Paraty

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

April 17, 2016 by David Herd

Copacabana-Brazil-babes-bikinis-Rio de Janeiro

View from my apartment

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro is one of the world’s great beaches. This is my sixth visit to this fabulous city, my rented apartment is right across the road from the beach.

Copacabana Beach Rio de Janeiro, say no more.

These two look like they mean business.

Alan Austin and his wife Renata

Alan & I met in Rio and became very good friends, unfortunately the following year he ran into some problems with the English authorities and I now he lives in England.

It’s now 2018 & after 11.5 years as a guest of Her Majesty Alan will be a free man in August.

Shenanigans Ipanema

Monday nights here there are lots of specials and the place gets really crowded. The guy in the red shirt is Alan’s Las Vegas friend Jay.

Two dozen oysters = two days food poisoning

I was totally out of it for 48 hours after eating these oysters on the beach.

The Evil eye

The look on his face should have warned me about eating his oysters. He even had madman printed on his cap. 🙂

The girl from Copacabana

I was relaxing on the beach when this vision appeared in front of me. I have never been one to let a golden opportunity pass so I brushed up on my social skills and introduced myself. Her name was Mel and she came from neighbouring Niteroi. Lo & behold within an hour we were in my apartment making mad passionate love. This certainly was one on the best days of my trip. ?

Mel from Niteroi

Mel is around 6′ tall with amazing green eyes, a total knock out. It is 2015 and I still have her photo on a shelf in my condo. ?

How about those fabulous eyes?

I have to admit the fact that Mel spoke no English did not bother me at all. 🙂

John, an Aussie guy who owned “The Office” restaurant.

John was an Aussie guy from Sydney and we swapped many stories about people we knew and knew of, mainly well known Sydney gangsters. ? The following year John in fact was abducted by Brazilian gangsters who forced him to go to his home in Angra Dos Rios and pen his safe which they cleaned out.

Copacabana eye candy

One of the best locations on Earth for gorgeous females.

Late afternoon at Copacabana

Looking down from my apartment you can see the shadows staring to creep across the beach.

Kiosks on Copacabana

Every 50 meters along the beach there is a kiosk where you can buy a beer or a hamburger and watch the passing parade.

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

Copacabana beach babes are among the sexiest girls in the world. My photo blogs with the most visits involve Brazilian babes so I thought I would add to the collection with samples from my 2 months in Rio from December 2007 to February 2008.

Making a splash

There is no better place in the world to see beautiful beach babes than Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro.

Nice hat

Hat, what hat, I don’t see a hat?

Now can you see a hat?

Is this a trick question? Who looks at hats on Copacabana beach?

The sea was angry that day my friends.

You don’t often see big waves at Copacabana but this particular day the surf was quite rough. In fact it was new years eve 2007 and Copacabana was preparing for a crowd of 2 million people.

Smile for the camera

Brazilians absolutely love the beach, check out my most popular blog here.

Ah! The colours of Brazil.

Are you aware Brazil’s Primary colours are green and yellow? Just saying…………

Time for a lunch break

The prawns are very good however I was laid low for 48 hours after eating 2 dozen oysters on the beach. ?

Two pretty girls

All you need is a camera on Copacabana because the talent is unlimited. ?

Look closely you may see a tattoo

Tattoo? I don’t see a tattoo.

No tattoos here

A fabulous body like this does not need any tattoos.

Copacabana Rio de Janeiro

All my friends who know and love Rio will remember the wonderful times we had at “HELP” nightclub on Avenue Atlantica. Many thanks for visiting my Copacabana Rio de Janeiro photo blog, without any doubt in the world “you gotta love Rio”.

Rio was part of a fabulous world trip starting in Sydney and finishing in Bangkok.

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Copacabana beautiful beach babes

December 13, 2015 by David Herd

Rio de Janeiro

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

Copacabana beautiful beach babes are among the sexiest girls in the world. My photo blogs with the most visits involve Brazilian babes so I thought I would add to the collection with samples from my 2 months in Rio from December 2007 to February 2008.

Copacabana beautiful beach babes making a splash

There is no better place in the world to see beautiful beach babes than Copacabana in Rio de Janeiro.

Nice hat

Hat, what hat, I don’t see a hat?

Now can you see a hat?

Is this a trick question? Who looks at hats on Copacabana beach?

The sea was angry that day my friends.

You don’t often see big waves at Copacabana but this particular day the surf was quite rough. In fact it was new years eve 2007 and Copacabana was preparing for a crowd of 2 million people.

For a great hotel room rate in RIO just book through THIS LINK.

Smile for the camera

Brazilians absolutely love the beach, check out my most popular blog here.

Ah! The colours of Brazil.

Are you aware Brazil’s Primary colours are green and yellow? Just saying…………

Pink towels are very attractive

Pink towel, I don’t see a pink towel 🙂

Copacabana beautiful beach babes

All you need is a camera on Copacabana because the talent is unlimited. 🙂

Look closely you may see a tattoo

Tattoo? I don’t see a tattoo.

No tattoos here

A fabulous body like this does not need any tattoos.

My friend Mary

My lovely friend Mary is now happily married and living in Miami.

Mary from the other side.

We had some very good times together in Rio de Janeiro, perhaps I’ll see her again one day in Miami.

Are you taking my photo?

Yes, I certainly am.

Flying fish

I asked the guy if he was going to throw it back, he said “no, I’m going to eat it”.

Copacabana beach babes

And still they come with a body to die for.

Two cheeky girls

I spent over 2 months in Brazil this trip, as well as Rio I visited Florianopolis, Curitiba, Balneario Camboriu and Paraty.

Three hours from Rio and one of my favourite places in Brazil. I know they are not Copacabana beach babes however the girls from Paraty are worth a look.

New Years Eve 2007

It’s only 2 pm and the crowd is building in anticipation of celebrating the New Year.

Rio Orthon a perfect location.

For a great room rate just book through THIS LINK, book now & pay later, includes free cancellation.

I’ll be watching from over there

There will be nine cruise ships anchored offshore and two million people will arrive all dressed in white.

Ebony

What a magnificent colour.

Here is a webcam focused on Copacabana.

Beach boogie

What time can we start having fun?

It will take weeks to get the smile off my face

Many thanks for visiting my Copacabana beach babes photo blog, I’m sure you will agree it’s the best eye candy in the world.

For a great hotel room rate just book through THIS LINK.

Check out the live webcam here.

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Travel tips fabulous countries

August 30, 2015 by David Herd

David Herd is the FiveStarVagabond

Travel tips fabulous countries

Travel tips fabulous countries feature some of my favourite places, many people may think I’m a bit of a dinosaur & perhaps I am, however I don’t know any other person who has travelled more than I during the last 30 years. Therefore I hope can provide you with a few ideas on where to go for your next holiday.

I’ll list the 5 countries in alphabetical order rather than by personal preference.

Australia

The home of my birth and a country that offers a huge diversification of incredible travel destinations. Most people find it difficult to grasp the size of this great country, don’t make the mistake of trying to cover too much in 3 or 4 weeks, better to come back another time.

Sydney is the most spectacular city but don’t forget Perth and Adelaide both wonderful cities also. Then of course there is the Gold Coast in Queensland with it’s wonderful weather and beautiful beaches.

For a good budget hotel in Sydney just book through this link. Broadbeach is the best place to stay on the Gold Coast, here is a very good value apartment block in a perfect location.

Three suggestions

Sydney Great Ocean Rd Outback

I drove from Adelaide to Melbourne along the Great Ocean road Australia in October 2014, I had driven this road once before in 1988.

Brazil Travel tips one of the five fabulous countries

Bigger and more diverse than Australia I have enjoyed 8 visits to the wonderful country. Rio de Janeiro is fabulous however there is so much more to see. Apart from Rio my favourite places are Praia de Pipa, Paraty, Iguazu Falls & Florianoplis.

Check out these Brazilian posts

Camboriu Rio’s beaches Fortaleza

Since 2004, the blocos have exploded and now there are now nearly 300 blocos with over 40 new ones appearing for the 2007 Carnaval. The first blocos started only a little over ten years ago. This is the heart of the “Street Carnival” which includes the greater likelihood of locals playing percussion instruments with their friends at their favorite hangout as well as the Bandstands and the many Parades of downtown’s Rio Branco Avenue. These events are inclusive and practice for the musicians begins months before the Carnaval and the parades do not end until Sunday of the following weekend.

Croatia is a must for travellers here are Travel tips fabulous countries

It was March 2005 before I finally made it to this fascinating country, the photo above is the coastal city of Split. I travelled by bus between the major cities to see more of the actual country. I had a terrific 2 bedroom apartment in a great location for only $50 per night, book through this link.

Next door is Bosnia so make sure you also visit the wonderful city of Mostar.

Split Dubrovnik Zagreb

In Zagreb I stayed at the excellent hotel Dubrovnik overlooking the Main Square you see above, it was a perfect location with good wifi. Marc van Bloemen owner of Karmen apartments in Dubrovnik was the perfect host, he a friendly Englishman who will point you in the right direction for restaurants, tours & places of interests, he also has a great knowledge of Dubrovniks history.

United Kingdom

So many places to see & so much history. I travel there most years making London my base, then visit cities & towns all over the country either by train or car. Apart from London some of my favourite places are Brighton, Bath, Glasgow & Bradford on Avon. The photo above is Gold Hill is a steep cobbled street in the town of Shaftesbury in the English county of Dorset.

London pubs Lands End Hyde Park

Travel tips. Great Britain has an excellent rail service, save up to 80% by booking your ticket before you arrive, just click here. London Underground’s Piccadilly Line provides the most cost-effective rail route between Heathrow Airport and the capital, so look for accommodation around Earl’s Court, Gloucester Rd or Knightsbridge. For more information click here.

France

Where do you start Paris or Monte Carlo, the choices are endless in this wonderful country. One of my favourite holidays was based in Breil Sur Roya a small village in the mountains near the Italian border just north of Menton. From here I was able to explore many medieval French & Italian villages as well as the fabulous French Riviera. The Roya river runs through town and is open to trout anglers from March to September. Part of the trout run is reserved for fly-fishing. Trout anglers share the river with white water rafters, another popular local sport.

Saorge St Tropez Versailles

Chateau de Versailles Paris is a fabulous destination which made my bucket list as soon as I saw the Woody Allen movie “Midnight in Paris”. When the Château was built, Versailles was a country village; today, however, it is a wealthy suburb of Paris, some 20 kilometres southwest of the French capital.

Italy

My favourite European Country by a long shot. The food, the wine, the crazy drivers who park anywhere, there is so much to see & do it’s hard to know where to start. Rome, Florence, Venice there are so many great cities, however if I had to pick two favourites they would be Sam Gimignano and the Cinque Terre.

Florence Lake Como Portofino

Travel tip, take a wonderful one hour walk from Santa Margherita. The homes are truly magnificent, prepare yourself for a great experience when you arrive at the beautiful waterfront village of Portofino. The buildings, the boats, the restaurants, it’s all there. Just make sure you have your credit card and a wallet full of Euros. For the budget minded like myself it makes more sense to stay at Santa Margherita and visit Portofino on foot or by ferry. The Lido Palace is on the beach if you want to go upmarket, my hotel was one block back and reasonable priced, with free car parking, The Mediterraneo.

Thanks for visiting my Travel tips fabulous countries photo blog.

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Pattaya Hilton

This is the view from Horizons the amazing rooftop bar. A great five star hotel located opposite the beach & above the Central Festival shopping mall. Just book through THIS LINK for an excellent room rate.

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Tokyo London Lisbon Rio

March 27, 2015 by David Herd

One of my greatest ever trips

Tokyo London Lisbon Rio

Tokyo London Lisbon Rio NYC, plus Florianopolis, Belnario Camboriu, and Curitiba. In 2007 my 2 month trip which turned out to be one of the two best around the world journeys I have ever done.

Anyone for coffee?

Food, food and more food, you gotta love Tokyo. It is certainly one of my favourite cities in the world. In fact I was here for the first time in April this year and loved it so much I’m back in December.

Joan and Bill from Wiltshire

In fact we were having dinner in Bath, I was travelling to Dorchester the next day with Bill to visit his brother Alan who was a guest of Her Majesty.

Gold Hill, Shaftesbury

Gold Hill is a steep cobbled street in the town of Shaftesbury in the English county of Dorset. It is famous for its picturesque appearance; the view looking down from the top of the street has been described as “one of the most romantic sights in England

Lisbon

Fado is a music genre which can be traced to the 1820s in Portugal, but probably with much earlier origins.

Lisbon restaurant

Lisbon is a great city for food as you can clearly see. 🙂

Rio de Janeiro NYE Copacabana

December 2007 and the city is winding up for New Years Eve. After a couple of weeks I will go to Curitiba to meet my friend Craig aka Sudzy from Australia, then after visiting a few cities we will head back to Rio for Carnival

Sergio, do you think our ship will ever come in?

Beautiful Copacabana and the first of nine cruise ships arrive for NYE

Curitiba

A nice city south of Sao Paulo however one visit is enough, there are more interesting places further south as you will see.

Curitiba

I met my friend Craig from Australia and we set out for Florianopolis.

Florianopolis.

Florianopolis wonderful Brazilian city, the photo above is Joaquina beach which is famous throughout the world for surfing.

Florianopolis.

Barra da Lagoa Beach has good waves, clear water and a tropical rain-forest, this makes Barra da Lagoa the kind of place you can easily loose track of time! Just sit back and watch the pretty girls at play.

Balneário Camboriú a Brazilian surprise

We had never heard of this place until we were in Florianopolis and what a fabulous surprise it turned out to be.

Balneário Camboriú

A similar statue to Rio de Janeiro. Balneário Camboriú is famous for the cable car which (uniquely in the world) links the two beaches of Balneário Camboriú and Laranjeiras. The town is located 10 km (6.2 mi) south of the city of Itajaí and 80 km (50 mi) north of the state capital, Florianópolis, and has a population of 94,344 (2007 census office estimate), which swells to over one million in the summer.

Balneário Camboriú

Antonio cycled around the world for UNESCO in 1999, on his trip the both times he was robbed was in Australia while the Olympics were on in 2000. And people say Brazil is dangerous.

Paraty

It’s Probably not hard to guess why this is my favourite photo, a rose between two thorns, I don’t think so. Paraty grew in the 18th century as a strategically important port for exporting the gold mined in Minas Gerais. When shipments in nearby Rio began to attract the attention and ambition of pirates and privateers from rival European powers, the Portuguese began using Paraty as their safe port for getting their gold to Lisbon.

Magnificent Brazilian girl

To see more of this beautiful creature just follow THIS LINK.

Take me to your leader

Once a year, when the great Rio De Janeiro carnival takes place, the coastal town Paraty which is located 250 km south west to Rio, holds a unique carnival. In Paraty’s Mud Carnival – (Portuguese: Bloco da lama) the costumes that its participants wear is black sticky mud which is smeared on their bodies. The carnival preserves the ancient local tradition when the Indians smeared their bodies with black mud for medical reasons, and held ritual ceremonies in order to bring cure to the ill. In contrary to Rio carnival where the participants wear marvelous colored costumes, in Paraty carnival the fiesta is based mostly on the simplicity of the junction between men and nature.

Back to Rio for Carnival

After a fascinating trip down south we head back to Rio for Carnival.

Carnival in Ipanema

Ipanema Carnival street party was one of the best nights in my life with my friend Dave Wylie. There was a “bloco” going on in front of the restaurant. A “bloco” is a block party during carnival. There are hundreds of them just in Rio. They are organized by local Carnival groups and the best ones move up the food chain of blocks to become the big samba schools that put on the big Carnival parades each year that Rio is famous for. We had a window table at “Garota de Ipanema” with of course means “The Girl from Ipanema”, and this is the exact spot the song was written in 1962, with music by Antônio Carlos Jobim and Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes. English lyrics were written later by Norman Gimbel.

With Dave Wylie at Garota de Ipanema

Here I am with my good friend Dave Wylie at our window table at Garota de Ipanema. All night the action was all around us as you can see from the photos. As I said earlier Ipanema Carnival it was one of the best and most memorable nights of my life. Another equally memorable night was 4 weeks earlier, New Years Eve on Copacabana, simply awesome.

Garota de Ipanema

This crazy guy was so funny, he was absolutely smashed and spoke to Dave Wylie who is fluent in Portuguese, he said “Voce sabe quem eu sou?” (do you know who I am?”) “Eu sou o deus de dor da cabesa”) (I am the God of Headaches”).

I love New York

As I said before New York is my favourite city, I like to say to friends, if the cities of the world could be likened to a horse race, New York would win by 10 lengths over the next bunch of cities which would include Paris, London, Sydney, Bangkok, Tokyo, Rome, Budapest, Amsterdam, Rio De Janeiro & Cape Town, not necessarily in that order.

Gallaghers steakhouse 52nd st

Surf and Turf, say no more.

Phil Barkin and Gordon Shanks

Phil now lives in Manila and both these guys love to visit Pattaya.

UPDATE, it’s October 2017 & Phil has moved back to Florida.

Thanks for visiting and sharing my memories.

I hope you enjoyed my Tokyo London Lisbon Rio NYC photo blog.

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Salvador North Coast Brazil

February 21, 2015 by David Herd

Pelourinho-Salvador-Bahia-Brazil-sexy-bikini

Fascinating & Unique

Salvador North Coast Brazil

Salvador North Coast Brazil is Brazil’s 3rd largest city. Most of the population is in part descended from African slaves, who were mainly from Nigeria, Ghana, Togo and Benin.

Praia do Porto da Barra

We stayed in a hotel opposite this beach which is is only 5 kms from the historic centre Pelourinho.

Fort de Santa Maria

Logo Nassau organized civil guards of Recife, Paraíba and Itamaracá to reinforce the troops and set off on April 8 1638, at the head of a naval fleet of 36 units at 3,600 Europeans and Indians. He began the assault on Salvador in April 16, landing and gaining the surrender of the strong St. Albert, St. Philip and St. Bartholomew. But as Bagnuolo and the Governor-General had overcome their differences, Pernambuco army and the local garrison were united against the invasion consequently on the night of May 17 & 18 Nassau lost 300 men.

I met Monica on the beach

Mark it down as a big mistake, everything was ok for the first 2 days then she went kind of crazy. I actually cut my trip short by two days and flew back to Rio de Janeiro to catch up with Renilda, a gorgeous lady I met there the previous week.

Crazy Monica 🙂

Crazy is an understatement, anyhow after a brief fling I got out of Dodge. 🙂

Pelourinho

The Historic Centre known as The Pelourinho is located in the western zone of the city’s centre, and was named for the whipping post (Pelourinho means Pillory) in its central plaza where African slaves received punishment for various infractions and disciplinary purposes.

The Pelourinho, is extremely rich in historical monuments dating from the 17th through the 19th centuries. Salvador was the first colonial capital of Brazil and the city is one of the oldest in the New World (founded in 1549 by Portuguese settlers). It was also the first slave market on the continent, with slaves arriving to work on the sugar plantations.

Salvador Bahia Brazil

Once the capital city of Brazil from 1549 up until 1763 when it was succeeded by Rio de Jeneiro, Salvador da Bahia is considered to be the happiest place in the country. The city is best known for its food, music and general party atmosphere due to the numerous parties that now take place there.

Pellourinho

Salvador is the second most popular tourism destination in Brazil, after Rio de Janeiro. Tourism and cultural activity are important generators of employment and income, boosting the arts and the preservation of artistic and cultural heritage.

Chief among the points of interest are its famous Pelourinho (named after the colonial pillories that once stood there) district, its historic churches, and its beaches.

Elevador Lacerda

Elevator Lacerda is the first elevator Urban World. In December 1873 , when it opened, it was the highest in the world, about 63 meters.

Elevador Lacerda

This is the best way to get up to the old city and for 15 Reals (each way)

Salvador North Coast Brazil

At the beginning of the 17th century, a crane was used to transport goods from the port to the upper city.

Monica in front of Sousa Palace

Sousa Square (also known as City Square) is a square located in the historic centre of Salvador , where there is a lot of public buildings in the city, such as Sousa Palace (now city hall).

Pothole has a way with children

Pothole aka John Martin certainly has a way with children. A grown up family in Australia & 2 young boys in Thailand.

The rest of the team

Pothole aka John Martin & Tony Murphy.

Thanks for visiting Salvador Bahia Brazil

Thats all from Salvador North Coast Brazil, bye for now from David and crazy Monica. 🙂

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Holiday Inn

Fabulous views, excellent restaurants & a very good room rate if you book through THIS LINK.

The building in the middle is the Holiday Inn, on the left is the Amari Hotel which is another very good five star hotel. Use THIS LINK to book for a very good room rate.

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Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

February 13, 2015 by David Herd

Copacabana-new years eve-2007-Rio-Brazil

A wonderful unique experience

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve and the cruise ships are arriving. Nine huge floating palaces drop anchor to watch tonight’s spectacle. Music fireworks & noise.

Lovely hostess

I paid $400 for a ticket to a cocktail party on the 12th floor overlooking Copacabana beach. The lovely lady above let me visit the venue mid afternoon to take some photos.

Sugarloaf Mountain

Mid afternoon and you can see the crowd building up. Two million people are expected to gather tonight at Copacabana most of whom will be wearing white.

Around 4 pm the crowd builds up

Through the afternoon the crowd starts to build.

More ships arrive

Nine huge ships arrived for the show.

A burning question

Sergio, we are in Copacabana Beach New Years Eve, do you think our ship will ever come in?

Now here is how we are going to handle troublemakers

Final instruction at 5.30 pm, the Rio cops are a very mean bunch.

The shadows cover the beach

The anticipation is building, you can fell the excitement in the air.

Going home to freshen up

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve an d as far as I’m concerned she is dressed perfectly.

The party begins

Here is where I am watching the celebration, lots of food and booze, after all we did pay $400. 🙂

Here they come

I have never seen a crowd this big anywhere before.

More and more all dressed in white

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve and millions come to celebrate.

The excitement is building & more people arrive

I was in the perfect spot to see everything.

Standing room only

What a night it was, worth every cent.

In the top right hand corner you can see the Sofitel hotel, the location is perfect between Copacabana & Ipanema. For an excellent room rate just book through THIS LINK.

I’m happy to be above the crowd

Let the games begin.

KERBOOM!!!!!!

The fireworks begins, 2 million people onshore and nine cruise ships anchored off the beach.

Spectacular fireworks

You can see five of the nine cruise ships here in this photo.

Lots of noise

Noise from the Fireworks and the amplified music that is blasting out from huge speakers along the beach.

Here is the live action

Copacabana Rio Di Janeiro in Brazil, NYE, an awesome experience

Watch this video on YouTube

Copacabana Beach New Years Eve and the beat goes on

The noise was quite incredible.

The show went on for hours

I left around 1 am knowing I had seen the most spectacular NYE celebration in my life. The Sydney fireworks is certainly superior however when you add two million screaming people into the mix at one of the world’s great beaches it is game over.

I hope you enjoyed my NYE experience

Of course for sheer drama and chaos check out Sydney New Year’s Eve 1981.

Checkout some more of my terrific blogs on the links below.

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Great hotel room rates anywhere in the world if you book

through these links below. Book now & pay later.

Free Cancellation.

Bangkok Hotels Pattaya Hotels

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Pipa Beach North Brazil

December 4, 2014 by David Herd

Pipa Beach brazil

Pipa Beach North Coast Brazil

Pipa Beach North Coast Brazil, I remember sitting in a bar in Rio Di Janeiro with two friends Dave Wylie & Doug Roarke, (RIP) and when I asked what was their favorite place in Brazil, Doug briefly considered the question before saying “Praia de Pipa”. Until that moment I had never heard of the place, but on Doug’s recommendation I planned my trip. Pipa Beach Brazil quickly became one of my favorite places in the world.

Simone Cristina Oliveira

I traveled 300 kilometers by taxi from with my friend Simone from Natal to Recife, we stopped in Pipa for a few days along the way.

Low tide in Pipa

I’m sitting on the dock of the bay……..

landua pousada Praia da Pipa

Only 30 meters to the water, in fact the photo at the top is right in front of the hotel.

View from landua pousada

A wonderful location in this beach paradise.

Great bar close to our hotel

Bar, what bar? I don’t see a bar. 🙂

The ice cream man.

Sorry, I prefer a cold beer. 🙂

Eye candy at Pipa beach

A little eye candy never goes astray. 🙂

Don’t walk away Jose

Great beach view here, this guy is certainly punching above his weight. 🙂

What! No water…..

But who cares?

Low tide at Pipa

No fishing for these guys until the tide comes in.

Very low tide at Pipa

Who cares about the tide? 🙂

Enjoying low tide at Pipa

Back it comes.

Pipa Beach North Coast Brazil

A great day for a swim before lunch on the beach.

Look closely you may see some fish.

Fish, what fish? I don’t see any fish.

Fresh for dinner tonight

I’m looking forward to dinner.

Fresh fish for dinner

Huge servings in Brazil.

Caipirinha before dinner

It’s got a kick like a mule. 🙂

Lovely Simone, what magnificent skin colour.

Plus she is one of the nicest ladies I have eve known.

Surfs up

Very small waves here I’m afraid. 🙂

Local artist

Lot’s of colour here.

Didgeridoo

Half a world away from Australia we came across these Scandinavian guys playing Didgeridoos, amazing.

Where does that tattoo end?

Would be a lot of fun finding out. 🙂

A perfect day.

Most days in Pipa are perfect. 🙂

Sand hills all along the coast

The sand hills stretch for miles.

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Samba Schools street parades

September 22, 2014 by David Herd

Carnival parade on Avenue Atlantica

Samba Schools street parades

Samba Schools street parades are called blocos in Rio, Carnival time in 2005 was just one huge non stop party. The excitement generated is absolutely electric.

Blocos are the street bands and groups

Blocos are the street bands and groups that are the main popular expression in Carnival of Pernambuco in Brazil. These celebrations are mixed under the term “street carnival”, a term that still includes the bandstands and parades at streets of Olinda and Recife, and happen during a period of about two months (beginning before and finishing after Carnival).

The biggest bloco is the Galo da Madrugada that attracts more than 2,000,000 people to downtown Recife.

Bloco on Avenue Atlantica Copacabana

The biggest bloco in Brazil is the Galo da Madrugada that attracts more than 2,000,000 people to downtown Recife.

Bloco truck in Copacabana

Never a dull moment in Copacabana.

Samba Schools street parades

You really almost need earplugs the music is so load. 🙂

Check out the speakers in the truck below

Since 2004, the blocos have exploded and now there are now nearly 300 blocos with over 40 new ones appearing for the 2007 Carnaval. The first blocos started only a little over ten years ago. This is the heart of the “Street Carnival” which includes the greater likelihood of locals playing percussion instruments with their friends at their favorite hangout as well as the Bandstands and the many Parades of downtown’s Rio Branco Avenue.

These events are inclusive and practice for the musicians begins months before the Carnaval and the parades do not end until Sunday of the following weekend.

Same corner later that night

My apologies for the out of focus photo.

Full house on Copacabana beach

Of course it is almost shoulder to shoulder on the beach.

Samba Schools street parades Avenue Atlantica Copacabana

The noise, the people, the music is fantastic.

Samba vs Marchinhas

“If they have brass, they’ll usually call themselves a “banda”. Either way, they’ll rehearse for a month or two, or maybe not rehearse at all, and then they rent a sound truck for the singers and guitarists to ride on, and have a big parade. It’s sort of a “Let’s have a party!” down-home approach to Carnaval. It’s actually the way the escolas-de-samba used to be, way back in the old days…… Most blocos play samba or, if they have a brass band, they might play marchinhas, the peppy European polka-type music of old-school Carnaval. Carnaval music used to all be marchinhas, back in the 30’s, before samba was brought to Rio by immigrants from Bahia.”

Bloco in Copacabana

Carnival time in Rio is something everybody should try to experience at least once in their life.

One of the Blocos in Rio

The crowd at Copacabana is building.

Dancing in the street

The Rio de Janeiro street carnival begins in November. The street carnival are structured in groups named: bloco, cordon, band or rancho but they are really about simple fun with others. If you wander in the zona sul districts of Gávea, Ipanema, Leblon, Copacabana and Botafogo during the Carnaval you will often find them hanging out prior to parading. This is known as the period of Concentration.

Most bands also have official T-shirts for sale on the spot for about US$10, to help with the costs. They make great souvenirs, as they are sold only on Rio Carnival days.

Samba Schools street parades dancing with chairs

Not too sure why the chairs play a part, tradition I guess.

This is Dave Sommer & his girlfriend

Dave lived & worked in Sao Paulo in the insurance industry, he & his girl both danced in the parade at the Sambadrome. I was lucky to have them take me to their Samba school to see everyone preparing the costumes & the instruments.

Sadly Dave was brutally murdered in Sao Paula January 29 2015, RIP buddy.

Trying on her Samba hat.

With some help from her excited Mum. 🙂

Here I am with mother & daughter.

What a lovely two Brazilian ladies, it was such a pleasure being invited into their home.

And here she is in the parade

Can you imagine my joy & happiness when I spotted my friend in the parade and was able to get this great shot. Before I left Rio I had it framed as a present for her. Sambadrome is the name given to an exhibition place for the Samba Schools in Brazil. It generally consists of spectator viewing areas surrounding a long alley for the schools to parade down.

Here is the Mocidade Samba school

The Mocidade Independente de Padre Miguel Samba School, commonly known as Mocidade, formed out of a local football (soccer) club from the favela of Padre Miguel in Vila Vintém, a neighborhood located on the western side of the city of Rio de Janeiro. Known for its unique and unparalleled style of dance and its excellence in teaching its members the steps of the samba, Mocidade competed in its first Rio Carnival parade in 1955.

Competing in Group B, by 1958 Mocidade won its first Group title, which bumped the Samba School up to the higher tiered Access Group. In 1976, Mocidade placed fifth in the Special Group and were the Rio Carnival runners-up in 1976. Finally, in 1979 the Mocidade Samba School won its first overall Rio Carnival title with a spectacular interpretation of its theme, “The Discovery of Brazil”.

Ever since, Mocidade has been known for the the unity and synchronicity in its performances, tying together the various aspects of plot with an innovative use of dance, music, costumes and floats. Known for its futuristic design concepts, Mocidade shocked the audience, judges, and other parading Samba Schools with a miraculous flying parader — a first in Rio Carnival history!

Mocidade Samba School

Do you hear the drums Fernando?

Dave has got his hat & instructions.

I think Dave had to pay the school about $400 to participate in the parade. Dave Sommer lived & worked in Sao Paulo, Sadly he was brutally murdered on January 11 2015.

It all leads up to Carnival, the greatest show on Earth.

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Magnificent Brazilian girls dancing Samba in Parity.

Watch this video on YouTube

Sexy Brazilian blond dancing the Samba

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Sexy Babes Copacabana Beach

September 18, 2014 by David Herd

Two fantastic looking ladies

Sexy Babes Copacabana Beach

Sexy Babes Copacabana Beach in 2005 and I was there to help them have a great time. Probably one of my best trips to Rio, in fact it may have been the best. Good friends, beautiful women & lots of fun.

Above is a perfect example of the beautiful sexy Brazilian girls who flock to Rio from all over Brazil at Carnival time. On the left is Samantha with one of the most beautiful smiles I have ever seen. I was lucky enough to spend some time with her.

Samantha, oh what a smile.

Samantha came from the country outside of Rio, I tried to contact her again when I returned in 2007 but the language barrier made it just too difficult to speak on the phone. I should have tried harder.

Haniball Lector lookalike

Carnival is party time, there are so many wonderful characters, no wonder they call it the greatest show on Earth.

Another beautiful face in Copacabana

Her name is Sylvia, a friend of Dave Wylie.

Tall & tanned & young & lovely

During the day the beach is the place to be and to be seen.

Back to Samantha at Copacabana.

Yes, the more I think about it the more I think this was my best Rio trip.

Sensational bikini babe at Copacabana

This beautiful girl in the orange bikini has the most wonderful skin colour, among everything else of course. 🙂

I really had to look twice to be sure she was real 🙂

That is what I call a very healthy well built girl, her name is Irene, you gotta love Rio.

Doug, & two Daves at Copacabana.

Doug is the guy kissing the lady, he sadly passed away a year or two after this photo was taken. A very nice man who’s company is missed by all his friends. Dave Sommer is in the middle, he lived & worked in Sao Paulo, Sadly he was brutally murdered on January 11 2015. Dave Wylie is now in Crescent City and thinking about returning to Thailand in 2015.

OK, back to the babes

Not too much has to be said about this photo, it seems to speak for itself. I must point out however that sexy topless girls are rare in Rio de Janeiro, one of the few locations is on Copacabana Beach in front of the Orthon Hotel.

Talking about hotels in Rio, if you want a very good discount just book through THIS LINK.

Copacabana is packed at Carnival

Naturally the beaches are very crowded around Carnival & the weather in February is usually magnificent.

Tatiane & Marcelli, gorgeous girls.

My friend Dave Wylie introduced me to Tatiane & Marcelli, two absolutely gorgeous Brazilian girls.

What was her name?

I forget her name, but I spent some time with her after meeting her on the beach. 🙂

Surfs up at Copacabana

Quite unusual to see such a rough surf here, usually the waves are quite gentle compared to other Brazilian & Australian beaches, especially Sydney at Bondi.

Another beautiful face

My favourite spot of an evening was the side-walk restaurant outside HELP nightclub. It was such a great scene, quite a large rectangular area and dozens of beautiful girls would circle it hoping for an invitation to sit down and have a drink with you. It was a little like the wild west days when the Indians would surround the wagons. 🙂

Evening wear Copacabana style.

At carnival time anything goes in the fashion stakes as you can plainly see. 🙂

I’ll try anything to attract a lady

There is no trick I won’t try to attract a ladies attention. Do you think this strategy is sending the right message?

Age is no barrier

An 85 yo American guy having a ball, age is no barrier in Copacabana at Carnival.

I keep coming back to Samantha

Her lovely smile would light up a room, I’m just thankful it was my room. 🙂

Sexy Babes Copacabana Beach

160,000 people live in Copacabana and 44,000 or 27.5% of them are 60 years old or older. Copacabana covers an area of 7.84 km which gives the borough a population density of 20,400 people per km². Residential buildings eleven to thirteen stories high built right next to each other dominate the borough. Houses and two-story buildings are rare. When Rio was the capital of Brazil this was considered one of the best neighbourhoods in the country if not the best. Therefore the sea front apartments are extremely luxurious and classical. In the 1970s the neighbourhood descended in the social scales and now is one of the most overcrowded in the planet.

Dave Wylie in his element.

One of the sexy babes with my good friend Dave who lived in Rio for around 10 years & speaks fluent Portuguese. He was the motivation for me to start my travel blog in June 2013.

My lovely friend Jackie

We met on the internet 3 years ago and have been friends ever since. Jackie has two children & speaks 3 languages, Italian, English & Portuguese. We are dining at Milano Doc between Copacabana & Ipanema in Rio De Janeiro.

What about those beautiful eyes?

This is beautiful Diana, all 39 kilos of her. 🙂

The girl with the fluffy tail

Here is Leila, as I said before anything goes in fashion when Carnival is on.

These sexy babes caught me with the camera.

Sprung again, this is one of my favourite photos, I love the look on her face when she caught me taking the photo.

Sugarloaf mountain

Sugarloaf mountain Rio De Janeiro dominates the Copacabana skyline, take the cable car to the top for one of the greatest views in the world.

Street parade on Avenue Atlantica

Thousands of party animals follow the trucks which have music blaring and people cheering & having fun. I plan to write another post just on the street Blocos & the Carnival preparations, stay tuned. 🙂

Beautiful Carla

I met this beautiful lady 2 years ago in 2003 and I really must show you a photo from then.

Carla in 2003

Carla has the most magnificent skin colour I have ever seen.

Many thanks for visiting my Sexy Babes Copacabana Beach photo blog.

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Copacabana Ipanema Bikini Babes

September 13, 2014 by David Herd

Copacabana Beach

Copacabana Ipanema Bikini Babes

Copacabana Ipanema bikini babes and much more can be seen at both these great beaches in Rio de Janeiro. No beach on Earth offers the exciting panorama of these playgrounds of the rich & poor.

It was October 2009, the weather was magnificent & I caught up with many of my old & new friends in this wonderful city.

Stick around I’m going to take you on a tour from Copacabana to Ipanema via Arpoador.

Copacabana bars & cafes

Every 50 meters along Copacabana there is a fabulous cafe bar where you can eat, drink & watch the beach volleyball, or if you are that way inclined just gaze longingly at the beautiful bikini clad Cariocas. 🙂

The cafe above is one of the newer versions replacing the older one like you see below.

A great place to sit and watch the world go by.

Here is a webcam focused on Copacabana.

Did I mention bikini clad Cariocas?

Carioca is a Brazilian adjective or demonym that is used to refer to the native inhabitants of the city of Rio de Janeiro.

This guy is punching way above his weight

One of the many fabulous brown skin bikini babes on Copacabana.

Copacabana with Sugarloaf in the background

A trip to Sugarloaf mountain is a must do.

A typical New Years Eve

In Copacabana the crowds build up from mid afternoon, at night there are around 2 million people on the beach dressed in white.

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David Young sadly passed away March 2 2013

He suffered for years with a very bad painful back then underwent a couple of operations where metal screws were inserted into his spine. Infection set in and they had to be replaced & finally it all became too much and this nice friend of mine passed away in the city he loved.

Happier times with David & friends

David worked with Jonathan Kendall on the left, the couple on the right are Les & Robin Scheffer who lived near me on the Gold Coast in Australia.

Sadly Les passed away in March 2020.

Bobby Frishman from “Blame it on Rio” travel

Bobby has been in Rio for many years running a well known travel agency in Copacabana.

Don Camillo Copacabana

One of the many restaurants on Avenue Atlantica in Copacabana.

Dinner with Simone

Simone & I have been great friends for a number of years, in fact in 2005 we travelled around north east Brazil from Natal to Recife via the beautiful Praia de Pipa. For the last few years Simone has been working in a bank in Sao Paulo. Simone & I in fact traveled 300 kms by taxi from Ponte Negra to Recife stopping in Pipa on the way.

Lets leave Copacabana & walk to Arpoador

If we are going to walk we may as well follow these two gorgeous girls. 🙂

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Fort Copacabana

Fort Copacabana was inaugurated in 1914 with a mission to protect the coast of Rio de Janeiro and the entrance to the harbour. Today the fort provides visitors educational and cultural activities. Coordinates: 22.988117°S 43.191678°W

The Arpoador Rock

In the past, at very end of Arpoador Promontory – The Arpoador Rock– fishermen used to harpoon the whales that came to reproduce in this warm waters. The harpoon used by those fishermen gave the park its name and also has been used to identify the rock (in Portuguese Arpoador means fishermen who uses harpoon). The Arpoador Rock is preserved by the Municipal Historic Heritage. Also within the APA limits there is a public square called Girl of Ipanema Park after the world famous song composed by Vinicius de Moraes and Antônio Carlos Jobim.

Copacabana Ipanema Bikini Babes

A great view of Copacabana beach from here.

Arpoador Park

Not known worldwide as the beaches either side but a much more peaceful scene than Ipanema and Copacabana.

Arpoador, between Ipanema & Copacabana.

White sand, sunshine and a beautiful blue sky, what more could you want?

Arpoador beach

More peaceful than Copacabana.

Looking down on all this beauty from Cocovada

Corcovado, meaning “hunchback” in Portuguese, is a mountain in central Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 710-metre granite peak is located in the Tijuca Forest, a national park.

Frank Sinatra sings and Tony Motolla plays the guitar. The tune is “Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars (Corcovado)”, written by Antonio Carlos Jobim.

frank sinatra corcovado

Watch this video on YouTube

Beautiful Ipanema

One of the most breathtaking beaches in the world.

Garota de Ipanema restaurant

You guessed it, here is where they wrote the song which was inspired by Heloísa Eneida Menezes Paes Pinto (now Helô Pinheiro), a nineteen-year-old girl living on Montenegro Street in the fashionable Ipanema district in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Daily, she would stroll past the popular Veloso bar-café, not just to the beach (“each day when she walks to the sea”), but in the everyday course of her life. She would sometimes enter the bar to buy cigarettes for her mother and leave to the sound of wolf-whistles. In the winter of 1962, the composers watched the girl pass by the bar, and it is easy to imagine why they noticed her—Helô was a 173-cm (five-foot eight-inch) brunette, and she attracted the attention of many of the bar patrons. Since the song became popular, she has become a celebrity.

On the wall is the music as well

How many times have you heard this beautiful song? Each time I hear it I’m transported back to Ipanema.

Les & Robyn Shcheffer from the Gold Coast in Australia.

This couple lived quite close to me on the Gold Coast in Australia, we used to be good friends however 4 years ago in 2013 they placed me on their “black list”, I must admit I’m quite comfortable there. 🙂 Sadly Les passed away in March 2019.

As you can see from the photo the food is rather excellent.

Garota de Ipanema restaurant

I have been here many times, on of my greatest memories of Rio was here on New Years Eve 2007 with my friend Dave Wylie. We had a window seat and all around us was one of Rio’s famous blocos. Street Carnival Bands, called “Blocos de Rua”, have become an expressive feature of Rio’s Carnival. Today, they number more than 440 (considering 2012 Rio Carnival only) and the groups increase each year. Blocos can be formed by small or large groups of revelers with a distinct title with an often funny pun. (Os blocos RJ, para os solteiros, são um lugar para conhecer e até beijar pessoas, or “The blocos in Rio de Janeiro, for the singles, are places to meet and even kiss people.”) They may also note their neighborhood or social status. Before the show, they gather in a square, then parade in sections of the city, often near the beach. Some blocos never leave one street and have a particular place, such as a bar, to attract viewers. Block parades start in January, and may last until the Sunday after Carnival.

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Dave Wylie & I Carnival in Ipanema in 2008.

After living in Rio for 10 years my good friend Dave spent 18 months as my neighbour in Pattaya Thailand before returning to Crescent City California.