Sao Paulo to Rio and home

We got home last night so I'm writing this last blog from the chilly UK - a bit of a shock to the system coming from 35 degrees in Rio to freezing temperatures here!

Our last blog left us in Sao Paulo where we spent one day and one night - unfortunately that one day was a Sunday so the centre of town was pretty dead (the only other people on the streets were the homeless and the preachers) and all the nice shops in the posh area we were staying in (Jardins) were closed. I'm sure Sao Paulo has a lot going for it but we didn't give it much of a chance really.

We headed off the next day to Paraty, along the coast, an old historic town with cute little cobbled streets, whitewashed houses and brightly coloured boats in the harbour. The town floods every year and this year was no exception (we spoke to two girls who had been evacuated from their room in the middle of the night as the flood waters rose around their beds a couple of weeks earlier) but although there was a lot of rain while we were there, thankfully the streets didn't flood. We spent a lot of time wandering around under our brolly and had our first experience of the Brazilian 'pay by weight' cafes and restaurants - this one was an ice cream parlour - where you serve yourself then they weigh your plate on some scales and they charge you accordingly. Good incentive not to overeat!

After a couple of days in Paraty we moved on down the beautiful emerald coast, past pristine beaches and islands, to Ilha Grande, one of the bigger islands (the name's a bit of a giveaway!). The island has gorgeous beaches all the way around, but they're all only accessible by foot or boat. The first day we walked 2-3 hours through the rainforest to Praia Lopes Mendes (known as one of the most beautiful on the island), then 2-3 hours back in the pouring rain after it started raining almost as soon as we arrived. The next day, feeling a bit more lazy, we took a boat trip to some other bays and spent the day swimming and snorkelling, whilst being serenaded by a man with a guitar on the boat, who onlystopped to demonstrate the life jackets and play the violin!

After a few days on Ilha Grande, al our stuff was damp from the humidity and it was in some ways a relief to get back to the mainland and feel dry again. We got the bus another couple of hours down the coast to Rio, the last stop on our big adventure. We stayed the first couple of nights between Copacabana and Ipanema beaches, enjoying Rio beach life. The locals all head down to the beach around 9am fully equipped for a full day of posing and socialising, with beach umbrellas, chairs, and cool boxes full of food and drink, the ladies wearing skimpy bikinis and the men in their speedos, and you see them walking back through the streets in the dark around 9pm still wearing just their bikini/speedos! We only managed a couple of hours at a time before retreating back to the cool shade!

We went up for the views from both Corcovado (where the Christ the Redeemer statue is perched) and the Sugarloaf. The town has such an amazing setting with the big bay, the long beaches and big sheer rocks sticking up all over the place. It's amazing to watch the helicopters buzzing around the Christ statue like flies, then getting up there to see just how big it is, and the views of Copacabana from Sugarloaf was worth the cable ride up. We also did some sightseeing in the old centre, mostly churches, and each more ornate than the last, and soaked up the pre-Carnival atmosphere, catching some samba bands practising for the big event at the end of the month.

For our last three nights, we had booked a nice B&B in an area called Santa Teresa, a bohemian, arty part of town with old buildings and perched on a hill with stunning views over the whole city. The ride down from there into the centre is fun, on an old rickety tram, which goes over a narrow viaduct - we were glad we had seats and weren't the ones hanging off the side of the tram at that point! The owners of the B&B were a lovely warm couple, who made very good caipirhinas for us to enjoy on our balcony overlooking the city, and made our last few days very relaxing.

Now we're back, and looking at our photos reflecting on what a brilliant, brilliant time we've had. It's a shame it's all over, but now we can see some of the friends and family we've been missing and settle into happy married life!

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