Blogs from Leblon, Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America - page 2

The Favela tour yesterday was an eye opening experience. We were taken to Rochina, or 'little farm', which is the largest Favela in Rio. The favela covers a square kilometer on a steep hill and is home to approximately 70,000 people. There were shots taken here for Fast Five and The Incredible Hulk. There were a few of us that went from the hostel, in total there was 15 of us in the group. We were picked up at the hostel and driven to the bottom of the Favela. Rather than having us drive around in the van the guides set up the tour so that we each jump on the back of a motorbike taxi which takes us to the top of the hill. This was to give us a better feel of the place, ... read more

La topographie de Rio la rend unique : une grande baie très découpée, des collines très proches de la côte, qui obligent une partie les habitations à se construire à flanc et determinent les quartiers (Flamengo, Botafogo, Santa Teresa, Lapa etc), des forêts tropicales en pleine ville, dont la plus grande forêt urbaine du monde (forêt contenue dans la circonférence du centre), et bien sûr des plages (Copacabana, Ipanema, Leblon etc). On ajoute la statue du Christ Rédempteur au sommet d’un morro (nom des collines ici), un téléphérique au sommet d’un autre qui rappelle un pain de sucre, et on a une ville de beaucoup de caractère… Rio est une ville où l’on peu aller voir un match de football à Maracana le mercredi, sortir le reste de la semaine, aller à la plage le dimanche ... read more

Day 5-10th September Day 5 began with both of us waking up at 7am (as you all know this is extremely unusual behaviour for my husband!) there was a faulty AC unit outside our window and it kept making a really loud buzzing sound....not good. However we both got up and pottered around for a bit before the hostel breakfast was served. For all of those people who wondering how Ellory would cope in such a meat-eating continent, I would say...hmmmm....right now! Breakfast was a good example of this. Everyone gets a tray of some yummy fruit, bread and....ham and cheese wrapped together. I thought it was great and hoovered it down, Ellory was not so impressed!!! Think the lack of sleep didn’t help matters either. However, we were soon both fed and watered (getting a ... read more

Once off the bus we immediately find Rio to be a little more tourist friendly with more English signs and more English spoken. As with Beijing, Brazil is determined to have more of their people speak English in time for the Olympics 2016. We were in Beijing six months before the 2008 games and all I can say is, let's hope Brazil is more prepared. We grab a taxi and head to our Couchsurfing's (CS) home. Vera and Bernardo live in a nice apartment in the Leblon neighborhood of Rio which is just one kilometer from Ipanema beach. You know the one with the girl. After settling in, meeting all the pets and getting a key, we head out for a long stroll down the beaches of Ipanema and Leblon. The breeze nicely refreshes us in ... read more

just a quick glimpse of my time in Brazil!!!... read more