I had the deposit on the beach house, my CPF, Brazilian ID and a bank account in Brazil, all the necessary things to complete this much anticipated transaction. While I was in Miami, Citi Bank wired the necessary funds to Banco de Brasil and I was now flying to Rio, alone, to sign the final papers at the bank and wait the 30-day waiting period, at the end of which, Banco de Brasil would transfer the funds to the seller and give me the Title to the property.

I’m meeting Renata from the Imovies the next day so we wake up early, eat a late lunch and head to her office. She has a wonderful surprise for me, the estate has agreed to sell the adjacent vacant parcel and the parcel with the guest house for a very reasonable package price. I was overjoyed. In our previous negotiations, the sellers were reluctant to arrive to an agreement any where close to these numbers, so I had backed off and agreed to just the main house. They also graciously agreed to let me pay the additional amount over 12 equal monthly payments. No mention was made of interest so I didn’t bring it up and as it turns out none was required.

The best shopping in Ipanema is on a street named Visconde de Piraja; there are bars, restaurants and typical boutique shops in contrast to the chains stores and chain restaurants in the malls.

Later that night I had a huge daiquiri at Guapo Loco’s with Millinha, a gorgeous carioca, I really blew it with her on a previous trip, and her beautiful girlfriends Ursala and Roberta.

Now that I have a place here I’ll have to see if I can rekindle this relationship. You can’t blame me, the girls are all so beautiful here!

The place needs plenty of care, it’s missing a couple windows and most appliances seem dated and in need of replacing. An area that was probably a garden surrounds the home, although it’s now completely overgrown and in need of a small brush fire in order to clear the weeds and high grass. I intend to remodel the property over the next year or so and have made plans with local workers in order to carry out renovations.

Good places to hang out and meet new people are Baixo Quitéria on Rua Maria Quitéria (between Prudente and Visconde streets). Also, Baixo Farme which is near Bar Bofetada on Rua Farme de Amoedo, near the corner of Barão da Torre. Both Baixos are gathering places in close proximity to a variety of venues. My friend Millinha has introduced me to these places during our travels around Rio: we meet her friends in each spot and they are always very friendly.