Rio

[pastafreak]

Daughter and her partner are off to Rio tomorrow. Any last minute suggestions of what and where that they might not know about?

[Captain2]

No ideas, Pasta but it gives me a reason to play this

[Buenchico]

Wikitravel is always a good place to start:
https://wikitravel.org/en/Rio_de_Janeiro

Despite having zero interest in gardening, whenever I've visited a new city to me (whether that be Cambridge, Madrid or anywhere else), I've never failed to be impressed by the botanic garden there.  The one in Rio gets very good reviews:
https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Attraction_Review-g303506-d311277-Reviews-Botanical_Garden-Rio_de_Janeiro_State_of_Rio_de_Janeiro.html

https://www.gov.br/jbrj/en?set_language=en

[pastafreak]

Thank you for that, Captain...that's going to become an earworm 😊

And thank you too Chris for the botanic garden recommendation. My daughter likes her plants...as I do. She just shortens their lives sometimes  😉😆

[Ellipsis]

First things first - be safe. A friend of mine walked out of the hotel into Rio on the first day of his holiday, and was mugged immediately!

> https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/brazil/safety-and-security

The most common incidents affecting British nationals in Rio de Janeiro are thefts and pick pocketing around Copacabana Beach, Ipanema Beach and the areas of Lapa and Santa Theresa.

Tourists in Rio de Janeiro have reported armed robberies on the Corcovado walking trail to the Christ the Redeemer statue. You’re advised not to use the trail at this time.

[pastafreak]

Ellipsis...the first thing she said when she told me they were going was that they'd be mindful and hopefully avoid getting robbed

[ToraToraTora]

I can offer that Rio De Janiero means River of January....oh and also a song, from Duran Duran, themselves named after the villain in the 1968 classic "Barbarella":

[ToraToraTora]

...and of course unlike most of South American they speak Portugese rather than Spanish.

[237SJ]

A helicopter flight around Christ the Redeemer is pretty amazing.  Doesn't last long (about 8 minutes). You can hang glide over the city as well (tandem with an expert)  It's a good idea to get a guide to take you around for a day - they can drive to all sorts of places and it's safer than making your own way around as you do have to be very careful in Rio.  Dress down and keep a bit of mugging cash and the rest hidden away in a body belt.

[jno]

unlike most of South American they speak Portugese rather than Spanish

not exactly. The Pope (not the current one) divided the continent down the middle between Spain and Portugal, which is still more or less the current situation. But the Brazilian "half" actually has (slightly) more people than the Spanish-speaking half.

[billy d]

A few years ago a friend of mine was robbed at gunpoint outside a casino in Rio. The thief was an on-duty policeman!

Good luck.

[ToraToraTora]

22:16, gawd are you taking over the chief contrarian job. What other countries in South America speak Portugese?

[theshedman]

There are a few other countries where Portuguese is spoken by a small number living in them but still the majority language is Spanish in South America.  Security wise stick to usual rules when abroad and only take with you what you need for the time you are out and don't go showing them that you are a tourist.  I always have a security pocket built in to my trousers or shorts.  I went there in the early 80s and the pick pockets were there even then.