Brazilian Samba Comes Low-key and Local in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro

Brazilian Samba Comes Low-key and Local in Copacabana. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

We’ve heard a lot of live music during our two week stay in Rio de Janeiro – at bars, clubs, by the beach, and in the streets of this hip-swinging Brazilian city. It’s hard not to hear music in a city where nearly every cultural activity has a soundtrack! And that soundtrack typically comprises Brazilian … Read more

Finding Feijoada – Discovering Brazil’s National Dish

Finding Feijoada - Discovering Brazil’s National Dish. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

Ask a Brazilian cook or chef who makes the best feijoada, Brazil’s national dish, and they’ll say “I do!” Nothing is more of a source of pride than making a delicious version of this pork and bean stew. Well, perhaps apart from making a mean caiparinha with their own supply of artisanal Cachaça! A ritual that’s … Read more

Touring Rio’s Favelas

Touring Rio's Favelas with Marcelo Armstrong’s Favela Tours. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

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

Cariocas and their Coconuts Sipping Agua de Coco on Ipanema Beach

Drinking coconut juice on Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cariocas and their Coconuts. Copyright © 2022 Terence Carter / Grantourismo. All Rights Reserved.

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