Rio de Janeiro Sports & Outdoors

Rio has one of the
most magnificent views
you'll ever see

If you don't see it from the
peaceful and smooth flight
of a hang glider you'll
get only half the picture

Go on a Tandem Flight with
an experienced instructor
and enjoy the beauty of Rio
in a way you'll never forget

Rio is so wonderful! Where else can you go to a real rain forest right smack next to the city? I have no idea...
Anyway, here it is possible. Just go to the Tijuca Rain forest. I did it, and made it alive! Many trails through the national park (of course it's not a wild rain forest), through lush trees (very humid), cross waterfalls, to mountain peeks. Really, this was one of my best journeys in Rio!
The park is divided into two, and there is no way to do them both in one or even two days. Take two parts of a park, divide them in two 5 subsectors, select 3 walks per sector, with several hikes inside the park taking more than one day and you know what I am talking about (there are 6 "Trilhas" and one "Caminho"). Two ways you can choose to do this park: either by following the "macadam" road, or by going via the (well-marked) side trails. There are arrows everywhere, but please do follow them! It wouldn't be the first time that someone goes missing (people: this is one huge forest!!). I actually felt like I was missing at one point (took a wrong turn)... and believe me, you don't want that to happen; got the worst mosquito bites of my whole trip! At least, I hope they were mosquito bites...

Equipment: 1. macadam roads
Good walking shoes
2. Trails
Maybe hiking shoes would be better.
3. Guides
might be a good idea as well...

One of the highlights of my trip to Brazil was hang gliding over Rio. I met a couple Canadians in my hotel who were planning this hang gliding adventure and asked me if I wanted to join in. Since I had seen the episode of The Amazing Race where they jumped off this mountain, I had wanted to do it, so I told my Canadian friends that I'd love to join them. I called Ricardo, the instructor, on his cell phone and made the arrangements. His company is called Delta Flight and Ricardo Hamond has been flying since 1987. He is certified by the Brazilian Hang Gliding Association and is a great pilot. However, if you ask him how long he's been doing this, he'll probably tell you that you're his first student (he's a funny guy). His English is great, so don't worry about calling him.

Since the weather was bad, we had to wait on top of Pedro Bonita Mountain in Sao Conrado for a couple hours before we could jump. I let the Canadians go first to make sure they would get their flight in since they had an evening plane to catch. This was a good idea, because by the time I was able to go, I was the last one of the day and Ricardo wasn't in a hurry to get another jump in (and collect the fee) so we ended up flying for about 25 mintues. It's an amazing experience and certainly the closest thing I've ever done to flying like a bird.

*** A SAD INCIDENT: In mid-November, 2003 (only a couple weeks after I was here) there was a fatal accident involving a tourist (a doctor from Manaus) and an instructor. Sadly, they both lost their lives in this accident and all tandem jumps were temporarily suspended in Rio pending the investigation of this tragic accident. They are back and jumping today, but keep in mind that life has no guarantees.

If you are comming to Brazil, the country five times world cup champions... you must go watch a game at the stadium.

Learn how at http://studionalapa.blogspot.com/2010/10/how-do-i-get-ticket-to-football-game.html

Botafogo is one of the 4 big football clubs in Rio.
It comes from the suburb of the same name and was originally started as a rowing club, but it was soon football that took over.
these days it´s the little brother compared to the other Rio clubs and the fans are often people who like to distinguish themselves as being a little different, so they have many artists and intellectuals among their fans.
The biggest player Botafogo ever produced was ironicaly Garrincha who mabye had the biggest talent and the smallest brain ever in football.
he never played for any other club and is today an absolute legend because of his talent and because of his amazing story of the cripple who became the best football player in the world.

1 more image

All the beaches in Rio has running and cycling tracks along them and you should join the cariocas and get your self some exercise while seeing some of the most scenic parts of Rio.
This is really a way to stay fit while living like a local.

Rio is a "body beautiful" city, so it's easy to find a gym (in Brazil they are called Academias) to work out in. Most have reasonable daily/weekly rates. If you don't want to pay to exercise then you can always get a good workout at one of the various exercise stations along the beaches and near Pedra do Arpoador there is a small stretch of sand called Praia do Diabo (Devil Beach) where they have an open air gym with cement weights. The views are nice there, you can get in a pretty good workout, it's reasonably safe (a police lookout point is close-by), and best of all it's free (there is a sign in English which asks for donations to help with maintenance & improvements).

I have worked out at more gyms in Rio than I can remember, but my favorite is a gym called Neves Academia which is on N.S. Copacabana just north of Rua Dias de Rocha. It isn´t a fancy gym and it has a lot of rusty weights and old equipment, but it is popular with serious weightlifters and muscleheads. My kind of people.

Another good gym that actually has dumb-bells that go as high as 100lbs (45.5kgs) is a gym called Equip 1 Fitness Center. It's also located on N.S. Copacabana, just north of Rua Santa Clara. This academia is spread across 3 floors, yet despite this fact it can hardly be described as spacious. None-the-less, with rates of R$105/125/ or 145 for a week/15 days/ or 1 month I'd say it's a pretty good deal for a respectable facility. The rates are a bit higher if you also want to take part in their spinning or aerobics classes. Some of the staff members speak English.

A popular gym that is frequented by the well-to-do is called BodyTech. It has two locations I know of: one on N.S. Copacabana directly across from the side street of Rua Dias de Rocha (about 100 meters south of Neves Gym on the other side of the street) and there´s another one in Ipanema on Rua Gomes Carneiro; close to Rua Canning. The daily and monthly rates are steep, but they do have good facilities and a fetching staff of garotas.

In Ipanema there is a gym called Ipanema Sport Club that is open 24 hours a day with good equipment PLUS they have daily, weekly, and rates for two weeks that are quite reasonable. A pretty good option if you happen to stay in this part of Rio. It´s on Rua Visconde de Pirajá; less than a block west of Praça General Osório.

- Skull

‘Futebol’ – as the locals call it – is the national sport in Brazil. Actually it is much more than a sport; it is a passion and art and is in the minds and hearts of many Brazilians - if not all Brazilians…

At the beaches in Rio there was always a beach soccer match going on. Either matches in the official beach soccer tournament or just small teams of friends playing for fun. We watched a couple of matches, and were very impressed. The players were very skilful, and did tricks I have never seen before… It was nice to sit by the beach, watch a soccer match, and maybe talk a little football with the other spectators…