GOOD MORNING RIO!!! :) A CAT AND THE CITY

Dear Reader...even the cats are in love with Rio....

I was visiting the Community of Tavares Bastos in the area of Catete, Bayside...it is a place that hardly any people go and I had the chance to take my Scottish friend with me, Brian Hawkins to see some unusual spots in Rio and I found this "CATLENMAN" wondering this privileged view of Rio....

It seems that cats here are as happy as the cats in Santorini...

You know that I love taking some interesting photos to share with you and this is what you will see when you come to Rio! :)

RIO IS SIMPLE AND FUN WHEN YOU GO DEEP INTO HISTORY - FUNNY HISTORICAL DAY IN OUR CITY OF JOY

Dear Reader, when you finally visited the Glamorous and Democratic Copacabana and get all involved with the Charming and Sensual Ipanema, it is time to see more of Rio, it is time to learn about the interesting and funny Brazilian History that had most of its chapters in Rio from the Portuguese Colonization to the crazy times of our early Republic System. It is time to visit beautiful barroc, colonial and neo classic buildings and super local places in our downtown. 

Starting at Cinelandia Area when Rio believed to be french...all the incredible sites of the 20S Belle Epoque are there like the Teatro Municipal, the National Library, the Fine Art Museum where we can meet the main brazilian and south american artists and check out the Empire"s Art Collection.

The Folks who already got to know me, they will not find strange to have a formal treatment and they will soon realized that I will become also a visitor, all those pictures were taken by my own guests when we decide to explore Rio using our own legs; but do not worry, if you cannot walk that much I will make it easy just for you, we will walk less but if you are in the mood to explore every corner of Rio's downtown searching for interesting picture...well, I am your man!!! :)

I try to make history never a boring thing, we will see how fascinating our Brazilian Culture is...we will use a lot of public transportation, metro and buses and maybe even a ferry boat (this is not a promise...it will depend how our time will flow and how the city will behave).

This will be a tour for very flexible people, according to our interest we will take different ways, but the whole day will be full of information and fun. 

Public Transportation will be the soul of our day...we will understand closely how our people manage to go to work, or even going home after a whole day of striving hard for life; but we will avoid the pick hours and b y metro and train we will visit a lot of local neighborhoods, even going to the outskirts like the diverse market of Madureira and the amazing favela do Alemão.

We will use our day to visit local markets to experience the local gastronomy and to see what our Carioca people go to buy their own stuff; and we will also visit a poor community in our way...specially the famous Favela do Alemão if we start in the beguine of our day or in the end of our tour we can visit Tavares Bastos, in both places we can get amazing shots of our normal pace of life.

After visiting the Center of Rio where we have such a crazy and busy rhythm of the city to the normal pace of a real favela with a lot of social projects, nice people and great energy because they finally reached the peace and calm they dreamt for their life. Complexo do Alemão is a fantastic example of victory against crime, now this people finally can smile and can show us more of our culture, more about our own lives. I am always proud and honored to take my guests to places where we never think about going!!!

I always want to give you more...after all the journey through the soul of Rio, I will make you dream about coming to Rio for the second time...we will take the ferry and cross the other side of Guanabara Bay, If we are short of time we will walk to the MAC MUSEUM...it will be a pleasant walk from the Ferry boat station that we like to call it as Barcas.

 But if we still have some good time left, we will take a bus to go to the ocean side and we will reach the incredible and super magic beach of Itacoatiara to end this complete journey of Rio with great style!!!

Some important information about this day: ALWAYS BEAR IN MIND THAT WE WILL USE JUST PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION, SO THE TIME WE WILL TAKE TO ACCOMPLISH ALL THE PLACES WILL DEPEND ON THE PACE OF THE CITY AND THIS TOUR CANNOT BE DONE ON FRIDAYS.

I am Rafael, my closest people, my friends and my guests call me RAFA...yes, it might not seem, but I am a tour guide...when I first see you, I will treat you like I know you for a long time, when I first see you, you will be my faraway relatives that I do not see for ages. Rio is informal and so I am...so when you come to Rio just to like we all do, open your heart and open the doors of your spirit for the new, for the unexpected, open your mind for good and pleasant surprises, then you will be a real expert of Rio, a great enthusiast of Brazil and my good friends!

Rafael Torres Lopes
Tour Guide and Travel Planner

RAFA IS CARIOCA AND A FANATIC BRAZILIAN - LOVE MY LAND!!!

You have to know what Carioca is…Cariocas are the way natives from Rio are called, and we are proud to be Cariocas. Being Carioca sometimes is more important than being Brazilian…because that means, born in Rio, the doorway to the culture in Brazil, the capital of fun and the introduction of the endless beauties of Brazil. Rio has a glamour that other cities in Brazil do not have...

That explains that we are not FORMAL at all....

So being a carioca can be also explained as a STATE OF SPIRIT….so when you come, I will give you some of the Cariocas Soul, and your stay in Rio will be easier, going with the flow….DURING YOUR STAY IN RIO…you will see that being CARIOCA means ENJOYING LIFE THE MOST…being carioca is saying LONG LIFE TO OUTDOOR LIFE, being Carioca is going out late at night before having dinner after 9:00 am, and never think it is weird when you are eating dinner around one in the morning...

We simply meet you in the first day and our hearts are opened...and it is so true the sentiments we give to you, the look in the eye, the true smile and the attitude to treat you like equal no matter you are...this is having the CARIOCA spirit!

It takes some courage to publish this photos...but this is also a good explanation about  the Cariocas...for sure, these two fellows will be the tour guides you will meet in Rio, this is Marcone Lima and I, Rafa...So get prepared, some surprises will happen...

My Gosh....yes, it is me!!! :)))))

A carioca person always makes fun of life…facing life in a positive way this is what mostly people here do…I do my best to think positive all the time, I always believe that there is something inside of you that gives you energy to move on. When I see you for the first time, I might not shake your hand, I will do more, I will give you a big hug! :)

The joy of life, the pleasure to share with my visitors the beauty of my city. Rio is the inspiration for all happiness. I will never forget the day when I took my MALTESE friends to the wetlands of Marapendi, really not to miss place in my tours!

Having fun in Buzios with my wonderful friend from Maranhão, north of Brazil, Carla, she comes to Rio once in a while to see us, and I love taking her to very remote places, in this day, it was just me and my friends in the beach...This beach is called Caravelas, do not expect to find this same quietness in Copacabana, please!!! :)))))

With my Norwegian Friends in the island of Ilha Grande, some stops that makes the difference in a trip. Local habits will make you learn about life in general. Laughs and those simple moments will stay forever in our memories!

My work is my passion...when you do something that you love, you will have this pleasure of life, here in some point of the road, here with my friend Lawrence from Philippines but living in Canada we decided to stop for some pictures with the tropical fruits. So we learn about Brazilian Flora.
Str

Street Arts is a big presence in my tours..it is wonderful to see how the population like to express themselves and it gives a different flavor in our day! :) Here I am in one of my favorite places in Rio, the bohemian district of Santa Tereza!

With my wonderful friends Hervanio and Shinthia from Maranhão...I always go to this unknown amazon part of Brazil to enjoy life with my northern people, so sweet and true people, part of my best friends are in Maranhão.

With my good american friend Jim, we had such a wonderful day in Rio, pictures taken by someone in our group, trying to register a big moment of fun, pure fun!!! :)

Just a normal day of work with Marcone in Niteroi, taking a group to the viewpoint of Parque da Cidade, in my hometown Niteroi.

Impossible not to be happy when you live in Rio de Janeiro, impossible not to fall in love with this wonderful country full of beauty, nature and great people; impossible not to carry my work with happiness when you welcome so many marvelous people!

There are different kind of Brazilians…The Cariocas from Rio always connected with beach culture and bon vivant style; the Candangos from Brasilia, known as musical people and public officers, hahahah; the Paulistas with fame to be workaholics and living their lives in a rush; the Nordestinos…popular with great food and incredible Carnaval and beach life as well; the Gauchos in the South full of traditions and cattle culture; the Pantaneiros, the explorers of our marsh land, the real Brazilian cowboys and the Paraenses and Amazonenses, our northern people rich with legends and local wisdom. Brazil is a fascinating World to explore. I am so happy that I can be a bridge between BRAZILIAN CULTURE and YOUR CULTURE.

So for everything you need in Rio and everything you need in Brazil, do count on me!

AFTER YOU CAME TO RIO…You will see that you made wonderful friends and your memories will always go to Rio when you think about one of the best moments in your life and I will be proud to be part of it.

Thank you very much,

Rafael Torres Lopes
Tour Guide and Travel Planner

SOME OF THE AMAZING PLACES THAT I WILL BE TAKING YOU

Dear Reader, when you see my name before you come to Rio and you come to a conclusion that I will be your guide, I will do everything humanly possible to reply your request the sooner I can and I will give you lots of different itineraries and I will warn you that some times we need a lot of improvisations, we are always running against traffic, time and also I will feel your expectations and what you really like as a traveller and also we normally break the ice in the first two minutes so the tour will flow in a fantastic way.

So you may come across with different views of the city and the outskirts of Rio!

We always visit many OFF THE BEATEN PATH places like the wetlands of Marapendi. It is for sure one of my favorite places in Rio, it is a whole complex of 7 islands where 5 islands people live and 2 islands are preserved areas, the area is surrounded by green mountains and the mangrove gives us a wonderful opportunity to see all kind of birds and other animals such as the Capyvaras and Caymans; it is a different place if you compare to other spots in the city...local restaurants and absolutely interesting boat rides...Our best restaurant there is Cicero's right in front of the water, local ambiance and perfect to try the best dishes in the brazilian gastronomy, Cicero's specialty is BOBÓ DE CAMARÃO, that wonderful dish made with cassava cream and coconut milk with very generous pieces of shrimps and the snack with shrimp and garlic, to die for!!! :) Believe me or not, this region as one of the best food options in Rio in my opinion. Amazing and very creative snacks are waiting.

Yes, you will see Copacabana and Ipanema maybe with me or on your own because you are probably staying in one of those places, but I like making you feel unique and I will always show my people some spots which are considered "secrets of Rio, like the amazing beach of Joá, it is a spectacular place for our pictures and a place that few locals know here...

Niteroi is my funny playground and as you can see in the pictures of my Guests we do not follow any protocol, dress code or etiquette and I have to tell you that I have welcomed many VIP people, but as I say to everyone, each guest I have are my VIP people and here I will make you "dance according to the music", you came to Rio to have fun and and the tours are so informal.

Specially in Niteroi I feel like a child because I was raised there...it is my hood...it is the big surprise of every trip. People should see more of Niteroi, it is so great there!!!

By the way, big kisses to Paola my dear friend from Buenos Aires, all my love to Michael, my wonderful swiss friend, big kisses to Karol and Victor from our brazilian city Goiania and big hugs and all my honors to Marcone Lima, my very immediate tour guide who travels the country with me!

Okay dear Husbands, Partners, boyfriend whatever you are...please do be jeaulous or embarrassed...Meeting Rafa is like meeting an old friend, a cool relative that now you have in Brazil right after your first email to me. Before hand you will get to know something about me, so you know that you will not only have a tour guide, but you will have a friend forever!

Niteroi has a paragliding association which is opened for the public and I always say it is the highlight of our days. From there we can have heaps of fun and you can see all over Rio from literally ABOVE, this is where you can jump from the cliff (using a paraglider together with a very reliable instructor. Kate and I jumped in that day, also our friend from Argentina, Pablo and we had a ball!!!

Luciano is one of the best paragliding pilot in the area, super incredible instructor and my dear friend. He knows everything about air activities and he is a animal lover, he has lots of dogs that he takes care, he is a musician and one of the best air force pilot that Brazil ever had. He is our hero and a good friend of Niteroi.

I confess, it is hard to keep a diet in Brazil specially because even in the jungle we find people that gives you the best fresh snacks ever. I know one type that often sells his best pasteis with refreshing Sugar Cane Juice, I do not know the man's name though I always eat there for years...Shame on me, I know...but next I promise to dedicate a whole posting in my blog about this good fellow.

Here is the special surprise of Niteroi, PARQUE DA CIDADE which holds (and nobody knows) the most magnificent sunset in the whole state of Rio de Janeiro. This place is part of our newest national park called SERRA DA TIRIRICA, it is the city’s paragliding school where we have so many great friends, for us it is a pleasure to take you there!

Our guests are special people, our guests are always wonderful new friends that live in the heart forever, our guests mean the World for us, and here you can be sure that you will have nothing but fun...

Well, now you know...Impossible not to add Niteroi in your list...it is the Rio best hidden secret.

Rafael Torres Lopes
Tour Guide and Travel Planner