Dollar vs. Reias

[Guest Tomcal_]

Today's rate is Brazilian dollar = .33 US

or to put it in more useful terms: 1 boy, 1 hour = $16.45

[trilingual]

It's a good time to visit if you have dollars or euros! According to La Nacion, one of the two leading Argentine dailies, the Argentine peso closed today at 2.89 to the dollar (for those buying pesos) and the Brazilian real at 3.03 to the dollar. According to my handy-dandy calculator watch, that makes a R$50 roll in the hay at a Brazilian sauna equal to US$16.50. It would be even less in euros.

 

The downside, of course, is that it makes visits to the U.S. prohibitively expensive for Argentines and Brazilians, because everything costs them about three times what it would at home. (For rough purposes, one real or one peso have approximately the same purchasing power at home as one dollar or one euro have in the Northern Hemisphere. For example, bus/subway fares run about 1.50 in Argentina and Brazil, a cab ride from Copacabana to downtown Rio runs about R$10 - 11, a meal at a nicer "por kilo" restaurant in Rio runs around R$15 - 20 and about A$12 - 15 for a nice prix fixe lunch in Buenos Aires, a standard hotel room at the Atlântico in Rio or the HoJo in B.A. is about 140 a night in local currency, etc.). A retired friend is visiting me from Porto Alegre this week. At home, he has a very comfortable middle-class income of about R$3,000 a month. Here, he's in total sticker shock! Kind of like Americans when they experience the prices in London, only for visiting South Americans it's even worse!

[gulliver]

this morning the Atlantico was converting at the rate of 2.75 R to the us dollar.

[imrthr]

>Today's rate is Brazilian dollar = .33 US

>or to put it in more useful terms: 1 boy, 1 hour = $16.45

>

 

Hi Tomcal: On the other thread called "street hustlers" I left a message and some questions concerning Brazil. I now realize that I left my message in the wrong section of this board. This will will cause my message to be unrelated to "street - - " rather than to Brazil. Therefore here is my message from the other thread:

 

THANKS FOR THE SPEEDY REPLY, TOMCAL. TODAY I CHECKED WITH UNITED AIRLINES FOR A FLIGHT TO RIO AND A HOTEL (BOTH PRICED VERY REASONABLE). SINCE I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO RIO, I ALSO LOOKED AT OUR U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT TRAVEL WARNINGS ON RIO. BASED ON THOSE WARNINGS, I AM HAVING SECOND THOUGHTS ABOUT GOING THERE. HAVE YOU EVER HAD A PROBLEM IN RIO? HOW RECENT WAS YOUR LAST TRIP? FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT FROM THE RIO WARNING PAGE:

 

http://travel.state.gov/brazil.html

 

"RIO DE JANEIRO: The city continues to experience a high incidence of crime. Tourists are particularly vulnerable to street thefts and robberies on and in areas adjacent to all the main beaches in the city. Walking on the beaches is very dangerous at night. Recent efforts of incarcerated drug lords to exert their power outside of their jail cells have resulted in serious disruptions in the city, violence directed at the authorities and incidents of crimes against property, including after-hours shootings and explosions set off outside hotels and restaurants frequented by tourists. While these occurrences have not resulted in any injuries to U.S. citizens, visitors and residents alike should be aware that inconveniences such as closed shops and disrupted municipal services are likely. In Rio de Janeiro City, motorists are allowed to treat stoplights as stop signs between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. to protect against holdups at intersections. All incidents should be reported to the tourist police, who can be reached at 511-5112."

 

 

WHAT WE WON'T DO FOR A LITTLE FUN!!!!!

 

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR ANY FEEDBACK ON YOUR EXPERIENCES.

 

 

imrthr

[Guest Tomcal_]

Hi Imrthr! One of the first things everyone asks when I tell them I have been to Rio 5 times is "What about the Crime?" It is like any big city. I don't walk(or drive) in certain parts of L.A. other areas I feel very safe. Same with Rio. The area(s) that we frequent and stay, Ipenema and Copacabana are the safest areas in Rio. If you look at the number of M4M's that have been there in the past 2 years,number of days stayed, it is as safe as Miami, NYC, L.A., etc.

Also, you don't act like a tourist, don't wear jewelry, carry cameras, etc. Again, daytime there are hundreds/thousands of people out in the beach area and have always felt very safe. At night, one of the reasons I like the Atlantico hotel, is that it is a very nice, affordable hotel, 1/2 block from one sauna, 2 blocks from another and across the street from the Metro station which is 6 stops from the third Sauna. It is on a major street with lots of car and pedistrian traffic even at 2:00 in the morning when we are walking back from Corujinha's restaurant. Also, if you feel vunerable, walk with someone, there is always another M4M there it seems like, LOL, and if not, any of the suana boys will walk back with you for a few dollars, or better yet, pick one out for an overnite and they will make sure you arrive at your room safe!! I have spent a total of 8 weeks there over the last 20 months and am going back on Monday, and have never had a problem nor has Gulliver, FloridaRobb, Robbguy, SFTraveller, Tri, etc. Bottom line - don't walk around at night by yourself, stick to the populated/tourist areas(which is where you would want to be anyway) be aware! Same advice I would gave you if you were coming to NYC or L.A. for a visit. I go to NYC often and feel very same walking around midtown, Chelsea/Village late at night, but I don't walk around the north end of central park/harlem/Bronx at night! Same rules really apply to what ever city you are in. If you want to go and feel very same, come the last week of October, there will be at least 15 M4M's there at the Atlantico then and you will have a whole group of "guides" to show you around, I will even offer my service to show you around(limited to the times I am not with a boy!!LOL )

[imrthr]

Hello again, Tomcal: Thank you very much for the detailed information and wise recommendations concerning Rio. My apprehension about travelling to Rio is now less. In your message you mentioned a hotel called Atlantico. Is it a similar type hotel to Bourbon in Montreal (predominately gay)? I assume that you know about the Bourbon. Is Atlantico a large hotel and is it friendly if one were to bring back a guest to the room. My interest in Rio is in high gear and I would like to know as much as possible about the city. Also, do you use United Airlines when you go there? How would I know who the M4M people are? Sorry to be a continuous question box. Thanks again.

[Guest Tomcal_]

Imrthr, go back to the April posts on this board and you will see alot of info, covering the hotel, suanas, restaurants, etc. or go in the Search section and type in Atlantico. If you click on the top right where it says Pages 1,2,3, etc. click on 5 and work forward, lot's of threads about these topics.

If you have any questions after reading those, email me and I will try and answer.

[trilingual]

RE: Security

 

Tomcal's right: exercise good judgement and you're unlikely to have any problems in Rio. Just remember that you're in a very big city (and not a resort) and behave accordingly. Don't go for strolls in poor/rough neighborhoods, especially at night, dress down (and as inconspicuously as possible, so it's probably best to avoid neon-colored clothing), wear NO jewelry and only a cheap plastic watch, and take cabs/metro when in doubt. However, the parts of Rio you're likely to visit as a tourist are as thronged as midtown Manhattan during the day, and pretty much as safe.

 

Some of the problems described in the State Department alert (and those things always sound alarmist in the extreme, IMHO) are now old news. There was idiocy happening in Copacabana and downtown earlier in the year -- part of it drug wars, part of it a running battle between police and street vendors downtown -- but it's all simmered down again. The police have managed to kill a number of the drug dealers and have imprisoned a bunch of others and it's starting to have the desired effect.

 

Go, act sensibly, and you'll find you've had a memorable trip!

[trilingual]

RE: Favorable Exchange Rates

 

The dollar is (somewhat mysteriously) strengthening again. This morning the Brazilian real is down to R$3.10 to the dollar, and the Argentine peso is at nearly 3 to the dollar. Start ordering those tickets and packing those bags, because things are becoming even more affordable there! How long this will last, of course, is anybody's guess. However, 3:1 is pretty much right on target as the exchange rate many economists and the governments of both countries think is ideal, so both currencies may stabilize around that price.