The honeymoon begins

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Day 1:
Landed in Rio yesterday morning and checked in to our hotel, eventually - wow the traffic is bad! Had a quick coconut to drink down on Ipanema Beach in the sun before jumping straight into the tourist trips.

First up we visited Corcovado to marvel at the statue of Christ the Redeemer. It was excellent but really busy. The views into Rio were good although a little obscured by the haze.

We then went passed the Maracana football stadium, closed while it's being upgraded for the world cup in 2014, into a cathedral, saw where the carnival parade takes place and onto Sugarloaf mountain.

We rode the cable cars up to Sugarloaf mountain at sunset and the views of the city were truly spectacular.

In the evening we sampled our first cervesa and capirinha (Rio's favourite cocktail). Becky wasn't a huge fan of the capirinha as it reminded her of margarita, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

After a laze on Ipanema beach the following morning, we're about ready to head into the Favellas this afternoon. Wish us luck!

Day 2:
The favella tour was awesome and very thought provoking. We first visited Rochina, a favella neighbouring one of the richest of Rio's suburbs. We were very welcome in the favella and at no point felt threatened. This is because the gangs running the Favellas want to avoid police presence, therefore no crime only drugs.

In the evening we sampled some more capirinhas and cervesa and topped it off with steak in gravy with cheese - yum!

Day 3:
Woke early to go hang-gliding, however the weather wasn't suitable. We instead wandered along to Cocacabana and watched a bit of beach volleyball, Brazilian style - no hands allowed. Very skilful!

Heading to Lima now, but will be back in Rio later in the trip.

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Comments

[Jill]

Woohoo....
Glad you've arrived safely and glad you sorted your password out for this blog!! Look forward to reading more and looking at your pics. Take Care xx