We meet locals in many different ways when we travel. Sometimes the people we connect with are friends of friends, sometimes we meet them in restaurants or bars, occasionally we meet them through the owners of the places we’re staying, and at other times we connect through social media channels such as Twitter. That’s how … Read more
Okay, so not everyone can afford to sponsor a child or make a donation, but it costs very little to purchase a small souvenir or a gift for loved-ones and you know the money is going direct to the artisan, designer or artist. Here are our favela finds, great souvenirs to buy while touring Rio’s … Read more
One of the highlights of Marcelo Armstrong’s favela tour for us was a visit to Para Ti, a very special NGO that was started by Italian Franco Urani, a former President of Fiat Brazil in the 1970s, and his wife Giuliana. The couple lived in the neighbourhood around which the favela Vila Canoas grew and … Read more
It’s impossible not to notice Rio’s favelas or shanty towns. You’ll see them tumbling down Rio’s hillsides from your plane, sprawling beside the expressway on the drive in from the airport, peeking between the elegant high-rises of Copacabana, and encroaching into the charming old neighbourhood of Santa Teresa. Perhaps surprisingly, in a city famous for … Read more
The coconut is to a Carioca* what the baguette is to a Parisian. Okay, well, not quite. Rio de Janeiro’s locals don’t cycle along Ipanema beach with a coconut under their arm, nor will you see them munching into one (ouch!) as they walk home from work. But like the baguette in Paris the coconut … Read more