When My Baby Smiles at Me I go to Rio...

After Lencois, I returned to Salvador for a few days before flying to Rio. I loved the view from my hotel room in Salvador. (At right.)

While still in Salvador, I decided to bump up my return flight to New York City by a few days. This meant I would only have 3 days in Rio. I decided to make them count by doing absolutely nothing cultural whatsoever.

Rio was the only place on my whole trip where I had been before -- twice, in fact. So I had already done Corcovado, Sugarloaf, etc., and therefore didn't feel remotely guilty about planting myself at the beachfront Sol Ipanema Hotel and basically hanging out on the gay beach for 3 days, sipping caipirinhas and taking in the, uh, sights.

My hotel is the tallest building in the photo above, and obviously the gay beach is marked by the rainbow flag.


Here's me on the roof of my hotel. (Somehow, I inadvertently grew a beard in between Lencois and Rio.)


To the left is the view from my hotel room. (I faced towards the back, rather than towards the ocean, but it was a pretty view nonetheless.) The tiny little speck on the peak of the mountain all the way to the left is Christ the Redeemer. (You might need to click on the photo to enlarge it.)

Here are some views of Ipanema beach from the rooftop pool & bar of my hotel. (I was hoping these pics would fit three across -- but they didn't, so you'll just have try to merge them together in your mind.)







There are very strict regulations in effect on the beach in Rio.



This is definitely where I'm staying when I come back.








Copacabana Beach










Me and my friend Rislei, whom I met in New York City a couple of years ago, but who is now back living in Rio.








Me and Anilson at the rooftop pool bar.


This is a typical meal for under $4 total -- chicken breast filet, beans, rice, mixed vegetables, a little salad -- not a bad deal, huh? :-)

Me just leaving the beach at Ipanema. Not a remotely flattering picture, but unfortunately the only one of me on the beach. :-(

And of course, the entire time I was there, I had Peter Allen's song "I Go to Rio" stuck in my head. But it's catchy, no?

The Boys from Ipanema

Well, there have been some grumblings out there that my blog lacked "sizzle." Fortunately, the boys of Ipanema are happy to oblige in that department. Brace yourselves...

(Why do I suddenly feel compelled to return to Rio asap for one of those "Brazilian Butt Lifts"???)

Parque Nacional da Capada Diamantina

Some more shots from the summit of Morro do Pai Inacio...

OrchidsMe squinting.
View from the summit of Morro do Pai Inacio

Christian, Fau, Beau & Me on Morro do Pai Inacio

After scrambling down Morro do Pai Inacio, we made our way to Gruta da Lapa Doce, a huge cave formed by a subterranean river (now dried up, of course).

Fau & Beau just before we descended to the cave opening.

The cave opening

A little video of us making our way into the cave...

Some shots from within Lapa Doce. The one below is -- for obvious reasons -- called, "The Angel."

Parque Nacional da Capada Diamantina, Part II

Some more photos from Lapa Doce...

Fau, me and Beau in the cave. This would have been a really cool photo if my flashlight hadn't been trained right on my face with the long exposure.

More funky cave formations. (I think this one looks like a Portuguese Man-of-War)

Even the stalagmites were excited to see us...

Coming out of the cave at the other end...

After the Lapa Doce, we headed over to the Poco do Diabo ("Devil's Well") waterfall on the Rio
Mucugezinho.

Lençois Road Trip

So I arrived in Salvador on February 17. This was right in the middle of Carnaval, but I had decided to skip the festivities and take a little trip to Lençois instead. Lençois is a small former diamond-mining town in the mountains about 6 hours west of Salvador. My plan was to stay with Fausto -- a very friendly Salvador native I met through an online travel forum -- for one night, then take off for Lençois by bus the next day. Fausto was also hosting a gay German/American couple in his apartment for Carnaval, so I definitely didn't want to overstay my welcome and crowd his apartment.

When I arrived at the Salvador Airport on Saturday afternoon, Fausto was there with his houseguests to pick me up. The four of us then went to the bus station to get my ticket to Lençois, but the bus I was planning to take was sold out. Then first Fausto, and then Kristian and Beau all decided they would go to Lençois for a few days as well. And thus a road trip was born.

Since we weren't leaving until the next day, I got a chance to pop over to the parade route on Saturday night to check out Carnaval. And it was definitely a lot of fun. I don't have any photos, partly because everyone impressed upon me how incredibly dangerous Carnaval was, and that I shouldn't even wear my cheap Swatch, no less bring a camera with me; and partly because I wore shorts with no pockets and didn't want to carry around the camera. Sorry about that. But it was definitely fun, and I definitely had a good time, and I definitely didn't need to do it for more than an evening, so I was very happy I had decided to go to Lençois instead. :-)

On the road, headed to Lençois.

The outside of our pousada ("Pousada d'Angela") in Lençois.

Praça Horacio de Mattos

Street in Lençois

This is why you shouldn't taunt a street dog.

The day after we arrived in Lençois we made a long excursion into the huge Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina, which surrounds Lençois. We started with a hike up Morro do Pai Inacio, a 1,120 meter peak giving some stunning views of the park.

Approaching Morro do Pai Inacio

Making our way up Morro do Pai Inacio



Views from the summit of Morro do Pai Inacio

Next up: More Parque Nacional da Chapada Diamantina!