And now it's real!

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Philippe went on top on Monday night, and I took over last night. You can feel every movement down below and with so many people watching you it can freak you out. Welcome to the world of triple bunkbeds and shared dormitories!

We decided to stay in Rio for one extra day and to continue our downgrading from luxury to budget we moved into the shared dormitory. It's not so bad, particularly as there are lockers where you can store your entire backpack. We knew we wanted to go to see Christ the Redeemer, but decided to shun the tour guides and go it alone. We tracked down the local bus number to take us to the train station, paid our R$2.20 each and had an impromptu tour of the back streets of Rio. The bus deposited us at the station for the tourist train that chugs its way up the steep mountain. It takes about 20minutes each way and brings you through a jungle area where people are living next to the track. Once at the top it feels strange to be so close to the statue of Christ, particularly since we have seen him from various angles over the past few days. I'll say one thing though, it's certainly close to heaven for any pick-pockets as the place is a mecca for tourists. We took the obligatory photos and then with the camera safely hidden away, we admired the amazing views for a while. I'll say one thing for Rio, it doesn't do views by halfs!

Back to the dorm and feeling pretty smug at having "saved" R$40 by going it alone, we chilled out for a while and went off in search of food. We ended up in a Pizza "Rodizio" which has all you can eat pizza for R$13.90 each {E5}. Thoroughly stuffed after many random pizzas slices (including dessert!) we rolled home to the dorm to make concrete plans for the next day.

Up at the crack of dawn (more due to the noise in the hostel than by choice!) we repacked and headed off in search of the bus that would bring us to Praca XV, where the ferry to Niteroi leaves from. More sign language to make sure we had the right ticket and then we were off across Guanabara Bay to Niteroi, enjoying our last views of Rio. Once in Niteroi we found a nice tourist info lady who pointed us in the direction of the bus station and we hiked over there. Philippe negotiated two tickets to Buzios, figuring out that there is only one bus per day from Niteroi, which left in 4 hours. So we took out the books, rested our feet on our backpacks and waited it out, only nipping out once for lunch in a local bakery. It was no harm to sit still for a while after Rio, and it gave us time to start making a guide plan to make our way up the coast.

If travelling in South America goes as smoothly as the bus trip from Niteroi to Buzios we will be very happy! A large airconditioned bus pulled up promptly at 15.40. We took our assigned seats and it drove us through the favelas and out through the Brazilian countryside, then arrived 30minutes ahead of schedule in Buzios.

After some quick harassment by local hotel owners offering us a place to stay, we managed to get one of them to tell us where the hostel is. We are in the Nomad Buzios Seashore Hostel and it is what it say on tin - we're right beside the beach. We're back to multiple dorms and annoying american teenagers, but it's a nice spot. Buzios was discovered by Brigitte Bardot in the 60's and is known as the St. Tropez of Brazil. It is a pleasant down, very posh and quite expensive - as we discovered when we went out for a few beers and a bite to eat last night. Little hope of sleep back at the dorm thanks to the Norwegian girls drinking up a storm next door, but it was an excellent excuse to write today off as a 'beach day'. After a nice breakfast looking out at the harbour we took some advice on the best beach to attack. About a 30minute walk away we found our haven.

In the Brazilian sunshine, on a white sandy beach, shared with only about 15 other people, paddling in the cool water, we finally decided that the trip had started. This was what it was all about!

(About an hour later I realised it's all about sand getting EVERYWHERE! - but its still great!)

Keep the comments coming - it's a great buzz when we get them. Sometimes there's a delay before they appear on the blog, but we are definitely getting them. Thanks to all.

Philippe and Sinead

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