Brazil!!!

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Another new country to explore and sadly the last one of the trip. We finally made it to Brazil, land of big bums and tiny swimsuits. As always the journey to a new place is one to mention. For once it wasnt a case of horrible buses or me being sick but instead a first class flight from Peru to Brazil, oh yeah! Nothing quite like a bit of first class after 5 months of cheap travel. First stop was Rio De Janeiro and Ipanema beach. Its no lie the people in Rio are extremely fit, buffed up and surprisngly gay. I didnt realise just how large the gay community in Ipanema would be. That was my first observation, the second was that Brazilians dont seem to wear any clothes, they really do walk around in tiny shorts and string bikinis, but thats not always a good thing trust me.

On our first day we went to Ipanema beach and took a seat on our deck chairs. We then took a look around to find everyone on the beach but us were male...then we looked around some more and there were the famous rainbow flags. The best thing about being on a gay beach was that all the men were buff, the bad thing is you actually get stared at more. We didnt visit that part of the beach again. We were really lucky with our hostel, not only was it a nice place but we met a few really nice people. Our first night was spent in the bar (where the girl from Ipanema song was written) with a couple guys from our hoste sipping on Caiparinhas (if thats how its spelt). We then took our little party to the beach, not a bad first day.

Our next day we went to Lapa to see the infamous Lapa stairs as featured in the snoop dogg and Pharrell Williams music video. They were sooo cool, the entire staircase is made of tiles from all over the world (except Cyprus). We even spotted a Lady Di tile. We then had a really good lunch, a pay by the kilo buffet so you can imagine that didnt cost me very much, happy days! Later in the day we walked to the favelas. Now people think its scary but actually it was really nice. Right in the centre of the favela is a hostel called the maze run by an old English man. The view was amazing, the owner a legend and overall the favela was a good sight to be seen. In the evening we went to party in a Samba club. OMG the samba legs on these Brazilians. They move so fast! Hiral and I just got drunk and watched from afar until they put on good old normal songs. After a day spent recovering from the night before we were joined by a special guest- DILPA!!!!

After spending a day on the beach (not the gay part) we went to see a football match and it was mental. They sing, they dance, they chant, they play drums, they go insane. It was my first time at a football match and i dont think any match in the UK can top the atmosphere of a Brazilian football stadium. It was loud, fun and we loved it.

Our next day we did a city tour and went to visit cucumber beach, the Christ Redeemer Statue, sugar loaf mountain, Santa teresa, the lapa steps (again), and we did a mini jungle trek and saw a waterfall, phew! We of course also spent a day at Copacabana beach which is beautiful but actually not half a posie as Ipanema beach, visted the hippy market where we bought some goodies and we visited Lapa at night. lapa at night is bascially like a huge street party. Every Friday and Saturday night they close off the roads and the streets fill with bars and stalls and people dancing the samba.

Rio sadly came to an end way too quickly. Its beautiful, fun, vibrant and not a place to be forgotten. Rio you will be missed!

M x

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