Rio de Janeiro
For those who do not know: Rio de Janeiro means River of January, but there is no river in this part of the world! The fact is that the Portuguese made a mistake. They took the bay to be a river.
It does not look like the city of your dream. There are a lot of poor areas in Rio. Thieves may try to snatch the camera from your hands or to steal your backpack.
If you are going to visit Brazil in winter, you have to know that the ocean in February is not very warm, there are very few people on the beach and there are no cabins for changing clothes. Almost nobody plays volleyball.
Rio de Janeiro
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
There are parades on the streets during the carnival. A parade represents two or three cars with big speakers that slowly go and play dance music and a crowd of people (locals and visitors, sometimes in costumes and sometimes not) that drive or dance samba.
Shops are closed, so you have to buy food 5 days in advance. It`s often raining during the carnival, sometimes the rain is very strong.
Carnival in Rio de Janeiro Carnival in Rio de Janeiro
People
The residents are very friendly but almost nobody speaks English. As a rule, they do not try to fool you or make money from you, although there are exceptions.
Arara Indians in Brazilian Amazon
Food/ Lodging
If you do not have a lot of money, that`s not a problem. In Brazil, you can easily find a cheap hotel to spend the night.
Moreover, here you can try a lot of exotic fruits. Some of them are heavenly delicious!
General impressions about Brazil
When you travel to Brazil, you are fascinated with its beautiful scenery. It should not go unmentioned that this country has many well-kept small towns (obviously, people do not live in poverty there).