South America

Where do I stay in Buzios?!?!?!

Want a nice play to stay in Buzios? Like a hotel, hostel, kind of bed and breakfast sort of thing.

I've got you covered. Get in touch with Ann, and email me as well. She'll hook you up with a good deal, as well, if you mention me, Austin.

Casa Do Encanto is the place. Ann Beaton is the person. She speaka the English. A room on the ocean is the place to be, right by the 'centro' downtown area. We walked home from the bars every night, it was fabulous.

Check her out. Lemme know if ya like it!

Buzios Nightlife

Buzios is a ritzy little beach town 2-3 hours north of Rio, made popular by some old lady movie star. Bridgette Bardo? Somebody.

You´re not likely to bump into her here, but around New Years time and Carnaval, you can find every Carioca (rio resident) that has fled the intense tourism of the big city. That means this town looks good, and has cash to burn.

Which adds up to the fact that Buzios is noticeably MORE expensive than Rio. Bad for me, Mr. budget continent traveller, but good for other folks willing to flash cash, hook up, and drink ca

The lowdown, of course, for other travellers:

• Beach: Geribá is the only beach you need to go to. Go to the far end in front of Vivo, where all the nice looking individuals are. You can rent a body board for around US$2, and a surfboard for about double that. They offer lessons as well.
• Nightlife - Club Privilege (expect to pay 40 Reals for entrance, guys) super club complete with green lights, overpriced drinks, and a vip section that I somehow found myself in. Worth a peak for the talent (girls and guys), but maybe only for one night.
• Bars on the water - check out Anexo in the centro area for night drinking in the mist, and also Fishbone during the day on Geribá beach. Everyone at Fishbone, aka VIVO, we recognized from the previous night at Privilege (aka - the big P).
• Chez Michou - go get a crepe and a beer, and get overcharged.
• Taka Taka - crazy local pirate bar complete with closed circuit tv for the pirate man to monitor your entrance. Most expensive drinks in town, by the way. Our travel buddy Alex personally hung all the CDs off the ceiling. This place would be corny, if the man who ran it wasn´t so honestly insane. Go watch him dance reggae and pour drinks while spinning in circles and shouting about society. Watch out for his pit bulls, do NOT peel the wax off the candles (trust me) and make sure to buy a drink fast before he kicks you out. Best Caipirinha´s and CaipriVodka´s in town, but they´ll cost as much as 20 Reals each. Try the plum.

The Love / Hate Relationship with Brazil

Brasil is quite an interesting country, on which I hold juxtaposing views. I love-hate this place.

I love the beaches, the sun, the gorgeous people, the vibrant life.

I hate just about everything else. Let me explain:

Here is a laundry list of what sucks about Brasil, just so you know for when you go: violence is prevalent, prostitution is societally encouraged, busses are bad here (no AC on some, and this is in the tropics), people are constantly lying about things like prices, you can´t drink the water (don´t listen to what they say), and you have to pay for your bar tab all at once at the end of the night, like some kind of evil bar grab-bag event.

That said, I still kind of love this place. Today, in Buzios, I will head down to the beach and relax, maybe surf, for hours. It is January. That is awesome.

So, you take the good, you take the bad, you nod your head to Portugese you can´t understand.