Rio De Janeiro - the Wonderful City, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (B)

Rio de Janeiro is known in Brazil as "Cidade Maravilhosa" - the wonderful city. Without any doubt it is wonderful. The introduction is probably unnecessary as Rio is one of the best known cities in the world. I had only three days to visit this city and for sure it wasn't enough. But anyway, I had a chance to take a glimpse of the most important places a visitor should see. And it was a great experience.

However, my first impression after arriving at Rio de Janeiro International Airport was a surprise that the terminal was so small. It reminded more of a domestic airport rather than international one. For such a famous place, I had expected something much bigger. There is one little coffee shop, and even in the departure terminal there is only a cafe - bar and a few shops with souvenirs at astronomical prices.

After quite a long wait at the passport control (airport staff in Brazil check all the passports very carefully) I took a bus to the city center for about 15 BRL (6 EUR or 7.5 USD). Taxi costs around 60-70 BRL (23-27 EUR, 30-35 USD) as the city centre is quite far from the airport. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).