Rain in Rio

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Hello everyone, we have just arrived in Campo Grande after spending the week in Rio so its about time to give an update on how things have gone so far....

We last updated the blog whilst on Ilha do Mel, which we left as the weather turned pretty nasty, and unfortunately stayed that way in southern Brazil for a week. As we are in the tail end of Brazilian winter it is quite common to be wet, but the rain seemed to follow us up the coast.

We headed back to Curitiba on the mainland which was very difficult as the sea was so rough and nearly finished with the whole boat being sick over the side....was not good! followed by the fact that the electricity was down at the bus station and without being able to speak portuguese it took a bit of time to get away from the coast! Whilst on the coast we heard from travellers that the weather Rio was great so we headed straight up via night bus - unfortunately the first few days were a wash out, but by the end we had bright blue skies so all was not lost!

As cities go, Rio has to be one of the most impressive in the world. It has an extremely diverse culture set on a fantastic location, where rich and poor literally share the same streets and the city combines skyscrapers with beautiful beaches and huge hills. Everyone warned us how dangerous Rio was but we found it pretty OK, and could easily have stayed there longer.

We stayed in Botafogo which is very central and very close to Urca - which is most known for Sugarloaf mountain - and we ever had a great view of the Christ from the hostel window.

We spent the first few days exploring less glamorous parts of the city due to rain, but did have a great trip up into Santa Teresa by the ´Bonde´ (a very old tram system where most of the people cling to the outside as its free!). Indoor attractions such as the history museum were a relief from the rain, but very enjoyable none the less.

By our third day the weather picked up and we visited the Botanical gardens which were very impressive, and offered greath views of Christ the Redeemer. This was followed by a stroll along the Ipanema beach - which during the heat of the summer would be unbelievable!

The last two days brought sunshine so we visited the two ´big´ attractions of Sugarload and the Christ. Both were great experiences and had amazing views of Rio, which the photos dont really do justice! The Christ was good to see, but was packed with tourists and is surprisingly smaller than you would imagine.

Rio was a great experience, not just for the sights but for the food (rice and beans, 15p mangos!) and drink (açai smooties, passion fruit caipriinhas), and is definately a place neither of us will forget.

We have just completed a painful 26 hour coach journey to Campo Grande, where we will begin our trek into the Pantanal and we hope to see monkeys, crocodiles, piranhas, and a range of exotic birds and fish. We will then pass into Bolivia where we should be when we next write.

(At the moment these old PCs dont want to publish our photos, but we will add then as soon as we can!)

Thanks for reading,
Adam and Dais

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Photos

Ipanema beach
Usually it would be sunny!

Panoramic Rio
Marcana stadium at the bottom

Comments

[Pam Gross]

Rio
Wash out or not it sounds fantastic and much better than being in England in the rain. Can't wait to see the photos.

[Abhi Sur]

Was just in Rio this month
Liked your blog entry. I was in Rio this month - though on a business trip. We got a lot of rain as well, but thankfully I got a sunny Saturday - which was my only day to explore the city. Your blog tells me the places which I missed, but perhaps would include on my itinerary when I take my family on vacation. I have written a brief account of my trip on my web site - http://www.surfamily.com/2008/09/rio-de-janerio-a-dream-comes-true/

[Poppy]

Animals
Daze, Just to let you know you CAN'T Pet crocodiles so try to stay away from them. xxxx

[mr man]

rio is great
glad that you had a swell time in rio , an amazing place it truly is..regards