By telling us your country of residence we are able to provide you with the most relevant travel insurance information.
Please note that not all content is translated or available to residents of all countries. Contact us for full details.
Shares
"Hey, guys, I thought you said this was a *strong* dri - oooh..." The guys start laughing as I try, and fail, to stand up... These were my last words! Last words before a caipirinha, Brazil's national cocktail hit me like a rocket ship flying *towards* earth! It tastes like a mojito but stronger, and my new local friends had mixed liquified guarana in it. Guarana is the berry that gives energy drinks their kick, for those that don't know. And in this case, put the process of getting tipsy on the *express* lane! This was the beginning of the last night of the 2016 Rio de Janeiro, for which I had the pleasure to fully attend! Pleasure, despite the picture the global media juggernaut tried to paint. I have to this day never been gladder! Gladder to have gone against the advice of the inexperienced and leaped right into the unknown! This was my first time in Brazil and Rio! As well as my second international solo trip ever. My first was Carnevale in Venice, Italy, with what was the largest Latin dance event in the world right after in Madrid, Spain! But that's a different story. Day one was getting there! I experienced first hand that not all of Latin America was the Caribbean sea or Amazon rainforest courtesy the freezing weather at the Chile airport! Weather that reminded me of Alaska or Chicago in the dead of winter! I finally arrived at the Olympic themed airport in Rio and got my Olympic passport stamp! One of many treasured and unique stamps in that passport! Then, I was taken to the wrong hostel... Something must have been "lost in translation." Turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Because I met an Olympic volunteer who I thought was German by the looks of him, then British when he spoke and finally Swedish when he told me! Boy, was I off... Till this day a good friend and took me to a lot of the games with him! Like the football match where we were the only non-Brazilians on that half of the stadium... As well as giving me some one of a kind souvenirs! One verification email from the original hostel later a few days after arriving asking if I was "still planning to check-in?" "Um... Have I not?" Apologizing for something they did not do, they gave me a free private room stay for a month! I preferred the dorm room. Perched on top of one of the city's tallest hills, I had but to roll over and *boom*! The entire city was below me! It was a view rivaled only by Christ the Redeemer! Which at a distance looks like a cross at night! The rest of the week was filled with discovering dances I, a Latin dancer, did not even know existed! Seeing gorgeously done buildings like the Municipal Theatre, which had stonework grander than almost anything I have ever seen! Food that doesn't exist in countries it's named after like Portuguese pizza! They thought I was mental in Lisbon asking for it... Seeing the happiest city employees I have ever seen, like the street cleaners dancing and singing! Unknowingly walking through the most "dangerous" part of the city to get to an event and getting invited to a church service! *That* wouldn't happen in the most dangerous parts of the US like Chicago where I was living... All while exploring easily the greenest city I have ever been in... There were parks, hills, and all other manners of nature everywhere! It was literally a "concrete jungle!" There was even a park overrun with capybara! *That* was a first! For those that don't know, those are basically what we would get if a rat and a dog had a love child... Super friendly and harmless! All in all, I've lived and traveled in many American cities I was far more in danger on a good day than I was in Rio on a bad day. And I am glad I was able to positively contribute to such a great city. *Un*like a particular American swimmer who made frontpage news the next day after his stunt!