IN BRAZIL DO LIKE THE BRAZILIANS!!!! NO DOUBT ABOUT IT!!!

In life we have to experience everything...In a way I agree...part of our culture is very musical and tonight I had the opportunity to go to a FUNK PARTY...

YES THESE FAMOUS BALLS HELD IN THE VARIOUS FAVELAS OF RIO!!!! But this time...ohhh this time...3000 college students from 3 Federal Universities PLUS Rafael were there!!

Cool ambience, very spacious and a real sauna because of the crowd!!! MUSIC???? Yes, some music...louder...LOUDEEEERRRRRR. Butts shaking and beating other butts!!! Sensual dance with strong drum rhythm...

As a tour guide...YES...if you are brave enough to face the crowd and if you are a PARTY GOER....THEN GO!!!!!! You will like!!!

I liked but my best friend and our new tour guide Marcone really enjoyed...and he had reasons to celebrate...he is one of the NURSING students and all his friends were there!!!

BRAZILIANS LOVE MUSIC...AND THIS NIGHT WE HAD FUNK...WE HAD A LITTLE BIT REGGAE and finally (for me the most expected) SAMBA.

Some of my friends, I swear, would never recognize me...but sure IT IS ME!!! You can see in the pictures!!!

Party will end with the sun coming to start a new day!!!

I was invited by Marcone and I joined his friends...which I mention with honor...ANNINHA, ISADORA, HANNAH, LARISSA, SAMUEL, CAROLE, JUAN, MARCELLE AND RENATA...Very cool people and future NURSES!!!

Marcone will be also a nurse...actually he wants to acchieve many goals in life...Two already conquered...he is an English Teacher and a Excellent Tour Guide!!!

NOTE: The funk rhythm as well as Samba are very popular in the Favelas, but the whole city seems to accept this "new culture" with quite an enthusiasm!

A TOUR IN THE MARKET - SÃO SEBASTIÃO - NITEROI

Niteroi is really my endless source of incredible surprises!!! :)

My tours are not only a way for you to see the most spectacular places in Rio, but it is also a cool opportunity for you to be in touch with people's daily life and also a good way for you to understand our culture!!!

So once in a while I take my people to see the Markets of the State...This time we visited the biggest FISH MARKET OF RIO.

This is one of the points where our fish get to our city...Niteroi and Rio are proud of this market that much more than a one day shopping...it is a cool way to see people, and to experience the local tastes of our so special brazilian cousine.

São Sebastião is the name of this hidden secrets of Niteroi...

I also find a cool restaurant there with my name...RAFA'S MAR!!! I swear to God, it is not mine!!!

My guests Chris and Ildi came with me and I could show them also where the boats come very early in the morning...at the Fishermen Village called PONTA DA AREIA.

CHRIS UNDERSTAND ALOT ABOUT MARKETS AND HE IS VERY CURIOUS ABOUT LOCAL CUSTONS, ILDI IS A LOVELY HUNGARIAN WOMAN LIVING IN UK FOR A LONG TIME!!!

England and Hungary together...Chris and Ildi together...PERFECT COMBINATION CELEBRATING LIFE IN BRAZIL!!!

Thanks my friends for such wisdon, for such fun and for giving me the chance to show you the best of Rio!!!

And our thanks to Marta (www.rioguesthouse.com) who made this meeting possible!!

I work with Marta for years...I recommend my guests to experience such a wonderful time in a fabulous penthouse in the best location of Copa, and she is always recommending her guests for my tours!

MARTA HAS THE FACE OF RIO!!! She is one of the main charecters of our tourism business!!!

Rafael Torres Lopes

donrafainrio@yahoo.es

HARD LIFE OF A PASSIONATE TOUR GUIDE IN RIO

Right now it is high season in Rio so I am quite busy and I will always be busy with my tours and a lot of internet working as I reply emails to all my guests and I also write travel articles for some travel agencies in England, USA, Malta and Australia! So if I take some time to write, please think that I am really busy with my tours, giving to all people in the World the joy to explore real life in Rio!!!

My work has a lot of passion, my work gives me wonderful friends and I give all of me in every place I take my people. Once I have my guests, they will see places where locals love to go, they will see the famous spots by the eye of a real native. These guests become friends and these friends will always take sweet memories of Rio, and this Rio is not only THE "destination", Rio will become a HOME for them!!! I don't have big structure...I just have my experiences, my knowledge and my joy of belonging to my city. And certainly, my car. So, comfort, my guests will always have...safety..sure they will have because I know where, when and how to go everywhere; fun...how can't you have fun in a sunny and so vibrant city like Rio de Janeiro????

Well, I have my contacts here, I can welcome from one people to a group of 30 people because some agencies here have a lot of confidence in my work, and they always offer their structure under my total assistence!!!

So I am very grateful that people keep on writing to me, I am very grateful for everyone who just write to me to get some information or people who write to me for taking care of their travel plans, and I make these plans being dreams and happiness!!!

Thank you so much for your interest and confidence!!! Be patient if I take too much time with no response. I might be in some secret of Rio showing to people what you will certainly experience!!! I will never forget your request, this you can be sure of!!!

MUITO OBRIGADO,
Rafael Torres Lopes
Tour Guide and Travel Planner

NOTE: Some of the pictures were not taken in Rio, one was taken in the outskirts of Caracas in Venezuela and another one was taken in Iguazu Falls where I also have my work!

MORE HINTS OF A HIDDEN SECRET CALLED NITEROI

Niteroi is a city made exclusively for the people who live there. They don't really mind to show to the world that the city is indeed one of the most interesting places in Brazil. The local Receptive Tours Agencies in Rio usually ignore Niteroi because they know that Rio gets the FAME OF THE WORLD!!!!

No doubt that Rio de Janeiro is simply magnificent. I love my homeland and I am very proud that in the World Scenery, my city is present in many people's dream!!!

Niteroi (great for the city and too bad for the World) is still a virgin terrain for World Travellers...The tours just reach the amazing Contemporary Art Museum - MAC which provides a gorgeous view of the Bay Area and where our visitor can see one of the last projects of our Architect Oscar Niemeyer.

Niteroi is much more than our Museum...

And I do more...a tour in Niteroi, you will discover some hidden treasures that everyone in the World should see!!!

A cool secret is visiting our military instalations which in Brazil most of them are open for the public!!! But sometimes not even the locals are aware about this unique privilege!!!

The Fort São Luis is located in a very interesting fishermen village called Jurujuba...yes, I know that the names are difficult to remember. Not always the fort is open, it is more likely to visit there in the weekend. It is also known as "FORTE DO PICO", the old construction to watch the Ocean and the entrance of the Bay was built in 1775; but we know that the first constructions was held many years ago by the French, in their second invasion.

Not only History you will know about Brazil when you visit the Fort, but you will see spectacular views of Rio and find out that Niteroi still have unique beaches even the locals do not know the existence!!!

I have contacts there, so we can go to the beach...incredible Imbui Beach...

Think about Niteroi and you must add Niteroi in your list!!!

It is a very clean city with fantastic surprises!!!! I am glad that I include a very complete visit to the city in my tours.

My guests can always say to anyone: I HAVE BEEN TO RIO!!!!

Rafael Torres Lopes

donrafainrio@yahoo.es

MY FANTASTIC FRIENDS FROM WINNIPEG

What to say when you have great people to show your own land??? When they do not know what they are going to see before meeting you??? When everything is a real surprise in each place you go????

My mission was to show them Rio, but not the touristic places..of course I had in mind to show the heart and the soul of Rio de Janeiro, and we started doing a great job...We were going to the Sugar Loaf but we haven't gone to the top of the hill. I am not saying that being to the top is a bad thing to do...but they did much more than any tourist that comes to Rio for the first time...

They did what every curious people have to do...they walked a little more and come across with Praia Vermelha and they found a trail where locals get through the gates just to walk, and they found a trail in the Atlantic Forest..the not famous at all PISTA CLAUDIO COUTINHO, where I usually take food for some friends...And these friends welcomed ED and ISABEL with great enthusiasm!!!!

I am for sure that there is a couple in Winnipeg that know alot about Rio de Janeiro!!!

In one day we made TWO CITIES...in this side of the Bay, Rio de Janeiro and the other side of the Bay...Niteroi!!!

I would like to salute Ed and Isabel for such great curiosity about Rio and my land, and I put my land in their hearts and they will always have all the special places well kept in the memory.

You just met a tour guide and left in Brazil a friend!!!

They really experienced Rio like locals and they SAW everything!!!! :)

Ed became an Angel!!! :) YOU SEE MIRACLES HAPPENS!!!

The Canadian couple got also politically involved with the brazilian student movement, supporting their request for fair distribuition of food in public schools! hahahahahaha

With many thanks for the great hoster Marta (http://www.rioguesthouse.com/) for recommend me to Ed and Isabel, without my friend Marta this lovely day would never be possible! :)

WE ARE HERE FOR YOU!!!

First we are 3 great friends. We like to work together, we share the same space in Copacabana, and of course, we have our own independent lives, but we make decisions together, we have different activities and we are 3 different people with great view for the future, with a lot of respect and love for the people and we like to have fun!!! Something we have in common, we are very positive toward life!

In this BROTHERHOOD homes we try to make the best we can..and something we know...We are here to create a different and positive impression of Rio, we are here to make Rio and all over Brazil to be your most beloved memories when you travel....

We are Rafael, Marcone and Jakob.

DONRAFA - THE GUIDE AND "PRIME MINISTER" according to some friends in Texas!

Rafael, this one who's writing this blog, is a very passionate tour guide. He enjoys takeing people to the most genuine places of each city of Brazil, but his speciality is RIO. RAFAEL IS RIO DE JANEIRO CITY IN PERSON, if we could describe him like it. He is the one who hates to be the sort of a guide with a sign in hand telling: COPACABANA IN THE RIGHT AND THE CHRIST IN THE LEFT...No..he will be hiking with you in the surroundings of the Sugar Loaf (no matter if it is dark or light). Rafa, that is how he likes to be called, he will help you to plan your trip in the best way, and he will always find something that only you like doing..much more than a tour guide, he is a sort of EMBASSADOR OF BRAZIL. His 8 years experience makes Rio and Brazil easier for you and he will always gives you reason to keep Brazil in your travel list for such a looonnnng time!!

Not only Rafael is working in Rio, but he tours around Brazil..specially in RIO, AMAZON, from the unknown Roraima State to the fascinating and not less unknown and unique state of Maranhão where the rain forest meets with the Atlantic Ocean. he plans trips, he writes about Brazil and he deeply loves his country and his continent. But one thing is for sure, Rafael's main ambition is to make Brazil a better place; he also tours in Iguazu Falls, the northern coast beaches of Nordeste. And he can give you a hand in other countries too such as Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela.

MARCONE LIMA - THE GUIDE, THE ENGLISH TEACHER AND THE NURSE

His best business card is his smile; his first way to introduce himself is the bright of his eyes looking at you with enthusiasm and respect. His best tool work is his laugh. And his best quality and key to success is BEING HIMSELF!!!

He is the NEWEST TOUR GUIDE ON THE SCENE, but it does not mean lack of experience at all..He lives in the house of the KING, and he is one of the best representative of the Castle, hahahah :) His walking tours are magic, he has a different way to see the city because he was born in another place way far from Rio. Marcone is son of a land that mix thick rain forest with magnificent ocean beaches, he comes from a beautiful State called MARANHÃO; so he had to learn about Rio, he has the best historian teacher to find out about Rio's past, so he can understand pretty well our daily life, and from all friends he conquested, from all great challenges he faced...I would say that Marcone is a GENUINE CARIOCA!!! And Marcone's creativity also can provide a very funny and introduction BIKING TOUR around the coast!!! Marcone knows how to introduce Rio in a very cool and funny way. He has welcomed my guests and we have been working together alot, and he knows my way to treat my guests and he is always present in most of my tours.

If our guests needs a vehicle...Well, Marcone for the moment cannot drive...but he has some cars and drivers available. So the prices will be for the cost of the car and also his services, but I am always helping him to provide the most honest prices.

And if you think that this young boy is only a tour guide and with a lot of experience....Well...this man in the body of a boy is also a very efficient and respectaful English Teacher in a very famous english school in Rio. He has more than 70 students that learn YOUR LANGUAGE, thanks to him!!! Another thing that very few people know is that he also teaches our nativce language, Marcone is a PORTUGUESE TEACHER for foreigners, not only he teaches the secrets of Rio but he also teaches you the way to be able to communicate in Portuguese! And this is not enough...he succeed to pass in the four entrance exams of our Federal University, and he is studying Medicine to be a NURSE and he will be specialized in Cardio Geriatric Cares...

Anyway, this multi functions person is also a very dear and complete Tour Guide in Rio de Janeiro.

Marcone is my big reference in life, great advisor, wonderful tourism partner, best friend, brother...everything...

JAKOB - THE DANISH ROYALTY - THE GUIDE, THE TEACHER AND THE EARL OF COPACABANA

He is one of my best friends, I have no doubt about it. He has the authority to be part of my professional and personal life. He is spending part of his life in this new country called Brazil after spending his life time in our precious and divine Denmark, but Jakob addopt Rio body and soul, but I have to say to all danish that his heart is DANISH and always will be!!!

This love for his country gave him an idea...He loves Brasil so much that he came here to learn about Rio, to learn even more about Brazil and make this land a home to all danish who dreams about HOLIDAYS IN THE TROPICS. With safety, smart information and above all FUN!!!!

With all his knowledge about Brazilian Culture, he is the best guide not only for Denmark and the rest of Scandinavian, he is the best representative in South America for all Europeans...His English is remarkable, his danish, well, still very updated. his german, very good enough to make Rio a real german house, and his portuguese, well, he can survive in any single corner of this endless giant country called Brazil.

He will be the most brazilian danish fellow EVER!!!!

IN OTHER WORDS, I AM PROUD AND HONORED TO INTRODUCE TO YOU, THE BRAIN OF MY WORK AND TOURISM PROJECT.

THE THREE EMBASSADORS WILL BE ALWAYS HERE TO MAKE RIO DE JANEIRO, ONE OF YOUR NEST TRAVEL DESTINATION.

WE CAN TAKE YOU TO THE MOST HIDDEN TREASURES OF RIO, AND WE ARE HERE NOT ONLY TO BE YOUR BEST INFORMAL GUIDES, BUT WE ARE HERE TO BE A REFERENCE AND ALSO YOUR FRIENDS IN BRAZIL.

YOU CAN COUNT ON US FOR EVERYTHING, WE ARE RELIABLE, SERIOUS, EXPERTS, RESPECTFUL AND WELL INFORMED PROFESSIONALS!!!

AND MOST IMPORTANT...TOURISM AND BEST TOUR GUIDING RUNS IN OUR VEINS!!!!

LONG LIFE TO RIO!!! LONG LIFE TO BRAZIL!!!!

WHEN IN RIO - YOU MUST VISIT ILHA GRANDE

Coming to Rio with time you have many things to do. And visiting places which are not so touristy makes your trip soooo much more special. And there are wonderful places not so far from Rio that you can easily go, and it is easier when you know someone who knows about these little secrets.

I would say that Ilha Grande is not a secret...IT IS A REVELATION!!!! :)

In my personal opinion, the island is a dream come true!!! If I think about a place to rest, I immediately think about ILHA GRANDE!!! More than my personal relaxing spot...IT IS MY "EXOTIC OFFICE", If my guests needs a unique and genuine place to visit and when they have more time...you can be sure that you will visit ILHA GRANDE!!!

Marcone also agrees and you can see him in Dois Rios Beach. He works with me and he is my fantastic friend. Also when we have free time, no doubt, we go directly to Ilha Grande, and fun is guaranteed!!!!

If you are into hiking..all over the island...and this island has the size of Manhatan, Ilha Grande has several paths and trails through the Forests where you come across with breathtaking beaches, lush green waterfalls and fabulous lookouts..And you will see a lot of wild life..colorful birds, funny screaming monkeys and believe me some lovely skunks...and they not stink that easily, hahahaha :)

The beaches....if you think that coming to Rio you will just enjoy Copacabana...well, you are a little mistaken...At the island you will see beaches that they are still the same since the day when Brazil was discovered...virgin beaches...with turquoise waters which sometimes gets blue or green!!!

You can explore the whole island walking and hiking...first because there is no car is the island...there are also boats that take you everywhere you want to go.

So when I tell you that ILHA GRANDE is one of my favourite places in Brazil, you can be sure that you will love the island!!! There I can find the pleasure I always look for when I choose a place to stay. I strongly recommend the island to my guests and I always take them there...This is the place where I have lots of great contacts and also a place that I know alot about it!!!

But you also have to know the ways to reach the island...Going to ILHA GRANDE is piece of cake!!!

You can reach Ilha Grande, you can use two cities in the south of Rio de Janeiro. One is called Mangaratiba and the other one is called Angra dos Reis.

Mangaratiba has less option of boats crossing from the Continent to the Island, but it is the nearer point to Ilha Grande.

It takes one hour and half to get to Mangaratiba and then more one hour and a half crossing the Ferry. You can use the ferry and good schooner boats for the crissing. You have time schedules from morning to the evening but the options are not as great as in Angra dos Reis.

In Angra dos Reis, a little more distant from Rio, it takes 3 hours to get there..the city is bigger, I like the little downtown, you can buy curious stuff there, and from the pier there are several options. I like going to Angra because I am sure there will always be a way to cross to the island, you can use the official ferry boat, schooner boats and also a very fast and modern catamaran, that takes 40 minutes to cross!!!

So you can find many ways to reach "HEAVENS"!!! And of course from Ilha Grande you have lots of options to go back to the Continent.

The prices are very reasonable, you will not pay more than 10 american dollarsto cross...You can also have the possibility to get a private speed boat just for you, but it costs a fortune, but it is worthy to say...it costs around 100 american dollars and maybe 150, but at least you know that there is a way to cross fastly if you need it!!!

If you want to know more about Ilha Grande, I can give you details about how and when you can reach the island!

You can write me an email at donrafainrio@yahoo.es

SOME FUNNY STORIES WITH MY GUESTS AND FRIENDS IN RIO AND COOL INFORMATION ABOUT MY LAND!!!

Here you can read more about my guests and their funny moments in Rio or anywhere in the State. Here you can also read about their own opinion about our tours! This space belongs to my guests and it is also way that I can always give you cool information about our GORGEOUS RIO!!!

I will always report the best adventures, the best tours with all guests I welcome from all over the World...but mostly my friends fellows from USA, UNITED KINGDON, RUSSIA, CANADA AND AUSTRALIA..this is a space where all my guest can make comments and they will see themselves inthe funniest moments in their travels in and out of Brazil.

Most of the pictures will be in Rio where I live and have a big part of my tours.Rio de Janeiro is for sure the gateway to Brazil. In this state you can have a sample of what you are going to see if you decide to go deeper in your Brazil journey, and now you can be sure that you can count on me. Rio as green mountains, our forests are full of animals and all kind of vegetation, we have places where you can have fresh air all the time, where you can here birds singing, the fantastic combination of mountain and ocean is present everywhere, Rio has a diverse culture, rhythms coming from the samba, influences of all races make the brazilian music one of the most interesting in the world, and thanks to that we have the worldwide famous SAMBA and BOSSA NOVA; Rio has wild beaches and glamorous seasides like Copacabana and Ipanema, like many people must know very few about Brazil but for sure every single person in the world has heard about Copabana, Ipanema, the Christ on the top of a hill..

Rio is in people mind even when they do not know about Brazil.I am very keen on Rio de Janeiro, I let my guests know the great and most interesting secrets of Rio, and I also help them in every destination in Brazil (Rio de Janeiro, Iguazu Falls, The Amazon Rain Forest - starting in Maranhão State - and the northern coast of Brazil. I also organize tours and plan trips all over Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela (believe me, you can also have lots of fun there!)

So in this blog you are the owner, I will just report our best adventures! If you are willing to have even more adventures, be in touch with me, my personal email address is donrafainrio@yahoo.es

And you can learn more of my tours in my other blog which is: http://braziliantours.blogspot.com/

Your comments in each posting is absolutely important..here you can also express your opinion about my tours and also report your experiences with this friend and tour guide!!!

Please send your comments to my personal email and i will publish it here!!!!
I wish you more and more trips to Brazil and let me always keep you in good hands!!!

A NEW GUIDE ON THE SCENE - MARCONE LIMA

For the World, he is now a great tour guide, he just finish our Tourism School, he has his badge and now he is ready to be in the city and also all over Brazil to show the best of our land, to take you to real places where Rio de Janeiro is the Rio de Janeiro you really want to see.

For me, Marcone is a very special friend who shares with me the taste for adventure, the natural people's curiosity, the joy of travelling. And we also share the same apartment. Marcone has lived with my family for more than two years and he is my best assistant in my Amazon Tours, and I personally tought him everything I know, and he got his own knowledge that he took from School and for his long life experience in spite of his age!!!

Marcone is a PEOPLE'S PERSON..his smile has the joy of Brazil and his natural talent and contagious great spirit can lead you to the best places in Rio!!!

His best skills are the so interesting walking tour in the centre of Rio showing our glorious past and busy present. And he also organizes a fantastic bike tour in our beaches, from Copacabana to Leblon and a complete ride on the Lagoon, aka Lagoa or Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas.

As a guide I am sure he can be your best friend in Rio as well, someone you can always count...

Marcone works much more during his vacations in his work, yes, he is an English Teacher; and in his college; he is studying medicine to be a nurse!!!

So that guarantees that you will not have any problems with the language, and if by chance you get hurt, you will have also a very efficient nurse, hahahaha :))))

But from my almost EIGHT YEARS guiding in Rio I can strongly recommend Marcone to be your guide when I am not able to be with you in any trip to Rio de Janeiro. He is reliable, easy to get on with, flexible and very smart!!!

He is a brilliant guide, a wonderful friend and my best tourism partner...

He works with me and he will be very happy to answer all your question at marconelima@yahoo.co.uk

MY HIDDEN SHELTER AND SWEET OFFICE CALLED ILHA GRANDE

The name says everything...Grande means BIG...ILHA means ISLAND...How big are your ideas of a great paradise specially when you are on holidays??? Well, already being in Rio is a good feeling but when yo know that outside of Rio there is a place exactly as you once in your life read abiut lush green forests, fantastic tropical beaches, cool emerald and sparkling green waters; lazy life with colourful and friendly people. Well, this is the real idea that you must have about Ilha Grande!!!

This dream starts in a very charming village called Abraão. Nothing really changed that much since the pirate and colonial times...Still a trade center between the island and the continent, still a place where travellers from all over the World meet to continue their endevours all around the southern of Brazil or even travellers heading north of the country!

Life in Abraão is slow...no one is in a hurry...there is one square with a small church in the center, one side the restaurants and the Pousadas and other side where the locals commute, lots of very simple houses where people have the privilege of living in that so incredible Paradise. The locals still walk in their bare foot, caring carts with goods, visiting each other by clapping hands before get in to the gates, children playing football in the sand, friends talking under the shade of gorgeous coconut palm trees or very shady almond trees, gentle street dogs everywhere, some of them without being invited guide you through out of the islands; forest and wild life in every single corner of the island; strategic viewpoints that make you be sure that you are really in a paradise; incredible trails that lead you to marvelous natural pools and imrpessive waterfalls.

And Abraão is the only main village of 20 different villages in Ilha Grande and more than 100 beaches, this island is surrounded by magnificent inlet bays, an island of a big variety of wild life; close to your window you can see a very lovely SKUNK playing in the trees sharing the same space with all kind of birds, everywhere you see you can find flowers always ready to provide multiple orgasms for the rumming birds that cheerfully kiss each flower..and what flowers!!!

Abraão is the real meeting point where you can have the best food of the whole enormous country of Brazil, it is also the place where you will see Brazilians from every part of the country and it is also a meeting point where you will see people from every corner of the Planet!!! Remember, this land has been a PIRATE shelter, a very important slavery market, a great supplies point for the portuguese navigators and settlers...That makes Abraão as cosmopolitan as Manhattan!!! With a tropical and clean Hudsob Bay, of course...But in this island called ILHA GRANDE, the "Statue of Liberty" is your soul full of tropical dreams and your immediate plan to find a gorgeous wild beach.

Impossible to describe with words what you can find in this paradise!!! I would have to write a book and all I want to do is to explain that ILHA GRANDE is a must in any trip in Rio de Janeiro!!!

It is my favourite place for relaxing, adventure and work!!! As my danish friend Jakob says. Ilha Grande is one of my "EXOTIC OFFICES".

As a matter of fact..Brazil gives me incredible "offices"

WORDS OF A QUEEN FROM MISSISSIPI AND FROM A KING FROM TEXAS

Dear Rafael,

We hardly know where to begin to thank you for all you did to make our stay in your wonderful country so very special!

God has blessed you with many talents, and you are using them well.

You have an amazing mind, and your people skills are exceptional!!!

It will be my pleasure to recommend your guide services to clients and to also make other contacts in the the travel/tour industry to tell them about you.

Your joyfull nature is contagious and you have become a treasured friend...

Cappie and Robert

RAFA'S RESPONSE!!!!

WELL...YOUR ARE MY HIDDEN TREASURES IN THIS HOTTEST PART OF THE STATES...IT IS NOT THE WEATHER THAT MAKES TEXAS HOT, IT IS YOUR WARM SOULS AND HEARTS THAT MAKES TEXAS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL STATES OF USA!!!!

GOD BLESS YOU FOR SO MUCH KINDNESS AND HAPPINESS!!!!

SUCCESS AND LOVE IS ALWAYS PRESENT IN YOUR HEART, MIND AND SOUL!!!

AND I AM HONORED TO SAY IN PUBLIC THAT YOU PLAY A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF MY LIFE!!!

WITH ALL MY HEART I DO THANK BOTH OF YOU!!! You made my tours high, shining and even better!!!

MUITO OBRIGADO AND BOA TAAAAAAARDE!!!!!

SAMBA IN VIRADOURO SAMBA SCHOOL AND SAMBA IN LAGOA!!!

Well, we did not have time to get to an intensive samba class with the Mulattas...but we can try to shake a little bit our butts...(oops...), and I know I am very brazilian and I have Brazil in my heart, in my soul...I feel Brazil even in my liver!!!!

Anyway...I do love Samba and when my guests come here during the SAMBA SCHOOL REHEASALS SEASON...they will have to spend some hours (even very late at night) in one of ours very locals Samba's community!!!

Cappie, Robert, Marcone and I went to a very distant neighborhood of Niteroi called Neves where Viradouro is the local Samba School, the whole community was there and we did not feel little doves in a eagles nest!!!! :) We did well, and very well I would say...not shaking so nervously as some HAPPIER LOCALS...but we felt the rhythm in our souls, we shivered and we had an explosion of happiness in that magic night!!!

So much magic that in our last day in Rio with my fave ROYAL COUPLE...we made the samba ourselves..this time with the whole family together...even MY MOTHER!!!!!

Well...we used a lot of improvisation...but Cappie, Robert, me, my Mother, Marcone and Jakob agreed to show to the world how absolutely glad we were to live such incredible moments at the Lagoon Rodrigo de Freitas, AKA Lagoa!!!

THE TEXAN ROYALTIES GOT A BRAZILIAN HOME!!!

Last time Queen Elizabeth visited Rio was in the summer of 1969...She just came and never came back...

First time Capitola I visited Rio de Janeiro with her husband, his majesty King Robert Texanus II was in october 2008, and believe me, they got here to come over and over again....

My mission as their Prime Minister was to preserve their health, safety and happiness while visiting the tropical lands of Brazil, specially in Rio de Janeiro State....

They came here and they met a tour guide, and then they met a Prime Minister...and now they left Rio with more members of the Royal Family....

Now...the DUKE OF COPACABANA RAFAEL TORRES LOPES...THE EARL OF MARANHÃO MARCONE LIMA, THE BARON OF COPENHANGEN (IN DIPLOMATIC MISSION IN RIO) JAKOB TOKSVIG AND THE RESPECTABLE QUEEN MOTHER MARIA STELLA...

Well, it is hard to say who they really are...because in less than two hours in Rio they invaded the lands of my heart and built a huge and very luxury castle!!!

We do adore each other, and all we know is that we will be always in touch!!!

For a great and very long friendship and of course for very trustfull business, we will write lots of nice stories in our books and we will make HISTORY between Dallas and Rio de Janeiro.

Cappie and Robert...THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR SO MUCH LOVE, THANK YOU LOADS FOR SO MUCH FUN AND SPECIALLY THANK YOU FOR BEING SUCH WONDERFUL HUMAN BEINGS....

I am sooooo proud and deeply honored to share with you so many countless moments of joy and I am honored to made Rio your HOME OUTSIDE TEXAS!!!!