Rio for 7th Wedding Anniversary

Time: June 24-28, 2015

Place: Rio De Janeiro & Iguazzu Falls (Brazil)

Company: Wife and Daughter

Highlights:

Preview: Considering that we took all the trouble to go to India and had our visas stamped in Chennai, it made sense to take a little more trouble to visit another country before it was time to re-initiate visa extension and be stuck in US. Added to this, was our 7^th (wifey’s fav number, by the way) wedding anniversary just around the corner. With a max air ticket budget limited to USD 600 per person, we started scooting around. Preference was countries in a different continent which we could not visit when we shifted back to India for good. So South America. Next search was for countries in South America that needed no prior visa processing for Indian citizens. There weren’t any eye-catchy countries, and if it were, air tickets were too pricey. Ecuador was, with its equator but too expensive for just experiencing equator. Machu Pichu was very enticing but it seemed too far to reach and highly expensive. We then found Rio de Janeiro for a little less than $600 per person. Quite surprised. We booked the tickets and relaxed for a few days. Then came the shocker.

The Brazilian consulate gave visas only on prior appointment and their first open slot was on the day after our planned departure date!! A few tense days ensued. Thankfully, we found out that there were travel agents who could get us our visas on-time but we had to pay additional fees. It set us back on our strict $600 budget but now we had no choice. A bunch of paperwork was needed, more for Tontu since she was a minor. Some notary seals too. So much hassle just to see new countries! We were wondering if all this was needed! If we had known about this issue with visa, we would never have booked the tickets. Be that as it may, we gave our passports to the agent and we got them stamped with Brazilian visa just days before our departure. Thank the Lord for the agents!!

During the wait, we read a lot about Brazil – how unsafe it was, how tough it was to get veg food, how we should not flaunt jewelry and be careful with our wallet, things to do, places to see, taxi and their fares, etc. All very useful.

Day 1: Flight was at around 2 pm. We left our house in BART at 10 am and reached SFO airport at 11:30 am. Some confusion at airport. Tickets booked as US Airways but flights are run by American. So we had to walk between terminals. Added to this, we were not seated together. The check-in machine at the kiosk was not working properly and I had to enter all three passports' information manually. Then the flight was delayed by 30 mins. Considering we only had 58 mins as layover in Miami, it was now reduced to 28 mins! Once on the flight, none of the passengers agreed to swap their seats to accommodate us three together. So I ended up seated separately from wife and daughter. This was the first time such a thing happened to us. Once we reached Miami after 6 hrs, we had to take a shuttle train and then run to catch the next leg to Rio. Our names were being called as final boarding call. Finally made it through and relaxed for the next 8 hours. 

Day 2: At Rio airport local time 10 am, after immigration formalities, exchanged $300 to Real, got our baggage, took the taxi to our hotel – Mercure Arpoador. We had chosen this hotel because it was one of the rare ones with a kitchenette. Yes, we had got some articles to prepare food considering getting Veg food was a rarity. Not only that, we even got some cooked food from US to ensure we don’t get hungry for first 1-2 days! This really helped all of us.

We had booked a shuttle (cheapest after we compared many other taxi services from GIG to Copacabana area) from airport to hotel and it was fairly comfortable. On the way, we saw dilapidated buildings and slum area everywhere – resembles Mumbai’s slum area neighboring the airport! And then as we near the beaches, the city transforms itself to international standards! Although check-in time was 2 pm, the staff gave our keys at 1 pm and until 4 pm, we ended up getting settled in the room, which was more of a 1 bedroom apt! Then, we walked to the Ipanema beach which was just 2 mins walk. It was great. The crashing waves are so good to see and relaxing. Reminded us of Hawaii beaches. Sun set at 5:20 pm but it was clouded and we headed back to the hotel for an early rest.

Day 3: We took a cab from the hotel at 7 am and reached the same GIG airport at about 8:15 am. We had a flight to catch at 10:15 am to Foz de Iguacu which is the airport closest to Iguazzu Falls. Flight was uneventful. At the airport, we took a taxi to the park entrance and then the shuttle to the falls itself. First sight at the last stop was pretty disappointing because we only saw the top layer of the falls and we could only hear the falls and the mist. But then we took the hike along the falls and then were greeted spectacularly to the mesmerizing falls which falls right beside us. If we thought this is it, we were then greeted with a small trail that goes on top of the flowing water further into the falls where we get a 260 (not 360 because it starts flowing off!) degree view of the falls. There are roaring waterfalls everywhere. Although the walk on the Falls trail resembled Cave of the Winds, this omnipresent falls makes mighty Niagara Falls look like a small trickle!! It was absolutely breathtaking! Added to this was the bright Sun which dazzled the falls with brilliant rainbow. Across us, we could see Argentina.

After getting soaked with the mist and soaking ourselves with this Nature’s glory, we started hiking beside the falls for a full mile – all along there were many more falls in the distance. Finally, we could see the last of the falls and we took the shuttle back to the park entrance and then the taxi back to airport. All in all, we spent 3-4 hrs at the falls and we were satisfied with it. A strange animal called Quitas are omnipresent near the falls and we almost had a run-in with them – need to be careful with food around them. Flight back to Rio was uneventful nor was the taxi back to hotel. However, since it was almost 9 pm, the fare was 1.5 times what we paid when we took the shuttle the previous day.

Day 4: The alarm was not sufficient to get us up and going, and as a result, we were late to get ready. By the time we got started, it was almost 10 am. A short taxi ride took us to the tram to Corcovado mountain. After a half hour wait, we took the tram to the top of the mountain. Nothing great about it but it was still fun. A few more flights and there we were – CristoRedentor: The massive statue of Jesus Christ looking over the city of Rio. We were so high up on the mountain that we could see miles and miles. Added to this, it was a great sunny day and we were lucky not to have clouds amongst us. It was overcrowded though and everyone seemed to be taking pictures. We spent quite some time observing Rio from all possible angles and posing in front of Jesus. Then it was time to head back to the tram and then another short taxi to Pao de Acucar – Sugar Loaf Mountain.

Here, we took the cable car (Tontu’s first) up the first mountain, spent some relaxed time looking at everything that Rio had to offer, and then took the next cable car to the next mountain. Views were different here, more so the beaches. Again, spent a considerable amount of time enjoying the beautiful scenery. Had some snacks, fruit salad ice-cream and then headed back down. There is a small beach right at the bottom and we spent some time there before heading back to hotel.

Day 5: Alas, our last day in Rio. It was a day reserved for Copacabana beach. Rightly so, we spent almost 3-4 hrs just relaxing and lazing. This is one amazing beach especially on Sundays when the roads are closed out to vehicles and hence used exclusively for tourists. Tontu had a great time with sand castles and playing with the waves and beach picnic, etc. Truly a tourist spot with so many beach-goers enjoying the beautiful sunshine and warmth of the day. The waves were spectacular, people were surfing, kids were enjoying. A pure blissful atmosphere. Then, we went to Ipanema again and this time the views were different. There was a haze over the edge of the mountain and it looked great. Some more pics, and it was time to head back to airport. Return flight was on time and uneventful.

Day 6: Immigration lines at Miami were too lengthy and it took forever to get to the next leg of the journey. It seemed they were severely understaffed to handle the onslaught of multitude of airlines landing in Miami at 4 am in the morning. Anyways. We got through and this time the three of us were together for the MIA-SFO flight. Reached SFO at about 10 am and after BART, reached home at about 1 pm. All in all, it was: Taxi from hotel to GIG airport, Flight to MIA, Inter-terminal shuttle train, Flight to SFO, BART train to home station and then the walk back to home!!

Overview: I never thought I would visit Rio, the city that is depicted as part of one of my all-time-fav movie Cidade de deus! And yet, Rio was a great vacation – it had waterfalls, mountains, beaches and excellent weather – and a great way to celebrate our 7^th anniversary. Even though we just spent only 4 full days, we felt it was sufficient. There were other things which we could have done but we didn’t – the colorful steps at Santa Teresa, Tijucu Forest, favelas, The football stadium, Rio downtown, etc. but that was intentional. We covered only our priorities and interests. Also we refused to go on Rio day tours which seemed really exorbitant for a family of 3. Maybe those are good for single travelers. The coconut water was absolutely amazing and we had almost one daily. The coconut was paper thin and delicious. The beaches are great and water is not too cold. It really was a safe place and we never felt threatened by the state of affairs. The books and material we read were very informative, and as rightly mentioned everywhere, there is no need to rent a car because of the amount of risk that it entails. Taxis are everywhere and seem safe enough. Slightly expensive but better than the rental car risk.

The only learning was that I should have used my 0% foreign transaction fee credit card more often than cash and should have exchanged lesser USD cash in the beginning. The reverse conversion of remaining Real to USD was a total rip-off. We never once had dinner or lunch or alcoholic drinks in Rio! We didn't realize it until we came back! We survived on all that we had taken, the food that we prepared in the kitchenette and that put us through all 6 days. Despite all this, overall cost per person for this vacation was almost $1100. If this trip was planned in peak local summer season or during Carnival season, it would have been even more expensive.

One interesting thing we noted was that we created a record of sorts - Three Continents in Three Months: 
April - Asia
May - North America
June - South America

After Asia (Singapore, India, UAE), Africa (Mauritius), North America (US, Canada, Mexico), it was South America’s (Brazil) turn! Now which will be the next continent?! ;-)