Bob wrote:

> On Tue, 29 Aug 2000 01:45:16 -0800, Kent Lind <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> >Rio is not in any sense a dive destination although there are plenty
> >of dive shops in the area that cater to local divers.  The diving in
> >Rio itself is pretty mediocre although you can certainly spend a week
>
> Kent, thanks for the useful feedback!  On the strength of your not-too-
> glowing characterizaiton, I think I'll leave my dive-gears at home
> this time.  Although the TRAVEL takes a week, my DIVING window will
> only be about three days, if that many.  :)  We'll just take in the
> urban stuff there and remember NOT to make the "ok" scuba sign
> which is an obscene gesture in Portugese.

It appeared to me that a lot, if not most, Brazilian divers I met did not
own their own gear and were used to renting at their destinations.  I guess
the economy makes it tougher for the average middle class Brazilian to buy
expensive imported scuba gear.  So most of the shops are pretty well stocked
with rental equipment if the dive bug hits you.  The stuff I looked at in
local shops all looked pretty good and decently maintained.  Lots of US
Divers, Sherwood, and Mares stuff.  But mostly analog gauges, no computer.
You could toss your computer in your bag and rent the rest if the dive bug
hits you.

I looked at a lot of guide books and the Lonely Planet guides were the best
for Brazil, especially for remote locations.  But there are plenty of guides
on just Rio alone.  Drop into your local Barnes and Noble and pick up a
decent guide book for Rio.  The Insight guides are especially nice for
background information.  City guides in English will be more difficult to
find in Rio and if you do track down an English language bookstore, guides
will cost double what they cost in Atlanta due to the excessive import
taxes.

-Kent-