Blogs from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America - page 14

Hi All, Today we went on a full day tour to Sugar Loaf Mountain, Maracana Stadium, Christ the Redeemer, Sambadrome (Rio Carnival strip), Saô Sebastião Cathedral, beach tour, and a buffet lunch. We booked up through the hostel for approx. £40, we thought it would have come close to this cost if we were to have done each attraction by ourselves, and it was stress free and we had an English tour guide. Our first stop was Sugar Loaf Mountain, which is a peak that lies at the mouth of Guanabara Bay and rises 396m/1299ft above the harbor. The tour included the two cable cars that took us up for panoramic views of the city. People can opt to just do the first cable car, if you go by your self, but the views are much ... read more

Hello All, So today we had an 1100 o’clock bus to Rio booked up online. In the morning we updated our phones, had our free breakfast, made chicken and cheese toasties to take with us for lunch then checked out. The couple we did the walking tour with were heading to Rio as well so we all walked to the Metro station then got the Metro to the bus station. It was only 8 stops on the metro so we got there about 1000, this turned out to be a good thing because when we checked our E-tickets it never said which company to go to, to get the tickets. After asking every company in English and bad Spanish we finally got our tickets and made the bus at 1100. It was 6 hours to Rio ... read more

Wednesday 10th June 2015 Parati, sometimes spelt Paraty and pronounced Parachi, is a well-preserved Portuguese colonial town, in the south of the state of Rio in the “Parque Nacional da Serra Bocaina” (the Bocaina National Park). Building regulations are severely strict, resulting in a completely unspoilt environment, with lethal cobbled streets, artisan craft shops and a wonderful winter tropical climate; it would be somewhat harsher in the summer. The rainforest-clad mountains reach down to palm fringed beaches where horses bathe in the water beside fishermen stringing their nets. It is a little piece of paradise, or as the Brazilians would say, “um paraiso”. The only thing lacking, in our opinion, is good food. South America just does not seem to have the culinary skills found in Europe or Asia. Here in Brazil everything is served with ... read more

Wednesday 3rd June 2015 Our journey back from the Rio Mamori to Manaus was without incident as was the four hour flight to Rio, which arrived on time at 23.15. Since we were arriving late at night, we had asked for an airport pick up to the hotel, which we had booked online before going to Mamori, but since we hadn´t received any confirmation, we were half expecting not to get it and we didn´t! However, it was easy to get a taxi and we got to our hotel just after midnight. After the jungle experience, we wanted a bit of luxury, so booked four nights in a nice boutique hotel in the old district of Santa Teresa, which justifiably boasts the best views in Rio. From our spacious 15 square metre terrace, we have a ... read more

Ça y est! Nous voila propriétaires d'une nouvelle voiture citadine. A nous les voyages dans les villes et états voisins !!! Fenêtres ouvertes, planche de bodyboard ballon et paréo sur la plage arrière sur des sons de axé (musique brésilienne de l'état de Bahia, c'est le type de musique que l'on danse autour de la piscine au Club Med).... Vivre près de la mer n'a pas de prix. Certes, c'est un peu comme avoir une piscine un babyfoot ou un billard, on l'utilise les trois premières semaines et après on sait qu'il est là mais on y va quasiment jamais. Sauf que la mer c'est mieux. ?... read more