This was our first airBnB experience and after a rough start, we were quite pleased with our stay at Thiago's.

After travelling almost 30 hours we arrived at the favela by taxi, per Thiago's instructions, at the meeting point. It was dark and pouring rain. We tried to call for him to come guide us to his house but I did not know that the favela does not have mobile service and we had no other way to let him know we arrived. We do not speak portuguese so there we were, with all our luggage, trying to find our way. With my broken Spanish and some very helpful people (and my husband writing the number of the house in the mud) we found our way to the house where his mom was there to greet us. She speaks no English. In the end it worked out okay and we actually really liked our stay there (the breakfast was fantastic) but we did not meet Thiago until we were leaving 4 days later so we had no advice or direction on the neighbourhood. The location is fantastic but be warned it is a steep climb up to the house. Overall I'd recommend it but be clear about arranging a meeting point in advance.