel and the entire beach, you have a clear view of Sugarloaf Mountain and it is even more postcard-worthy than the pictures on the internet. Also, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this city has the most beautiful men and women, that we have ever seen in any city stateside or abroad. Brazilian women specifically, are the personification of the Beyonce lyric ‘I woke up like this.’ It is a natural beauty they possess, that requires no makeup, weave, or surgeries, and that is hard to capture fully in words. And if Brazilian beauty isn’t overwhelming enough, they are arguably the most humble and helpful natives we have ever encountered. My wife and I don’t speak a lick of Portuguese, and everyone in the airport, hotels, grocery store, restaurants, etc translated for us and appeared happy to do so. Of note, this reception is not the baseline expectation or experience in every country we have visited. There are places in Europe where it is looked down on when you don’t attempt to speak the native language and they will give you a hard time for the lack of effort (Ex: FRANCE lol).
Anyhow, we ended the first day with a Samba class, and this was the first dance class my wife and I ever took together surprisingly, and is something we are interested in repeating in the future. Even though the learning curve was steep since our instructor also competed in the annual Carnival lol. Nonetheless, a good time was had by all who participated.
On the second day, we had a 7-hour day tour scheduled through AirBnB called ‘Get To Know Rio’s Many Attractions’ which included a trip to Christ The Redeemer top of the morning, Santa Teresa neighborhood tour, which included a visit to the famous Selaron Staircase Steps (Also featured in the Snoop Dogg and Pharrel ‘Beautiful’ video), and a trip to the Tijuca Forest after a very filling buffet lunch. Many people may be apprehensive about group tours, but we highly recommend doing at least one on every trip. It is an opportunity to see several main attractions in one day, with hotel pick up and drop off often included. But it’s also an opportunity to meet other travelers from around the world, exchange stories, and advice, and develop a new perspective. The conversations we have with the native tour guides and travelers from across the world are the things we hold on to the most, after every trip.
Of note, the Trip Advisor, Viator, and AirBnB excursion hosts are natives and the advice, recommendations, and historical lessons given during tours about the land that they love and live in, are priceless. Also, the people you are booked on excursions with, also have advice and recommendations about navigating foreign countries that you may/may not have visited, and this information exchanged in transit, is also PRICELESS.
The camaraderie that develops between travelers, when everyone is away from their homeland, is something indescribable and invaluable.
Another highlight of this trip was the 2-hour Little Africa tour we also booked through Air BnB. The Little Africa tour was a walking African History through one of Rio’s most famous favelas (Brazilian term for slum). This was a humbling experience because when touring the favelas, we learned that the natives residing in these areas have to learn how to wire their electricity and connect wifi because the neighborhoods are so dangerous that service providers don’t feel safe entering. Perspective is everything, and gaining insight into someone else’s livelihood and how they make the best with much less forces you to have more respect for their resourcefulness and develop more gratitude for your excess upon returning home.
As I said, this trip had unexpected traveling hiccups from start to finish.
Upon checking out from our second hotel, and waiting on the rooftop for our scheduled Uber to pick us up, we received an airline alert that our flight was delayed for 2 hours.
No problem, we are thinking, and planned to continue eating and drinking on the rooftop of JANEIRO, which is breathtaking because we could see Christ The Redeemer in the distance, and the entire Leblon beach. However, 2 hours later, immediately prior to our Uber pickup, we received another alert that the flight was now delayed overnight. Remember, we checked out of our hotel already lol. *Woosah*
And the hotel could not extend our reservation another night, as it was already booked.
Adaptability, during travel, is everything and I cannot stress this enough.
We booked another hotel for one night in Leblon, and made the best of an unplanned circumstance by walking the neighborhood, having a nice dinner in a local neighborhood restaurant and then post-dinner drinks at a local grocery store because evidently there is bottle service available in grocery stores in Leblon lol. This was prior to both of us going Sober, so Simone drank but I did not.
Fortunately, upon arriving at the airport (after checking out of our THIRD hotel) the following am, there were no delays, and we made it back home safely, only 24 hours after our originally scheduled arrival time. For this reason, we always recommend taking off work, two days off after every international trip. One day in case of unplanned delays or flight cancellation, and another day to unpack, clean, and recover before returning to work.
Interestingly enough, we look back on these traveling hiccups and laugh. Instead, we remember the unmatched beauty of the Brazilian landscape and its people. It is a country we plan to travel to often and are very eager to return, but the next trip will be to Sao Paulo.
Links to excursions and hotels mentioned are below:)
Happy Traveling Friends, until our next adventure!
Recommended Food
Aprazivel (Reservation Recommended)
Território Aprazível | Mais que um restaurante no Rio de Janeiro (aprazivel.com.br)
Recommended Excursions
Get To Know Rio Main Attractions Tour
Samba Class in Ipanema
Little Africa Tour and the Urban Quilombismo
Recommended Hotels
Emiliano RIO
JANEIRO
Recommended LGBTQIA Bar/Lounge
Pink Flamingo
Pink Flamingo – All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (with Photos) (tripadvisor.com)
Recommended Photographer
Photo tour in Ipanema/Photo shoot in Arpoador
The SIMS IRL 
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