Down At The Copa

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Rio. What a way to finish! I arrived a mere 52 hours after leaving Santa Cruz (the less said about that the better) and fell in love with the city as soon as I saw the view from Corcovado (the hill with the statue of Christ). It was truly beautiful, with deep emerald green, wooded islands floating in the blue of the bay; and the blazing blue sky definitely helped paint it in a positive light after all that Bolivian rain. On that first day the city seemed bursting with colour and life. I loved the uniqueness of the different areas, the battered old yellow street cars crossing the Arcos de Lapa (a viaduct), the set of steps painstakingly mosaiced (sp?)with broken tiles sent from people all over the world to a dedicated/crazy old man, the incredible expanse of coloured glass in the cathedral, the ubiquitous street sellers frying up hot acaraje and other spicy goodies. I spent a full week there soaking up the sun and the laid-back vibe. My hostel was only two blocks from Copacabana beach which was perfect.

The beaches were not idyllic for swimming (no turquoise, clear water here - boo!) but they more than made up for that by being stellar hangouts for people watching. Lifeguard stations along the beach are numbered and different stations each attract their own crowd: families, gay and even one that seems to be universally acknowledged as being for 'the beautiful people' (never went there, obviously). I loved walking the length of Copacabana and continuing along Impanema all the while noting the differences in clientele. The other thing I loved to do was watch the amazing displays of six-packs, er..no..sorry I mean the amazing displays of skills demonstrated by guys playing foot-volley; volley ball but with no hands only feet, head, chest etc. I find ordinary volley ball hard enough but these guys were just incredible. One day along the beach promenade I was also treated to the coolest and most skillful thing Ive seen in a long time by a guy doing keepie-uppies on his feet, knees, thighs, forearms, head and even his mouth. He was impressive enough when he started with an orange but worked his way through an array of fruit down to a tiny pea-sized thing that I found hard enough to even see while he whizzed it through the air. We thought he surely had to be joking when he went to pick up a coconut but he sat down and that sailed between his feet and head too. Pure brilliant.

Nightimes in Rio were great fun too. The hostel was very sociable and had its own bar so most evenings started there and then we moved on, swiftly walking through the local colour of Copacabana i.e. trannies, prostitutes and fat, balding, white men with their beautiful Brazilian 'girlfriends', to a beach bar, night club or my favourite place, Lapa. This had a long street lined with outdoor drinking stalls all competing to mix you the best ever caipirinha. There were also samba clubs where, as in Salvador, the incredible velocity of the ass-shaking left all us non-Brazilians feeling very inadequate indeed.

What else? A football match at Maracana stadium with non-stop singing, chanting, drumming and cursing from the exuberant supporters. Also I met up with Leo and Joao and their friends a few times, I had arrived in Rio before they returned from Bolivia and they seemed quite surprised at all the things I'd done before meeting up with them. They were also very concerned for my safety and Leo was genuine when he asked "But how have you managed to be in Rio without us?" Sweet. Despite all the warnings and scaremongering (a Brazilian on the bus from the border was coming to Rio for an interview and told me he was going to lock himself in his hotel room for the whole of his stay!), it didn't actually feel that dangerous to me. I did meet a few people who had been robbed at knifepoint but generally they had done fairly stupid things like walking alone through a park at midnight.

The most dangerous thing about a visit I made to the favelas was probably the moto-taxi at the beginning. Clinging onto random man on motorbike as he hared through the winding, narrow streets seemingly playing chicken with huge approaching lorries before swerving through tiny gaps certainly got the blood racing. Although we were warned not to take photos of people with guns I actually didnt see any, and was more likely to be accosted by an enterprising child selling bracelets fashioned out of electrical wire than by a drug dealer. I had been in two minds whether to go on the tour as I feared it might be a voyeuristic 'people zoo' type thing but actually it was very informative and our guide was clearly liked and respected by the people we met, as well as being very knowledgeable about the history and politics of the favela's development. We were shown round a really well-run children's daycare centre and I found myself wishing that I had done my volunteer placement here instead...learning to play beach volley in the evenings..sambaing the night away....

But no time for fantasy! In reality my flight home was fast approaching so it was time to move on. Luckily this time I had company to help me while away the hours on yet another long distance bus. Drew, a 23 year old Aussie from the Rio hostel had the same plans as me so we travelled together for the next few days. Im not sure what his motivation was for 'hanging out with the olds' (as he kept putting it) or how my self-esteem survived his constant barrage of innocent yet far too honest comments on my clothes/hair/music taste but he proved to be lots of fun and great company. Our first stop was the Brazilian side of Iguazu Falls. The falls are immense (four times wider than Niagra) and the area around them is full of colourful butterflies, birds and tame wildlife like the coatis in the picture. That first day I had thought the falls spectacular but it was not until I was staring down into the 'Devil's Throat' on the Argentine side that I really began to appreciate the sheer volume and force of the water. Watching the water thundering down was totally awe-inspiring and the many rainbows created in the spray added to the magic. One of the things I have most enjoyed about this trip is the number of times I have been humbled by the marvels of nature; this was definitely one of them. We then ended a perfect day by getting thoroughly soaked on a boat trip up close, and then right under, the falls! It was brilliant fun but we probably timed it a bit wrong as then we had to get the public bus home looking like two very drowned rats (and leaving a nice puddle on the seats!)

The hostel in Iguazu also deserves a quick mention as it was incredible, it was like a resort rather than a hostel and cost less than a fiver per night. The searing heat and losing gallons of sweat each day (nice!) had worn us out so we allowed ourselves a lazy day by the huge pool before braving yet another overnight bus (my last ever! Sniff!) But of course we were back in Argentina now so the bus was great; we had nice food, v.comfy seats and good films which all now allow me to look back fondly on overnight buses with rose-tinted spectacles handily blocking out the all the near-death (either from boredom, bad driving or non-existent roads) ones!

Back in Buenos Aires there was just time to get my fill of steak and Malbec, catch up with Jackie P and Romina, shop, pedicure, manicure & pamper! Phew- it was a tough 3 days! It felt really good to finish somewhere familiar and I felt like such an old-hand compared to all the recently-arrived rookies in the hostel. But I felt ready to go home as did my purse and my rucksack, hideously overstuffed since La Paz and a rather enthusiastic visit to the Havaiana shop in Rio.

I love this continent and feel so lucky to have seen and experienced so many wonderful things and to have met so many interesting and good people. Ive loved the diversity of the 'naturaleza' and the landscapes here that make it possible to be climbing volcanoes one week, hacking through the jungle the next and on paradise beaches the next. This trip has been everything I wanted it to be and more. But six months was the perfect amount of time for me and the real world was beckoning. I started to feel very excited about seeing family & friends again and - hey, why feel glum about just missing Carnival when there was pancake day to look forward to? (yeah okay that one's sarcasm, but the rest is genuine!) As my plane flew into Gatwick there was the most amazing sunrise with such a deep red on the horizon. I like to think it was England's way of showing me you don't need to go halfway round the world to see something incredible......

Thanks to all of you who have been following my adventures and for all the little messages of support. Can't wait to see you all very soon! xx

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Photos

Copacabana Beach
Where music and passion are always the fashion...(apparently)

Cathedral, Rio
Really ugly on the outside but amazing stained glass