On my way to Rio finally with health problems this has been an on again off again trip but its finally on again, it’s been a long time coming and the fact that I am flying SAA, the only airline that has a direct flight to Sao Paulo from Johannesburg does not make life easier. On my arrival at O R Tambo (Johannesburg International Airport) I headed to the SAA check in desk as I have done a few hundred times before. The TV above the desk flashed the Sao Paulo flight details but the counter was closed, that was OK I was early. After a ten minute wait I thought it strange that I had not seen any SAA staff hanging around so I asked one of the workers what was going on. It seemed SAA had moved to the new terminal a few weeks back. It would have been nice of them to tell someone, post a message or just shut down their screens. It was still early so I took the short walk to the new terminal and a motley crew of fellow travelers followed me so I guess that I was not the only one fooled. The new terminal is world class and has been built in anticipation of the 2010 world Cup that is now less then 200 days away. The rest of the check in went pretty smoothly but when I arrived at the gate they weighed my carry on luggage, I was 2 kg over, I pointed out that had no check in luggage but the logic of that statement was met with blank stairs. So I took out 2kg of odds and ends put them in my laptop bag , which I didn’t have to weigh, had my case reweighed got the sticker then returned the 2kg of stuff back to my carry on and walked off, no one battered an eye, SAA logic at work. I headed up to the business lounge it was 8am but I thought I had earned my first drink of the day. So I had an Irish breakfast and felt a lot better. A little plug here for Diners Club even if you never use the card it is worth the annual fee to use their lounges at airports around the world.
The flight from Johannesburg to Rio is eight and a half hours, cattle class was full and SAA has really small seats with no legroom, so I got no sleep, I spent most of the flight wondering around the plane or in the Galley talking to the in flight staff. The flight was relatively smooth but here is a tip if you ever have to fly economy on SAA take your own food on board, their food is disgusting and in the most part inedible. I usually take a cheese board and some fruit.
As I only had carry on luggage the transfer in Sao Paulo to Tam went relatively painlessly and I spent most of my 3 hour stop over in the Diners Card lounge, the only hick up was once I got down to the gate the flight was delayed by an hour. It’s a short hope from Sao Paulo to Rio 45 minutes from wheels up to wheels down and the flight was uneventful.
After exiting the arrivals hall a driver with a welcome card was waiting but in contrast to what I had been promised he didn’t speak English and the drive into town was reminiscent of the drive Nastyworld and I shared on arriving in Lima, Peru last year. It was a white knuckle affair in a vehicle that smelt of beer and piss, when we arrived at the apartment there was supposed to be someone from Gringo management waiting, but big surprise no one was. So after 14 hours of traveling I had to wait another hour or so for the idiot with the keys to turn up. Outside of the location the apartment was very disappointing and the replies to my questions about unit size, TV, number of rooms, ocean view and so forth had been stretches of the truth or outright lies, the bathroom didn’t even have toilet paper. I even had to buy a plate, glass, knife and fork for the ‘fully equipped’ kitchen.
I called grinder and Blissman and made plans to meet for a late dinner, I unpacked had a shower and decided to lie down and do a little reading before I left next thing I knew it was 5.30 am in the morning.
20th
Knowing that Rio doesn’t open for business until after 10am I spent the next few hours catching up on work and my trip report and sending an email to Dave at Gringo, surprise, surprise I never got a reply. I then took a walk to get my bearings and headed over to Don and Ken to say hi and drop off some gifts. After leaving the dozy duo I bought a R50 TIM top up card and a few groceries as well as some desperately needed basic supplies for the apartment. It was a brilliant sunny day with way to many people about and too many shops closed. I discovered it was a national holiday and most places where closed including all of Centro.
I called Blissman and Grinder and we arranged to meet at Luomo at 16.00, I spent the rest of the morning just walking around until the heat got to me and I headed back to the apartment. At 4pm met up with Ken and headed out to Luomo, it was the only place open according to Ken but it was not as full as I expected and there was a plethora of Latino beauties dancing around with very, very little on. I suppressed the need to shout ‘honey I’m home” and had a water wile chatting away and watching the talent. After long consideration I settled on Gemini, who came highly recommended, a real cutie with a great GFE attitude. The room session was all I had come t expect from a terma girl and more. It was really cool, really fun. I walked out of the room a very happy camper indeed. I left at about 21.30 the total bill came to R378 not bad. At 10.30 we hooked up outside Help and had dinner. A long table at Terraco Atlantico had been reserved for us and the there was over a dozen fellow travelers exchanging war stories and watching the nightly hustle and bustle. OK food, first-class company and a great view. What more could you want? At about midnight some of us headed into help, I was already feeling a little tired and by 1.30 I was out of there.
21st
Woke at about 8am I had way too little sleep but even though I felt lethargic I couldn’t get back to sleep. I went for a little walk before the heat of the day set in then stopped at a cheap shop and bought a knife and dish and a few groceries before heading back to the hovel as I had begun to call the apartment. I decided to walk for about 45 minutes then head back to the apartment for half an hour I did this most of the morning stopping along the way for my traditional coconut milk.
A bunch of us agreed to meet at Monte Carlo so at about 4pm I Walked down to Monte Carlo it was fuller then I expected. I hung out with Blissman and Grinder as well as a few other new friends, there undoubtedly where a few doable ladies but as soon as you arrive in Rio you become spoilt I sat interviewing a young lady for wile but she disappeared after a wile which was a bit strange as we seemed to be getting on well and she knew that we there distended for an hour or so of sordid fun. I couldn’t see anything I liked and I felt a little angry, I was not going to session just to make a point so I decided to leave. As those who have traveled with me know if I don’t get my way I make a great impression of a sulking six year old.
I decided to walk back to the apartment, one of my fellow travelers mentioned that he has a cute regular non pro that works at a restaurant that I would be passing on the way back and I should keep an eye out for her. Being part of the TV generation with an attention span of a goldfish I forgot the name of the place so on my way back I stopped at each dinner and took a gander to see if I could see his special lady. This had an unforeseen result because as I stopped and peered into a restaurant a rather cute lady beckoned my over and being ever the gentleman I bought her a drink. Her name was Lilly, that kind of a Latino has a name like Lilly? She was quite tall and very statuesque and although she said she was 28 I imagine she had quite a few more years on her. I was not into a long time session and we agreed on R200 for two hours without much haggling. She spoke passable English and was quite the giggler outside of that it was not a remarkable session. She gave me her number but I really didn’t have any plans to call her., anywhere else she would have been worth a call but this is Rio. Unfortunately she said no photos.
She left at about 10.30pm and I headed down for dinner. Dinner was real fun as usual after we finished a few of us headed into Help. I hung around until about 3am before the noise got to me, at leased they don’t allow smoking inside any more. The downside of this is the haze of smoke on the balcony, as usually there where a few females hanging about.
22nd
It’s Sunday and on Sundays in Rio you head to the Hippy Market to buy gifts for those unfortunates not in Rio. I headed to Ipanema at about 11am to do a little shopping then headed down to the beach and walked around for a few hours before hooking up with a few of the guys for lunch at Garota de Ipanema The food there is pretty good and there where some very cute girls hanging about there was one that non of us could take our eyes off unfortunately she was with someone.
After lunch some of us headed back to the market. They have already started building a Metro stop in Ipanema. Once Help is gone I can’t think of any reason not to stay in Ipanema
After I was all shopped out I headed back to the apartment to change and head out to Luomo. Luomo has been very good to me this trip I hooked up with a very cute blond names Tulip.
Afterwards headed to Dinner, the table had grown to about 20 guys but already some key members where talking about abandoning us including Blissman which but a damper on the evening.
After dinner I headed into Help, there was a fine selection of ladies of all types plying their trade but Tulip had left me reasonably satisfied and I was tired after a long day so I headed out with the promise that I would do better the next night. Only in Rio is 1.30 an early night
23rd
After a day of girl watching along the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema I headed off to 4x4.
For the first time this trip the place was crowded by 4pm when I got there. The staff rude and I really wasn’t a happy camper but 4x4 still has one of the best selections of ladies around I chose a relative newcomer with the name and I shit you not of Pocahontas. Strangely it fitted her quite well she had a Native American look about her and was very well proportioned, in the room she was a little less sure of herself then I am use to from a garota but still a fun time.
We left 4x4 a little early in art because of the crowd and headed over to Terma Cancun where we sat in Manhattan the whiskey bar and after the frenzy of 4x4 it was a welcome respite from the din and crowds. There were fewer Girls here and I really had not planned to session here some of the guys where regulars here and soon a bevy of beauties had joined us at the table among them Lucy. She had a ready smile that lighted up the room long black hair and a chest that was a standout and real. She was in some ways my best session so far, great service and she took things nice and slow…twice. I was a very happy camber.
24th
I woke to another perfect day but my planned laziness was interrupted by the real world and I spent a good part of the day enveloped in the activities of the real world thanks to Skype the internet, international phones and sms. I spent most of my day working thankfully South Africa is 3 hours ahead of Rio and by 4pm the calls eased off I still had a few hours of work but managed to met up for dinner.
After dinner and seeing I had not been active I headed into Help were I spent a very nice evening at about 4am I settled on Elli she was slightly more age appropriate but still quite cute with a nice way about her we negotiated a LT for R200I was very proud to be the last man out of help when it closed at about 5am. We stopped at a hot dog stand for breakfast before heading back to the apartment.
25th
Is there any better way to wake up then with a Latino girl cuddled up beside you followed by long easy good morning BBBJ and some slow and easy sex to easy you into the day? Wile she showered I cooked us a little late breakfast we ate she chatted away for a wile. Without any of the usual crap and hard luck stories, I got the idea that she had fallen on hard times since her divorce so instead of the R200 we had agreed to I gave her R300 and sent Elli on her way at about 13:00. 3 pops all in all but more then that I was impressed by her excellent English and the very lady like way she had about her
After cleaning up and going walk about I took the Metro to 4x4.
I was not a big fan of 4x4 by this time, to start with it’s always over crowed. Trying to have shower is a mission and finding a seat in the disco almost impossible. The men outnumber the women and even relatively early the better girls have that tired look about them. There are some pretty girls there but 4x4 is a victim of its own success. After fighting my way through the crowds I settled on Victoria a petite spinner in the classical sense with a little bit of an Italian look about her. It was an OK session the bill came to R340.00. I took the metro back by midnight once again the heat and my own unfitness had court up with me and I had an early night, in all fairness I had not had much sleep the night before and had to wake early for the city tour.
26th
Woke early, I had a real problems adjusting to the time change I was looking forward to the city tour, since the last time I visited Corcovado they have become much more professional and there s now a R14 charge to visit the statue.
The view is still worth the trip but the place was packed and I am not a big fan of crowds on the way down the mountain our driver stopped at a quieter spot with some great view and it was less crowded.
After that it was on sugar loaf which was a bit less crowded and is still a fun visit, we spotted 5 terma girls walking about I couldn’t spot their sponsors but it seemed a strange place for them to spend their time off. Like usual the sugar loaf was a great place to enjoy some eye candy.
I was back by 2 and arranged airport pick up for Sunday, a sudden urgency hit me, and my time in Rio was fast running out. So after a quick change I headed to Luomo, the barman Billy is a South African and seemed a little home sick so I gave him some South African Chocolate I was hoping to see Luma but it was her day of so I settled on Vanessa the interview was excellent but as soon as we hit the room she started Smoking and seemed to loose interest as with all the girls I had asked about pictures she had a greed but as soon as I had taken one or two she started acting up so I stopped. It was not a great session and the first time in Rio that a girl has hurried me and tried to cut a session short. After dinner I headed into help for a wile. I had pretty much promised myself that I wouldn’t pull girls from help based on past experience and previous trips tonight that dissection was made easy by the lack of talent.
27th
I wanted to get a better feel for the city so I took the metro orange line as far as it would go and took the time to do a little walk about around the stations.
There are maps in the stations that show close by attractions and it’s a pretty fun way to see the city I did some shopping in Centro at the little stores that surround the metro.
They seemed to have the best prices for tourist crap among other things. It’s also the best place to buy a cheap Brazilian bikini for that special girl or girls back home. On the walk back to the apartment I took a tumble twisting my ankle and bruising up my arm and wrist I was concerned that I had done some real damage as I could hardly walk or close my hand. It did put a serious crimp in my mongering. Not one to be undone by physical frailty I headed off to 4x4 I took the metro to the Uruguaiana stop or as I call it the Uganda stop. I was still in a little pain so I thought I would take a taxi the few blocks to 4x4 it took me a few minutes to stop one and he wanted R20 for the 5 block trip I said no I wanted the meter, he swore at me and drove off with his back door still open nearly knocking me on my ass. Fuck it, it took me a few minutes but I limped across. 4x$ was a total waist of time, the place was over full and I was feeling crushed and pushed around so I had a shower to get the smell of the place of me and headed over to Manhattan at Cancun .The pickings where a little thin but I hooked up with Francis who was acute blond with a gym body but a little annoying in the room her performance was better then ok but she would not shut up. The place was full so to avoid a long wait I was talked into upgrading to a big room with a bigger bill. The bill came to R420.00. After leaving the club I headed over to Terraco Atlantico for the same old for dinner, tonight really bad spaghetti bolognaise, I shit you not it was kaki in color. The pain in my side really hadn’t let up I had tried to ignore it and now it was taking its revenge I started getting worried that I had done some serious damage so I thought it might be prudent to skipped help and take it easy.
28th
Today is my last full day in Rio so I wanted to get the most out of it , I woke early after a lousy night sleep but felt a little better but still limping, battered and bruised. I took the metro to Carioga and walked to the famous café Colombo, after a breakfast of pastries and coffee I headed over to a big fly market near Centro and visited a few museums.
Back by 4pm and I felt a little flu coming on nothing serious, yet. I was off to solarium at 5.30. this trip it was not worth the stop. The place is very run down as are the girls who where hanging out there. I have seldom found a Terma that has nothing to recommend it but that was Solarium on my last day, I decided to visit the Terma that had been kindest to me this trip so I took a taxi to Luomo and hooked up with Luna, my last day, my best girl, so what the hell I took a super suite the session was great a good old GFE with 2 pops, I came to terms with the fact that this might be my last session in Rio and headed out for dinner at Giuseppe Grill the food was excellent the wine grossly over priced but that might have been because I picked two South African wines. I was dead tired and although I had promised myself one last visit to help the mind was willing but the flesh was weak.
29th
Woke early… dam, got up and started the depressing business of packing. I was pretty much finished by 7am so I went for a walk the overcast skies were in sink with my dark thoughts and feelings as I headed back toward the beach for my morning coconut juice I saw there was quite a crowd building up. It was a Disney parade running along Av. Atlántico and the beach was full of screaming kids and their harassed parents.
From the apartment I had a pretty good view of what was going on below. It was kind of half assed with long breaks between the floats but the locals where lapping it up. After10 the throng thickened.
Children where laughing, their bikini clad mothers and sister chatted away after one long look I put my laptop away did a quick once over the apartment, grabbed my cases and shuffled off down stairs to wait for my taxi to take me back to the real world and rip me away from paradise.
The ride to the airport took about 45 minutes on a Sunday which made me wonder how Rio planned on handling the World Cup and Olympics. My driver Marco spoke good English and seemed pessimistic about Rio’s prospects.
It seems that the mayor had suggested that they use boats to deal with the shortfall in hotel rooms and that the upgrades in infrastructure and facilities that they would be needed was more then Marco thought Rio could cope with. The failures of Rio’s plans seemed to be underlined as we passed near the favelas.
The check in at the airport was uneventful and went pretty quickly. The flight to Sao Palo took off on time and I made my connection with time to spare. The flight to Johannesburg was only half full so I stretched out. The flight became very bumpy so I took a very strong sleeping tablet and passed out I probably would have slept right up to the landing if I had not been continuously woken by the in-flight staff a fact made more annoying by my numerous requests not to be disturbed.
By the time we arrived in Johannesburg I had a dose of the flu and was sidelined to the medical clinic. I had checked through one of my cases, the one with my yellow fever vaccine certificate in it so at a cost of US$90 I received a US$10 vaccine and was delayed for about 40 minutes. I was too sick to fight although I did point out the half a dozen Brazilian stamps in my passport and the facts that 1. I would not have been allowed to board a plane to Brazil without the vaccine and 2. There was absolutely no point in giving me the vaccine on my return. Welcome back home. TIA
In Conclusion
Rio remains Rio with all the good and bad that this infers, but although after my return home the Rio withdraw set in but it was not as bad as that which had followed previous trips and I found myself more interested in planning my next escape to LOS rather then any expedition back to the city of the Terma. I feel that Help is on its last legs and if it lasts one month of six months the sign at the entrance, its cry to stay open a little bit long to see another carnival, is tacit acceptance that its demise is at hand. If that’s good or bad for mongering only time will tell but it is an indication that Rio is going through some changers its no longer the city it was a few years back and its well on its way to becoming something else. The world cup and the Olympics will force the city to change if this will be for the better we will see. Rio is no long a bargain destination and if it is still value for money is for each man to decide for himself. I was lucky to spend my 10 days with a great bunch of guys and that made for a great trip. I guess it’s a statement about how we felt that we undertook to hook up again in April…in Thailand. That’s not to say that this was my last trip to Rio, to be honest I still have one more free ticket to Sao Paulo so that is a factor. But there are other places in South America that are on my to do list so it might be a wile before I return, by then I am sure Help will be no more so good bye Help, you will be missed…by me at leased.
