Blog for Rio de Janeiro and the site Gringo-Rio.comHi! This is the blog for Gringo-Rio.com. Here will be published all new and updated content. I also post small texts with thoughts and reflexions on what´s going on in Rio.
Mar 1, 2010, Rio Apartments for Rent in ArpoadorOn this page you will find Rio apartments to rent. Small, cheap and clean apartments in the Arpoador area. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Rio Apartments for Rent in Arpoador" Feb 22, 2010, Rio Stories - Submit Your Own ArticleHere are links to Rio stories written by visitors.You can also share experiences and give useful tips by submitting one yourself. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Rio Stories - Submit Your Own Article" Feb 22, 2010, Beaches in Rio de Janeiro; A GuideThe Beaches in Rio de Janeiro are definitely a must if you come here. The beauty, the multitude and the relaxed atmosphere has made them famous around the world. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Beaches in Rio de Janeiro; A Guide" Feb 20, 2010, Copacabana Beach & Leme BeachAll about Copacabana Beach. Who goes there? eiWhat is good? What is bad? A visitors guide. Also about the neighbouring Leme Beach. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Copacabana Beach & Leme Beach" Dec 31, 2009, Schedule Copacabana Beach New Years 2009-2010There are four stages in Copacabana: Principal Stage: (in front of Copacabana Palace) 18h: Orquestra Petrobras Simphonic Orchestra 20h: Religious Ceremony 20:05: Paralamas do Sucesso (MPB) 22:05: Lulu Santos (MPB) 00:00H: Fireworks 0:15h: Arlindo Cruz (MPB) 2h: Escola de Samba Academicos do Salgueiro 2h30: Beija-Flor de Nilopolis Satellite Stage: (in front of Rua Santa Clara) 18h: Cia. Aplauso 19h: AfroLata 20h: Cerimonia do Por do Sol no Palco Principal 20:05: Ed Motta (Soul) 21:20: Bangalafumenga (Dance) 22:35: Roberta Sa (MPB) 00:00h: Fireworks 0:15: Blitz (MPB) 2h: Escola de Samba Portela DJs The other two stages have Djs playing. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Schedule Copacabana Beach New Years 2009-2010" Dec 4, 2009, Learn Portuguese in RioDo you want to learn Portuguese in Rio de Janeiro? Here you will find information about Portuguese courses. Also has online dictionaries and general info on the Portuguese language. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Learn Portuguese in Rio" Nov 15, 2009, The Olympics 2016 to Rio Bring HopeThe Summer Olympics have been granted to Rio de Janeiro, a decision that has created great expectations and speculations. More than bringing attention the hope is that the citys administration will have to resolve some of the many problems here, mostly in relation to safety, traffic and pollution. Vast amounts of money will be invested and we can all just hope that it will be put to good use. Permalink -- click for full blog post "The Olympics 2016 to Rio Bring Hope" Nov 6, 2009, Yoga in RioTo practice yoga in Rio is easy. There are lots of options. Everything from outdoor meditation to hot yoga in a gym. Here is some info. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Yoga in Rio" Oct 25, 2009, Paying With Western UnionPaying with Western Union is one of the more popular ways to transfer money internationally. This is a small guide to explain the procedure. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Paying With Western Union" Oct 5, 2009, Foreign Exchange in Rio de Janeiro; Banks in RioWhat about Foreign Exchange in Rio de Janeiro? Where do you get the best rates? Which banks in Rio accepts your visa card and when are they open? Where is best to exchange traveller cheques? Permalink -- click for full blog post "Foreign Exchange in Rio de Janeiro; Banks in Rio" Sep 2, 2009, Rio Carnival 2010; The DatesWhen is Rio Carnival 2010? Here you can find out when Carnival is and for how many days, 2010, 2011, 2012 and onwards. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Rio Carnival 2010; The Dates" Jul 11, 2009, Visa Amnesty - The New LawLately a law was passed by the government allowing foreigners that are iregular in the country to apply for a temporary working visa. Many excited gringos has contacted me asking about this, I can only say - take it easy. The law is actually directed towards illegal immigrants like from Peru and Bolivia, but it can be used by the Western "lifestyle" over stayers common as well. Noone has really decided how this law exactly will be applied, for now Policia Federal has suspended the applications for the Amnesty permanency until the 13th of July, but it may take a lot longer before they actually start. A few facts can be concluded though: 1) You have to have entered the country before the first of February. Applications should be made before the end of this year. 2) Your visa situation has to be irregular (visa expired, no registrered entry etc.) 3) The amnesty grants a 2 year visa that can be extended to a permanent visa at the end of the two year period if application is accepted. 4) You have to be able to show that you can support yourself while in Brazil. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Visa Amnesty - The New Law" Jun 14, 2009, Rio de Janeiro Web CamsI have gathered some Rio de Janeiro web cams on this page. Copacabana Beach web cam and Ipanema Beach web cam. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Rio de Janeiro Web Cams" Jun 12, 2009, Pictures of Rio de Janeiro - Also Web CamsI have collected some of my best pictures of Rio de Janeiro on these pages. Come here to see this beautiful city in images. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Pictures of Rio de Janeiro - Also Web Cams" Jun 12, 2009, Ipanema Beach PhotosMy Ipanema beach photos page is a celebration to one of the most beautiful places in the world. The photos are mone or contributed by some of my kind friends. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Ipanema Beach Photos" Jun 12, 2009, Copacabana Beach PhotosThese Copacabana beach photos are a mix of my own pictures and those of friends. I try to display the beauty, the people and the unique atmosphere. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Copacabana Beach Photos" May 7, 2009, TrindadeThe beautiful village Trindade is located near som beautiful beaches and embedded in lush Atlantic Rainforest. It is a perfect place if you want to get away for a few days and easy to reach from Rio. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Trindade" Apr 29, 2009, Centro Walking Tour and ParatyYes, more articles in The Gringo Times. Apr 23, 2009, More articles in The Gringo TimesTwo more articles that I wrote: The Christ Statue and Ilha Grande. Apr 21, 2009, Scuba Diving in RioMany people want to do scuba diving in Rio. Here you can read about the best spots and how to get there. With general tips, addresses and links. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Scuba Diving in Rio" Apr 15, 2009, And more....Two new articles for this week: Ilha Grande and The Sugarloaf. Enjoy! Apr 12, 2009, Two more articles in The Gringo TimesI have written two new articles for The Gringo Times. One is about Ipanema Beach and the other Buzios. Apr 12, 2009, Cabo FrioCabo Frio is the biggest town in the lake district located east of Rio de Janeiro. It has some beutiful beaches and some decent surfing. Come here to learn more. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Cabo Frio" Mar 30, 2009, An article I wrote in The Gringo TimesI wrote an article that got published by a new interesting online newspaper called The Gringo Times, check it out! This is about the history and future of Arraial do Cabo, click the link below to get there. I will keep you updated on my blog whenever I publish something new. Mar 25, 2009, Lunch in RioEating out for lunch in Rio de Janeiro is normally pretty cheap. There are plenty of offers and many places only open daytime. Read more about it here. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Lunch in Rio" Mar 25, 2009, Dinner in RioWhere is the best place to have dinner in Rio? Here are some recommendations that are listed by neighbourhood. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Dinner in Rio" Mar 25, 2009, Cafes in Rio - My RecommendationsOn this page I recommend some cafes in Rio. These are places where you can have a good cup of coffee and a slice of cake. Some of them have spectacular views and others lots of history. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Cafes in Rio - My Recommendations" Mar 21, 2009, Gringo-Rio Travel LinksThis is the travel links page of Gringo-Rio. Here you find links to other good travel resources around the world. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Gringo-Rio Travel Links" Mar 16, 2009, Brazilian PermanencyDo you want to get a Brazilian permanency. Come here to learn all about the rules and your possibilities. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Brazilian Permanency" Mar 13, 2009, Privacy Policy Gringo-RioThis is the page that informs you about the privacy policy on Gringo-Rio. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Privacy Policy Gringo-Rio" Jan 21, 2009, The new government: What should be done? Part OneAs from the first of January there is a new mayor and a new government in Rio de Janeiro. Now it is Eduardo Paes who will confront the same problems as Cesar Maia has done the last eight years. Most notably you can see how there has been an action for cleaning the streets from illegal street vending, beggars and street crime. It has gone so far though that they so far have had little success. Also I am sure that this cannot just be something you do every four years but has to be an on-going activity for police and social workers. An option has to be presented to the unfortunate souls roaming the streets, otherwise they will just eventually come back after they have fled the poor houses they are brought to. But that is just one issue to deal with. The growing favelas are a serious threat to the unique Atlantic rainforest that makes this city such a beautiful place. How hard can it be to stop someone building houses without permit, imagine someone building a hut in Central Park in New York... The traffic is a big problem that has a simple solution. Rio de Janeiro drivers are awful, since they manage to break almost all rules at their own fancy they manage to block intersections, lanes, pedestrian crossings, etc. etc. Get some guards out there and do not just fine people for talking in a cell phone. All drivers, including professionals, should be fined for blocking lanes, parking where you block traffic, blocking intersections and so on. The cost of having a guard at every major intersection will soon be compensated by all the money gained from the fines. The result: Less space between the cars which gives smoother faster transit and less pollution. It really is a no-brainer. Pollution of the ocean: This is a lot harder but you have to start sometime. What is needed is a comprehensive evaluation of where the dirt comes from and then slowly but steady improve the situation. Mother nature is very forgiving and I am sure you would see good results in just 10 years. Permalink -- click for full blog post "The new government: What should be done? Part One" Jan 21, 2009, The new government: What should be done? Part TwoMake Rio more tourist friendly: It already is a fantastic place but you could do a lot to make it even better. Get rid of prostitution in Copacabana. This activity attracts crime and other unhealthy elements. Make the streets in the tourist intence areas safe 24 hours. Create children friendly bathing zones in Copacabana (one close to Arpoador maybe?) by land fill. Make a lot more pedestrian crossings (pedestrian bridges?) and limit the speed to 30 on the beach avenues when it is not rush hour. I am sure many families would consider Rio a great place to go if Rio was safer and cleaner. Is there any better money for Rio than that which come from abroad? I will not even touch the area of crime and drug trade, it is too complicated. My belief is that Rio need money to improve. A simple way to get that money is from tourism. With that money the city can improve education, social health care and so on. By resolving the steps above a lot more tourists would come and Rio would become even more fantastic. Hakan for Mayor! Permalink -- click for full blog post "The new government: What should be done? Part Two" Jan 20, 2009, Helicopter Around RioTo go in a helicopter around Rio de Janeiro is fairly expensive but a really cool thing to do. There is no better way to get dramatic views of the city. Permalink -- click for full blog post " Helicopter Around Rio" Jan 5, 2009, Rio Carnival 2009 - The Dates & Samba Parade ScheduleOfficially the Rio Carnival 2009 starts on Saturday 21st of February and go on until the Tuesday 24th. It is probably better to see Carnival as starting on Friday 20th and finishing on Wednesday 25th when the judges announce the winners of the samba competition; Why? Well this is more or less the "party nights". On Saturday after Carnival there is also the Winners Parade where the schools that did best will parade one last time. Another way to look at this is that there is a Carnival season starting in January when increasingly more and more festivities occur until culminating on Carnival Tuesday (also known as Fat Tuesday). To get a complete experience of Carnival in Rio you should probably stay here all the way from New Years until after Carnival. Then you would get to go to a lot of great street parties and also get a feel for how there is a build up of energy in the different samba schools, a build up that climaxes in the parade. 2009 Carnival Parade Schedule - Here is the official schedule for the schools in the top division 2009: Sunday February 22nd:- 21h Imperio Serrano- 22h Grande Rio- 23:10h Vila Isabel- 00:15h Mocidade- 01:20h Beija-Flor- 02:25 Unidos da Tijuca Monday February 23rd:- 21h Porto da Pedra- 22h Salgueiro- 23:10h Imperatriz- 00:15h Portela- 01:20h Mangueira- 02:25h Viradouro When Is Best To Go To Sambodromo? - This is easy; If you have money, because it is quite expensive, you go on either Sunday or Monday. Get there early (around 6PM) to be able to get good seats. If you have less money but still want to experience the parade live you can go to the second division school parade on Saturday 21st or the Winners Parade on Saturday 28th (no need to get tickets in advance for the two latter), that is a lot cheaper. Bring an umbrella and a pillow to sit on. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Rio Carnival 2009 - The Dates & Samba Parade Schedule" Dec 20, 2008, Christmas in Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian CodThis will be my 6th Christmas in Rio de Janeiro. I do not have a problem with the climate being warm, no snow or all that. It is the food I do not like and in particular the dried cod: Bacalhau. But I am not writing this to slander that traditiom, I just wanted to tell you a little about it. The tradition they say is Portuguese but that is not entirely true. It was food used in Europe before the era of refridgerators and ice. The vikings used it on their travels but it really kicked off in the 18th century. The combination of cheap salt and vast amounts of fish in Canada, Iceland and Norway made it a profitable commodity. The salting and drying process made it very durable and cheap to transport. That is how it became popular and it is now part of many cuisines around the world among them the Brazilian. In Brazil almost all cod is imported from Norway who not only have good quality but they also have the fish. In many parts of the Atlantic the cod is gone due to over fishing. Because of this it is quite expensive, you could say that a poor mans food has become a delicacy for people with money. In Norway it is not common to eat dried cod anymore, it is mostly produced for export. The Norwegians prefer fresh cod. Permalink -- click for full blog post "Christmas in Rio de Janeiro: Brazilian Cod"
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