Can somebody be bored with Rio...

Yes...after two days we noticed that we were so tired and kinda down, even though we had a good apt, a block from Copacabana beach, and were in the city that so many people hear about as incredible. We couldn't figure out why we were so unhappy, and 4 days later as we head out we realize that Rio is just a big city, granted it does have nice landscapes but in the end the pollution, the poverty, the homelessness, the constant rush of cars and people, the buses, taxis that practically run you over or if your lucky honk and curse as you cross the street (I need to work on my portuguese curses cause talking back in English means nothing). Long story short, we do not want to sound spoiled because afterall this is an amazing journey we are on, but we do want to point out that Rio does not have the charm we were hoping for.
Right now we are on a bus heading to Ihla Grande which is about 2 hours south and is a tropical island that will hopefully offer another wonderful escape for us. The greatest thing for me is that we have a new moon so the stars and all the galaxies will be to their fullest extent.
We want to say hi to Natalia and Andres who are still in Buzios today and have been so cool to show us around Buenos Aires when we arrive there. Andres : "the pens are still in the box"
Take care everybody, and please all of you reading this, consider taking some time off work to get down to Brazil, overall it really is a fascinating place!
P.S there are some new pics if you click on the pics links...remeber this takes you to the migente.com profile that has all the pics from this trip.
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Redeem us...all 13 stories of you

In Rio and on top of the city at the Christ the Reedeemer statue that sits atop Corcovado Hill...the size of this thing is amazing (almost a 13 story building) and the craziest part is how they got these huge stone pieces up the mountainside...obvious now why it is a wonder of the world!
Just to recap we left Buzios, the city (village) of pure fun, sun, nightlife, you name it, and arrived in Rio de Janeiro. Yesterday, we spent the afternoon in a favella looking for some excitement and were informed that cops were all over so that everything illegal was on hold. A bigger adrenaline rush occured when we realized that cops were in the favella circling with machine guns because only hours earlier there were some shootings only a few streets from where we were. Pretty much what happens in these favellas is that the cops arrive after a crime has been committed in order to calm the gang bangers that are ready to continue fighting. They circle for a few hours then leave by nightime hopeing that its given these hotheads some time to breathe and not commit more violent acts.
Unfortunately when that happens the kids that are selling drugs on the favella corners also have to leave, so it creates a backlog of drug selling. Ultimately this means that the drug dealers need to come into the more upscale places to continue selling until the police have left their favellas and that creates conflicts with the dealers that already "own" the blocks in the upscale neighborhoods, tension tends to build and more fights break out. It's an ugly cycle.
Note we ventured into this area because we met a local dude who had rented us the apt in Rio we are now staying at (for 4 days) and we met his kids and wife. Feeling pretty secure we went with him into the favella in the middle of the day to have beers in the local bar up there (next to the crime scene) pretty damn cool hearing all the stories of how these favellas work and the icing was watching the police circle with machine guns in hand. Sick...sick...sick...
The dude we were with, Marcelo, knows this area and knew that when the police are in there it is safe for "outsiders" to be in there. Interestinly enough a trip into the favellas cost tourist about 30 dollars each and all we had to do with our new friend was just be cool and drink some beers at the bar in there. We spent a solid 2.5 hours drinking and listening to his stories, we took off when he noticed the police had left the neighborhood because he couldn't guarantee that we'd be safe any longer. That was not good news to hear so Paula and I quickly made our way out, with his help.
So, Christ the almighty Reedeemer was today's tourist activity and tomorrow we are chillin out at Ipanema beach where all the beautiful women goto. I'll definitely be taking pics of the fine sand, water, and brazilian stringwear!!!


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Rio de Janeiro

Estamos en Rio de Janeiro y tuvimos suerte en encontran una apartamento en Copacabana, a una cuadra de la playa, en un 11 piso, con asensor, portero y lo mejor $45.00 el dia. Ya q aqui todo es muy costoso.

Estamos felices de no estar en una posada o hotel, tener un bano, una cocina y una sala es un sueno.

El dia de ayer lo pasamos en una favela, supuestamente barrios super peligrosos donde vive la gente muy pobre, la persona q nos consigio el apartamento nos llevo hacia alla. Siempre hay q ir acompanado de alguien q lo conocen en la favela porq si no puede ser peligroso ya q hay mucha venta de drogas.



Hoy fuimos a visitar el Cristo Redentor en el cerro de Corcovado. Las vistas a la ciudad son espectaculares, se puede apreciar gran parte de Rio como las playas de copa, Ipanima, leblon, el centro, el estadio Maracana, uno de los mas grandes del mundo y el Pao de Azucar.

Pudimos tomas muchas fotos algunas con el atardecer, ahora estamos llegando a nuestro magnifico apartamento a descansar para tener energia y ver un poco la vida noctura de Rio de Janeiro.

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Buzios...hmmmm...2 days is turning into 4 days...then maybe 6...

So we came out here on Thursday thinking 1 day would be enough but with all the different beaches, amazing restaurants and the upscale nightlife, its easy to see why all people from Brazil consider this the hottest spot to play and party!
We've been hanging out with Natalia and Andres who have already been here for about 8 days and are likely staying another 8 days and have totally helped us find all the right places to goto.
The problem with this place is that it is a destination spot for the rich in Brazil so everything is twice the price...not good when your on a budget...tonight we were thinking of sleeping in the car so we could stay longer!
Seriously, we'll figure something out because apparently Sunday is the best night to go out...maybe we just stay at the club till morning!!! Let you know tomorrow.
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