Rio and the carnaval. A guide to survive it.

Yeah, you need to know how to survive it, 'cause sadly when something is really good, it's generally the nest of evil as well. 

Rio de Janeiro is famous for its carnaval and honestly, not until ou truly see it and experience it, you don't understand what the real deal is about. For starters, Rio de Janeiro is very beachy, tourist city by the ocean, the moment you arrive to its airport IN the city itself, you understand there's something different about it. From your plane you can see Cristo and the Atlantic Ocean, some of the tropical forest and the mess the city truly is. I was lucky enough to arrive the second day of carnaval, when the streets of the city are useless 'cause of the streets are flooded by the Blocos and no one, but taxi drivers, is working. I learned within minutes that not all the metro stations were working, and by metro stations I mean the only two lines the cities have that happen to be parallel to each other. By the time I managed to walk through the frikkin bloco near the airport and found a metro station open, I was all sweated and my face looked like I had gone through hell. 

It is here where we must stop and try to explain some concepts. I somehow thought that the carnaval we see on TV happens every night in some main street of the city, but that's not quite true. The carnaval is made up of two parts, first the blocos is the street carnaval, led by some band and followed by everyone in the street, following its own route and filled with a crowed drinking, kissing whoever comes in their way and being so poorly dressed you might be having sex without knowing it. These blocos have their own names, routes and themes, like the one I went on my second day in Rio called Mario bros. which as you can imagine was themed after the famous Nintendo game. In Brazil drinking in the street is pretty much legal, so you'll see cheap drinks everywhere along with pot and other drugs. Before going to one of them, you must always go with peole and never leave each other out sight, otherwise if you're a woman you can be easily raped, I repeat, do not go along or with strangers. And of course, do not take anything valuable with you, not even a cellphone. Those blocos might be pretty friendly, but no one there is innocent. 

And there is the other side of the carnaval, the real parade. The parade takes place in some kind of stadium where you pay fees, never pay more than 50 reais, seriously, otherwise, they'll be ripping you off. Plus, you'll need the money for the taxi round trip, because the neighborhood where the sambodromo is, is pretty sketchy. The parade of the carnaval is from around 9pm to 4 or 5am, the each song is about 1 hour long, that's what it takes each samba school to finish their parade and each school has their own theme or legend. It is a pretty show, but don't be surprised if it starts raining in the middle of the show. Again, always go in companionship. 

There are a few tips I can give you: always take taxis or metro, the metro is open until around 2 am in carnaval days, and if you're alone, you can always take one of those motorcycle-taxis, they're a bit cheaper than the regular taxis. If you're traveling alone, make friends like you in the hostel and promise to each other to come back together to the hostel. Wake up early and do all the tourist things early, like the walking tour, the later, the more croweded all places become, and if you're gay stay around the post 18 in Ipanema beach 'cause it's some kind of hotspot for gays. Be careful with where you take your camera and have always money on you because ATMs don't always work with visa, they have a lot of limitations and where you can withdraw money. 


Ubicación: Río de Janeiro - Estado de Río de Janeiro, Brasil

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