Jose,
Please feel free to use this testimonial to aid your business. I have included some of the photos taken with the Canon EOS 5D.
Best regards,
Walt
TESTIMONIAL
Having visited Rio de Janeiro on several occasions over the past ten years, I had developed a great fondness for this beautiful and appealing city. That's why I chose Rio as the location for a college reunion of two friends whom I had not seen for many years. One friend had married a British engineer and she and her husband lived in the United Kingdom. The other college friend's husband had recently died and she still had not begun the grieving process. Thus, these five diverse people descended on Rio. Of the group, I was the only one who had visited Rio, so I was asked to do the majority of the planning.
The first time I saw Rio, I was fortunate to be accompanied by an employee of the same company at which I was employed. He was a native Brazilian and had a great love of Rio. In fact, he was born and raised very near Copacabana Beach. As beautiful as Rio is, it has a deserved reputation for being a bit dangerous to the uninitiated and unwary. Having someone able to provide an extra measure of security is a welcome benefit. Therefore, with our group in agreement, I set out to find a knowledgeable and experienced guide.
After extensive research, I discovered and hired Jose Olimpio to be our guide for the week. At the end of our visit, our group agreed that hiring Jose was the best investment of the entire trip. We contracted with him to be on call 24 hours a day for the six days of our stay. His rates were reasonable considering the outstanding service he provided. Although I gave Jose a general outline of what we wanted to see and do, I left the details entirely to him. He did not disappoint.
We saw all the significant sights including Corcovado, Sugar Loaf, the beautiful and exotic Botanical Gardens, the old city of Rio and Lapa, the bohemian section of Rio. He arranged a harbor tour, took us to a great beach restaurant where we enjoyed lunch, and escorted us to many other reasonably-priced restaurants. He even drove us out of the city on a day trip to Petroplis, the mountain retreat of Brazil's former emperors. With Jose's knowledgeable guidance, we even avoided the high-priced tourist-oriented samba shows because he took us to a much more authentic, and far less expensive, samba show Most importantly, we were able to more thoroughly enjoy Rio with a much higher degree of security than had we explored the city entirely on our own.
Jose took care of virtually all our needs including transportation between Tom Jobim International Airport and our well-appointed hotel, the Sheraton Resort and Towers, the only hotel in Rio located right on the beach. Moreover, Jose was available whenever we needed him. Throughout our excursions, we traveled in comfort in his late- model, air-conditioned van. In addition to Portuguese and English, Jose is also fluent in French and Spanish.
Every member of our group agreed that Jose's expertise and cheerfulness greatly facilitated out visit. One person said later that she had cried a bit after Jose dropped her and her husband at the airport because she felt like she was saying goodbye to a dear friend. I know we all shared those sentiments. That we felt this way after only knowing Jose for a week says a great deal about his competence as a personal guide. We give Jose five stars out of five rating.
Clockwise: Walt and Janice at Floresta da Tijuca, the group walking through Santa Teresa, Walt at Jardim Botânico, Roger and Gayle, dinning at Alvaro's in Leblon, with José at Pão de Acúcar, Escadaria Selaron, Dawn and Gayle and the rest of the group at Vinícius Bar