By admin My first visit to Rio de Janeiro (and South America, for that matter) was supposed to happen with my little brother over Labor Day Weekend in September 2015. My flights were booked and vacation time was approved. Then Jonathan informed me that he had failed at getting his visa in time for the trip. Back then, I had only traveled solo internationally on business trips to London, and I didn’t feel comfortable going somewhere seemingly as exotic as Brazil on my own. I ultimately cancelled my flight and booked a solo trip to Ireland instead. The Emerald Isle was great, but not at all the same as Brazil, and I filed Rio away in my mental list of future travel destinations.
Come 2019 and I had successfully traveled alone to countries such as Chile, Mozambique, Egypt, and Lebanon. While all my friends knew they had an open invitation to come to Brazil with me, nobody jumped at the opportunity, so it was high time for me to experience the beautiful beaches of Rio on my own.
Staying at Hotel Fasano
One of the benefits of visiting Rio in 2019 vs. 2015 was that I had acquired more financial resources after four additional years of busting my ass in tech startup life. As I assessed all the options for accommodations, I decided that I needed to stay at the Hotel Fasano, with its prime location smack dab on Ipanema Beach (a decision affirmed by every Brazilian I met – apparently Ipanema is much preferred over Copacabana) and its trendy rooftop pool. On top of that, I decided to splurge on an oceanfront suite. While I typically prefer to book a lower-tier room and hope that my loyalty status or travel agent hookups will score me an upgrade, once in a while I decide to ball out, and Fasano seemed like a good place to do that.
“We gave you the best room on the property,” the Fasano staff member informed me as he gave me a tour of my Philippe Starck-designed suite. Oh wow, I thought as I looked around. This was even better than I expected. Could I stay here forever?
As much as I wanted to get out and see Rio, I was also tired from traveling, and giddy about my expansive new “home” (for the next three days, at least). I decided to stay in, order room service, and enjoy a party for one in my fancy digs.
Pool Time at Fasano & Dinner at Lasai
I had unintentionally planned my three nights in Rio over a weekend, and it happened to be the first perfect beach weekend of the season (I was visiting in October, when it was spring in Brazil). While Rio is known for its spectacular beaches, I knew I needed to dedicate a day to the phenomenal Fasano rooftop pool.
Day one started out with a workout session at the Fasano gym. It was nice, but relatively small. I couldn’t complain about the beach views from the treadmills, however. It was entertaining to watch all the locals arriving at Ipanema, whether by car, foot, or bike. I saw one girl wearing nothing but a bikini docking her shared bike (Rio’s version of Citibike). She climbed off the communal set of wheels and I realized she had been riding the bike in a tiny thong. I expected to see some skimpy swimwear on the beaches of Brazil, but a thong as bike attire seemed a little unsanitary to me. Call me a prude, but I don’t even like wearing shorts or a short dress on an airplane. Thong bikini on a shared bike?! No thank you.
After my workout and a quick shower, I arrived to a fairly calm scene at the hotel pool.
I was expecting that the pool would be a relatively international scene, with at least a few groups of Americans, but it turned out that the crowd was mostly made of Brazilians. There were a number of couples, and some families, but also a lot of groups of friends. While the scene started out calm, it quickly turned into a party after lunch. I started missing my friends back at home who would know how to make the most of a Brazilian pool party.
After a few hours at the pool, I decided I’d had enough people-watching. I was also feeling a bit left out as the only solo foreigner, so I retired to my suite to relax and get ready for dinner.
I had made dinner reservations at the chef’s counter at Lasai, a Michelin-starred restaurant that is also a mainstay on Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list. My brother had good things to say about the restaurant, so I was looking forward to comparing notes with him (he finally made it to Rio right after the 2018 Olympics, when Brazil temporarily waived the requirement for American tourists to hold visas, but before the country decided to permanently get rid of the reciprocal visa rule for Americans in 2019).
While the experience at Lasai didn’t blow me away, and the hospitality felt cold and impersonal, I was happy to have a seat at the chef’s counter so I could at least watch the show in the kitchen. Most importantly, being a pescatarian obviously did not allow me to enjoy the full experience, so I wouldn’t rule out Lasai if you’re a carnivore.
City Tour
Having crossed off a pool day at Hotel Fasano, I booked a small group city tour for my second and final day in Rio. The tour promised to show us the most famous sites in the city: Corcovado/Christ the Redeemer, Santa Teresa, Lapa/Metropolitan Cathedral, Selaron Steps, and Sugarloaf Mountain. Yes, it would be touristic, but I felt like I couldn’t go to Rio for the first time and not see its most popular attractions.
The tour company aimed to maximize efficiency by offering three central pick-up locations, rather than picking up each guest/group of guests at their individual hotel. I walked along the beach to the Ipanema pickup point and awkwardly waited for the guide to arrive. Then I waited some more. I eventually got up the nerve to approach another woman who also seemed to be anticipating a meetup with strangers. Her name was Hilda and she was indeed part of the tour group. She was also from the U.S., lived in the Bay Area, worked in the CPG industry, and had traveled extensively. We became fast friends.
After a long delay, we realized what (or, more accurately, who) was causing the hold-up. A third girl was waiting at the Ipanema meetup point (a hostel), but the guide had been expecting her at the Copacabana point. The poor girl finally introduced herself to us in broken English, and asked us to not leave her behind while she went inside to the hostel. Hilda put two and two together, and figured that the group probably didn’t realize that there were three people waiting in Ipanema, and not two. Of course, the group soon showed up, and the missing girl was nowhere to be found. I did not understand how someone could be so clueless and careless about meeting up with a group, but I realized that she was the only native Spanish speaker in the group (the rest of us primarily spoke English or Portuguese), so I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt.
Our first stop was Corcovado, the mountain that hosts the famous Christ the Redeemer statue that towers over Rio and has become emblematic of the city. While the viewpoint is accessible by train and hiking trail, one of the benefits of the tour was that we had a minivan to drive us up the narrow, winding road to the site’s parking lot. I was quite impressed with our guide, who explained the history of Corcovado to us in Portuguese, English, and Spanish as our van navigated through the hairpin turns (thankfully, we had a driver). Once we collected our tickets and agreed on a meeting time, we were all set free to tour the site on our own. Hilda and I agreed to stick together, and we decided to climb the 223 steps from the parking lot, as opposed to waiting for the elevator or taking the escalator. I could use all the exercise I could get.
Next up, we stopped in the trendy and artsy neighborhood of Santa Teresa. Sadly, we didn’t have time to explore, so we all waited in the van as our guide picked up a bag full of Brazil’s famous Pao de Queijo (cheese bread) for us to try. OMG, it was incredible.
Stop #3: The Metropolitan Cathedral. I’ll admit, the architecture was interesting (the building was designed as a pyramid, very unique for a cathedral). However, I generally lose interest in churches or cathedrals unless they possess some noteworthy cultural or historical significance, which the Metropolitan Cathedral seemed to lack, aside from its pyramidal shape.
Our fourth stop was the Selaron Steps. The steps have become something of a cultural and social media phenomenon, but were created quite innocently by a Chilean-born artist, Jorge Selarón. He became obsessed with covering the steps with tiles, mostly in the blue, green and yellow colors of the Brazilian flag, and he called the project “my tribute to the Brazilian people.” Starting the endeavor in 1990, he continued his work until his death in 2013. The project now covers 215 steps and includes over 2,000 tiles, many of which were donated by travelers from all over the world.
Our final destination for the day was Sugarloaf Mountain, where we’d be able to watch the sun set over Rio. To reach the summit of Sugarloaf, we had to take two cable cars; our plan was to start all the way at the top, take a break at the midpoint, then head back down to the parking lot.
After another delay related to our one Spanish-speaking travel-mate (literally, no offense to Spanish speakers; it’s just the only way I can differentiate her from the rest of the group), we headed back on our way to our respective hotels. Hilda asked what I had planned for the evening
(nothing), and we agreed to meet up for dinner later. Yay! I had made a friend.
I headed back to Fasano for a shower and glass of wine on my balcony before picking up Hilda (fortunately, she was staying just down the street). We decided to go to a casual restaurant in Santa Teresa.
Over a couple caipirinhas, Hilda told me about her recent travels. She was on a sabbatical from work, and her current trip included visits to Colombia and Bolivia. A previous work assignment had required her to make frequent trips to Asia, so she gave me a number of travel recommendations in the region. One of her travel hobbies was diving, and she urged me to try a discovery dive during my upcoming trips to the Maldives or Philippines. Hilda seemed somewhat reserved, so I doubted that we’d keep in touch, but we exchanged contact information regardless, and I ate up all the advice that she could offer.
I was pleasantly surprised by Rio. I had been expecting a dirty, dangerous city, but instead I found one of the most beautiful places I’d ever visited. Still, due to my (not unfounded) preconceived notions, I didn’t feel comfortable venturing out on my own outside of guided tours and experiences. While I did make a friend in Hilda and I enjoyed my time in the city overall, I still wouldn’t put it on any list of top destinations for solo travelers. Regardless, I was very proud of myself for making the trip on my own. I’d love to return with a friend or two – and next time I’ll be sure to bring some tinier swimsuits.
