Heading down to Brazil for the first half of the World Cup in June. Will be bouncing between Sao Paulo and Rio. Logistically, can't bring boards, but would definitely like to paddle out a couple days. Was wondering if anyone had any experience in this area. Renting a board, access to breaks, crowds etc. Any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.
Bring extra board shorts, t shirts, sunglasses and anything else that you can pack easily to give away to the kids and locals. Clothing that's labeled with brand names is really expensive in Brazil and the people down there will go crazy over it for some reason. That's definitely a way to score some brownie points
You'd better be street smart. Brazil is no joke. Very dangerous all around. Your ass is worth money there (literally). Rio is super sketch. I hung in the woods in Sao Palo so I don't know how that city is ( probably similar). You can disappear easily in Brazil. Their value on peoples lives is much lower than USA. Rio is filled with dangerous criminals who don't care about your life at all. They have this common scam: Hot chick starts hanging with you, drugs your drink, you wake up days later in an unfamiliar place with nothing but a worn out a*shole. That's if you wake up at all or don't get sold. I'm not kidding unfortunately. Public busses blow red lights all night for a reason. If you stray into the wrong neighborhoods, don't be surprised to see non-police types wielding large guns. If you stay anywhere near these "hoods" don't be surprised to hear gun shots often, particularly at night. These "hoods" are typically on the steeper hillsides. I could go on for a while but I have to go to work. By far, Brazil is the most dangerous country I've been to. Speaking Portuguese goes a long way too. They're not really prejudice, they'll victimize anyone including their own (I've seen it). Good luck! Be f*cking careful as possible.
Thanks all for the info. Looking forward to it. Hopefully come back with all my kidneys and vital organs.
not to put a turd in your dessert, but there was a show on sharky places, a Rio was on it. seems the most popular beach for surfing is next to a river where bull sharks breed.
I could be wrong but I think the one you referring to is the beach in Recife which is far north of Rio. Among other things they have a slaughterhouse dumping chum in the water, flows right out the inlet. I have a friend from Brazil who recently went home and surfed that break two days before a girl got killed there. He took pics of all shark warning signs before he paddled out. Didn't see any but said it was definitely a sketchy feeling out there. Then two days later he heard about the girl.
I was trying to find if it was Rio, and found this, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...898/Brazil-shark-attack-caught-on-camera.html
