We arrived yesterday at the bus station not really knowing where we were going to go, all we knew is that we need to get eventually to Belem at the Amazon so got the bus to Sao Luis. I am starting to get used to the bus times here, when they say it will take 24 hours it will actually take an extra three as this has happened on nearly all our buses!! For the first time we got great seats on the bus right up the front so no toilet smell and no one reclining their seat into my face ;) We arrived just after sunset and made our way by local bus to the city centre where it seemed to be party central. I picked our hostel from Lonely Plant, it is cheap but ... read more

So we have spent the last two days wandering around Salvador. On the first day we arrived we just went for a light stroll considering we whad just been on a bus for over 30 hours. We got the low down on what street not to walk down and where was nice. The city is noticably not as friendly as Rio but is very different and great to see, there is such a huge diversity in Brasil. Salvador has a very strong African connection and it feels a little like walking in an old Carribean town!! Yesterday Anne and I went out for the day with two English people who have been travelling around SA for the last nine months so they were good to get some information off. We tried to find the beach but ... read more

Well Its after 12 at night and I am getting a 27 hour bus in a few hours but thought I´d give a quick update of the last few days. Just after I wrote my last blog the guy who lent me his laptop turned out to be very friendly and he and his wife invited us to stay in their home in Rio before we got our bus to Salvador. I can now see why it is hard to leave Rio. We got the ferry back to Brazil with Danielle and Junior which was nice a calm. The car journey was quite the opposite with Junior purposely driving as fast as he could weaving in and out of every car possible which seems to be the norm in Brazil. Anyway we made it in one ... read more

So we have arrived safe and sound in Rio. All our flights were on time, even early which is unusual!! Sp we gotoffour flight at 9pm last night and our taxi driver was waiting patiently for us, turned out he was also waiting for 6 other people who all squished into the car, wasa forty minute drive to Copacobana. The hostel is nice, we are in Rio Backpacker, quite basic and our room is small but everyone seems friendly. Think we are suffering from jet lag as we woke at around 5am and couldnt get back to sleep, partly becasue of a loud rooster outside who was a bit energetic!! Went to Copacobana Beach today, its absolutely beautiful but the heat was very strong, over 35degrees today!! so now we are going for a siesta and ... read more

Well the preparation start for the main event. We started with a nice wedding of Annes friends David and Louisa-Jane. Great event with a lot of free drink and a great mix of Irish and French. If anyone is looking to have a wedding in France they should definately look at Normandie. We were located in a large country home with about 20 bedrooms. It was like something out of a movie, so picturesque (photo's will arrive). After all the partying for the wedding which went on till 1030am the following morning we made our way to the TGV straight to Poitiers to Anne's family. Was a nice week although quite a lot more relaxing than the wedding. Took it very handy and managed to get burnt in one day of Sunshine! Highlight of the week ... read more