UNUSUAL SITUATIONS IN A TOUR WITH RAFA

I love to explore the unusual, I really enjoy to take my guests to unique places and I really appreciate the contact between my own people and my guests. Tours for me are not only visiting places, my tours gives you local experiences!!!

Like finding a boat's wrecage in a visit to our fishing village Jurujuba...a cool chance for you to experience local life and great people watching in a place where you will feel UNIQUE.

Plastic Tours are not for me...my tours have to give you laughs, knowledge and great memories!!!

The tours you will never see myself in a microphone ORDERING you to see RIGHT OR LEFT. In my tours you will have to prepare your eyes and get your legs prepared!!!

Goats in the street in a urban center such as Rio??? POSSIBLE!!!! There is an amazing urban fauna everywhere we go in Rio, but do not start thinking that in your first day in Rio you will see monkeys and snakes in the streets, eh??? We have seen horses...pigs...and in the forests please do read my other postings so you will see beautiful birds and some monkeys as well!!!

We have to say to our people how important their work is...I say THANK YOU VERY MUCH to the city cleaners for them to keep the city where I work clean and in order for you to go all around. And NOOOOO, they are not american prisoners...this group was working in our SAMBA PARADE ARENA.

So you will also see Copacabana Beach, Ipanema, the famous Christ, our Sugar Loaf (maybe) and everything you have planned. But be absolutely prepared to be be surprised!!! Be prepare to see great places that you will not see in any travel books...Get used with names like Tiririca, Itacoatiara, Feira do Nordeste, Monarchy in Brazil...things that you will think it is odd, but in the end it will be the best part of your trip!!!

I am here to show you a very different Rio. You will find in Rio de Janeiro someone much more than a tour guide, you will find a friend...MYSELF!!! Or friends...like Marcone, Françoise, Suzana, Diana and more people from my crew!!!

COME TO RIO!!!! And if you are reading my posting for the first time...GOOOOOO and spread the news!!! Tell to all your friends that if they ever think about coming to Brazil (even Obama came!!!) they will find someone who will show everywhere with crazy passion!!!!

Thank you very much,

Rafael Torres Lopes

Tour Guide and Travel Planner

AGUA AGUA AGUA AGUA!!!

It is high summer in Rio and everywhere we go it is better to find EVERY way to refresh yourself and this afternoon we decide to take our wonderful, super, incredible, gorgeous, fabulous, hilarious, brilliant friend Vanessa to see our Forest.

After seeing all the forest and learning all about the Nature in this forest located right in the middle of the city, it is our green shelter, a place that I will always keep in my tours. it is a place to see Nature, to see the birds, to see people walking to relax or just to have a good time with their dear ones.

In one part of the Forest we reach a place called Paineiras where we find some natural showers which is way better than my shower at home, so sometimes we just decide let's go out!!! AND WE HAVE MANY DIFFERENT OPTIONS RIGHT NEXT DOOR!!! :)

Marcone and I love to welcome our friends and guests, we work together and we are always thinking about taking our people to new places and let them experience the real flavor of our city!

Vanessa is our great friend from Montreal and she always come to Rio to learn more and more about our culture, this is the best resource for the music. She has some incredible contacts with the best musicians of our Samba. She had a concert at SANTO SCENARIUM, one of the most traditional MUSIC HOUSES in Lapa, nest of our bohemian life!!!

She is not Canadian anymore!!! Vanessa is our great CARIOCA SISTER.

What we are doing, you can do it as well! Come and see our natural showers and have the best summer ever!!!

REMEMBER WE NEED AGUA (water) TO SURVIVE IN THIS SUMMER! :)

Contact us!!! And find more about our tours on YOUTUBE if you type DONRAFATOURS and you can reach me at donrafainrio@yahoo.es

Rafael Torres Lopes

Tour Guide and Travel Planner