DAY 29

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Day starts of with the usual - breakfast (the best so far - so many fruits to choose from), shower, pack. Say goodbye to the falls and catch a plane for Rio de Janeiro (TAM airline). Our plane departs at 10:40am and arrives at 12:40 in Rio (roughly 2hr). We find a cab that is so much cheaper than the ones at the arrivals door. The cab take us to Tupiniquim Hostel in Botafogo. We leave after dropping of our bags in search of lunch. Find a lovely little place where we have some soup of the day. Tempers start going out of control as we are lost for ages and nothing on the map matches the streets we are walking along. We walk for ages trying to find a shopping mall and end up tired on a beach. Feel like killing each other at this point - the weather is so hot, we are tired and lost and rio is just too big =) After sitting for a few minutes we kiss and make up and decide not to let things get to us so easily. Friends again. While sitting on the beach we spot Sugar Loaf Mountain not too far in the distance, we decide to head in that direction - we arrive at Sugar Loaf quite easily walking in the shaded streets we are feeling better and now somewhat excited. We book our tickets and wait patiently for our turn - we jump on the cable car and we off =) I think the heat is getting to us, having just arrived from the Andes - feels like one is coming out the refrigerator and being thrown into an oven.

Reaching the top of Sugar Loaf is actually done in two stages. The first car ascends over 700 feet up Urca Hill affording marvelous views of Corcovado Mountain, the Niteroi Bridge and Guanabara Bay. Transferring to a second car then elevates you an additional 1300 feet to the top where spectacular views of Copacabana and other beaches can be admired.

Arriving on top of Urca Hill we enjoy the breath taking views while we relax under a tree and enjoy some ice cream. We spot some spider monkeys in a nearby tree eating fruits - they were so cute and as small as my hand. We head of to catch the next cable car going up to Sugar Loaf. WOW is the only word we can think of - the views are truly spectacular. The sun starts to set and the views become even more amazing. The water from the ocean below looks so cool and inviting. We can see Corcovado Mountain. Spend ages just admiring the views and then head back down. By now the sun has set and the city below looks so amazing. We stroll back to the hostel, we find it easily this time =) even though we must have walked for a good 45mins.

At the hostel we have something to eat and then order our complimentary drinks - caipirinha (Caipirinha is Brazil's national cocktail, made with cachaça, sugar and lime). Hmmm......heaven!!!! Then it was bedtime - didnt get any sleep as there was a party going on downstairs for most of the night, the rooms are not sound proof at all and Anshu was happily sleeping. At least one of us would be fresh tomorrow.

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Photos

Paraguay
from our hostel deck in the morning.

Us two
just after a good fruity breakfast.

TAM
airline to Rio and Anshu.

Iguazu Falls
view the plane.

Weird tree
we spotted while searching for lunch - wondered is they were edible.

Sugar Loaf Mountain
spotted from some random beach we stunbled on.

Cable cars
from a distance.

Strange birds
on the beach - looks like a vulture.

In the cable car
and off we go.

Anshu
on Urca hill.

Me
on the way up again to Sugar Loaf.

We two
on Sugar Loaf Mountain.

Birds
made of stone at Amsterdam Sauer.