The City of God & Football

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The City of God & Football

Her name is Lola, she was a show girl... This was the song of the day, week and month and having woken up on my 32nd birthday in a barn in the Pantanals, we were treated to the following over a 24 hour period:

Ute from the Pantanals to the bus stop - 2 hours
Wait for bus - 1 hour
Bus to Campo Grande - 5 hours
Flight puchase on the spot from Campo Grande to Sao Paulo - 3 hours
Bus from Airport to city Bus station - 1 hour
Bus ticket purchase (2am) on the spot from Sau Paulo to Rio - 6 hours
Bus to Metro - 30 mins
Metro to Copacabana -30 mins
Sort apartment - 5 hours

Not the most exciting of birthdays but Woohoo, hallelujiah and praise the huge Statue of Christ overlooking Rio De Janeiro! We made it and we had a place to rest our heads for seven whole days. Clearly, we were ready for some R&R, having spent six weeks hauling arse across this HUGE continent and this is exactly what we did. No wild nights on the town, no boozing, no restaurants no nothing, just home cooked food and cable TV. Funny the things you miss when you are on the road but oh how good they are....

Of course, we did some exploring and after some morning television we headed off to Corcovado to see the statue of "Cristo Redentor" (the big man himself). Standing at c100 metres high and keeping a watchful eye over the city, "Christ the Redeemer" is truly a sight to behold and the second highest source of adoration in Brazil, behind their football team of course. (We heard that Rio´s emergency room´s had actually closed each time Brazil played a game in the World Cup. Priorities and all...) All in, an amazing feat of adoration and fabulous views over the city to Sugar Loaf mountain and Rio´s sprawling suburbs and Favellas.

A day on Ipanema and Copacabana Beach is an absolute must for any body visiting Rio, which has a "Sdneyesque" feel with it´s cool bars, cafes and cosmopolitan residents. The beach was packed the day we went as it was Christopher Columbus day and a national holiday. We kicked back, drank from coconuts and watched the Brazilians bare there flesh. They are not shy I can tell you with budgie smugglers to shame the Italians!

After more daytime TV we headed into Centro to check out the shopping. Enough said and shopping with zero deniro is not much fun really! We spent time visiting more beaches and paid a visit to Sugar Loaf mountain which was unfortunately shrouded in mist whilst we were there. Never mind, we instead enjoyed dinner in Urca (Rio´s answer to Double Bay) and the bus home. The bus drivers in Rio are sponsored by Ferrari it seems and each bus driver was doing his best to claim Schumacers soon to be available seat, consistently trying to shave a few seconds off their fastest city lap times. Muy rapido y un poco loco....

Of course, a visit to Rio would not be complete without a visit to it´s holiest of Cathederals - "The Maracana". To say that football in Rio is a religious affair is an understatment. These guys are football crazy and they can play a bit too. We had been told not to go to the match on our own as it was dangerous. However, we could pay c300% over the odds and go on a tourist chump tour. No more for me chef, I´m full! We got the bus and bought our tickets for Flamenco (Rio) vs Corinthians (Sao Paulo). Limited Portuguese got us tickets in the away end with the Corinthians fans. Now, imagine c5000 reasonable sized fellas, all dressed in black and white, with war paint on their faces, carrying flags the size of houses. Add in a few banging drums (a rocking beat) and you may be mistaken for thinking you are at the Big Day Out. It was clear that these boys could rock and were not to be messed with. A sight to behold with non stop chanting, shouting, jumping and general lairy behaviour, surrounded by the police and their dogs.

Of course, we politely passed on the seats and jumped into the far more welcoming Flamenco family stand, watching the mayhem unfold from a distance. The stadium kind of filled up and there was some preetty good football with Flamenco winning 3-0. The crowd were probably more entertaining to be fair and we laughed as a little boy used my cup as his toilet half way through the match. Nice one Dad...Overall, a fabulous experience and the second of the worlds great football stadiums ticked off for YT, who is secretly becoming a football fan too (shhh)!

So that was Rio and an awesome week spent watching some quality television, resting and taking in the sights. The beaches were great, the football was fantastic and we were rested and ready to "Go West" (Lacy) by plane this time and head for colder climes in Chile and Argentina.

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