Blogs from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America - page 13

Geo: -22.981, -43.1901LAN Airways Airbus 320 to Rio, about 3.5hr flight time, landing at 6pm. We both slept most of the way, which suggests our internal clocks are still adjusting. Another smooth transition through baggage claim, immigration and customs. Our driver/guide Christine, a German 25-year resident of Rio met us with no troubles and took us to our hotel.Our Hotel Miramar is ranked #1 in TripAdvisor, and fronts on to Copacabana beach. Our base-grade room was unsuitable, and after a considerable assertive effort (hotels always say they have no other rooms!) we secured an upgrade to a better room. Our bargaining position was much boosted by the appearance of a cockroach that horrified the bellhop and the Manager.After all this it was near 10pm when we ventured out in the light rain to find something to ... read more

Well, it's time for yet another adventure. I've just returned home from a month touring around the UK in a camper van with my good friend Braddlesnake for the Rugby World Cup. I didn't end up documenting that trip here, probably for the best, as it was filled with debauchery. That said, it was a tour for the ages. However, now it's time to turn the page and head to the other end of the globe. Today I leave for Brazil for a 4 month tour of South America. I plan on meeting my boy Schmeck Demnshmeckerleker in Rio, then touring around before I meet up with some others. This is the most fluid and un-planned trip yet, so let's see how it works out for me. Hopefully it'll be entertaining and I can share some ... read more

So in love with Rio already! Wish we had brushed up on our Portuguese a bit more but getting by on smiles and sign language which makes for a more adventurous time. Brazilians are happy and amazing. Rio is happy and amazing! :)... read more

Hey People, The priority today was finding a quiet place in the busy hostel for my phone interview with Carnival UK. After a disturbed sleep in our 9-bed dorm by the noisiest snorer I’ve ever had to endure, it wasn’t the best start. I prepared a few notes in the morning before I set the laptop up in the common room in preparation for the phone call. It seemed to be louder than usual in the common room today, which is just my luck, so Neil asked the reception if there was a spare room available to sit in that could still pick up the Internet connection. There was so; I moved the laptop into the room 10 minutes into the call. Anyway after an hour of trying to find every slither of sales experience I ... read more

Oi, Today we thought we’d have a relaxing day at the Impanema Beach. So Neil and I caught the metro there, which is a 5 minute walk from the hostel, then a 10 minute journey, then another 10 minute walk to the beach. It’s a bit of a mission but it’s a better beach that the one by our hostel and better than Copacabana beach. Though saying that, we would consider ourselves beach snobs now, and the beaches around Rio really don’t compare many we have been too! The water is to rough and dirty to enter, and the sand has that dirty-sticky feel to it, but we stayed for a few hours sunbathing and then headed back to the hostel via the super market to pick up the cheap ingredients for an avocado, blue cheese ... read more