Beaches: Ipanema guide

Time to go to the beach!

Easy, put on your Anika bikini, grab a towel, don't forget the sunscreen and off you go, right?

WRONG.

Going to the beach in Rio is a true art form, and one to master. I want to help you all fit in, be temporary Cariocas and give you the inside scoop on what is going on in this wonderful city. So that being said I will ask you to first leave that HOTEL TOWEL at home, got it? Put your pareo, sunglasses and sunscreen in your big ol´ beach bag, put on your Havaianas and hit the beach guys.

Now...which beach?

See, things aren't as easy as they look in Rio. You might think, well I am staying in Ipanema, so I will go to the beach in Ipanema. Yes, you will, but each part of the beach draws a different crowd, which makes it quite fun, as well as a complete anthropological study.

(BTW you might not want to go to Leblon beach, even if you are staying there bc the water can get pretty dirty)

You will notice that there are what they call "postos" with numbers on them. They are easy to reference and to find and that is often how friends decide where to meet. I am going to generalize below so don´t be offended.

Posto 9: Has been the cool Posto for many years. Maybe for that reason it is not as cool as it once was, but it has a generally attractive crowd of people in their 20-early 30's.

Posto 8: Located in front of Farme de Almoedo street and you will certainly notice all of the rainbow flags and very pretty boys in very tight speedos!

Arpoador: At the far left hand side of Ipanema if you are facing the water. It has a mixxed crowd and is one of my favorite parts of Ipanema. There are millionaires and poor kids from the slums all sunning and enjoying the beach. Afterwards you can walk up the rock and have an amazing view of the sunset.

Country: In front of the fanciest country club of Rio, this is where the golden boys and girls of Rio come, hey if you aren´t golden in your early 20's when will you be? Between Henrique Dumont and Anibal de Medonca streets.

beijos,

Monika