The end of the road

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The flights you will be glad to hear went completely without a hitch, taking us all over the continent until eventually we touched gracefully down at Rio international airport last Friday. We spent one night squeezed into an 8 person dorm and as quickly as possible hopped into a minibus down the coast. A short ferry crossing and 3 hours later we were on Ilha Grande a stunning island around the size of Manchester just off the Brazilian coast. The beaches were really beautiful, and the ocean invigoratingly bracing, so our 5 days flew by in a daze of sun and seafood in what felt like no time. With much better tans we were off, back to Rio!

Being old hands at busses and ferries and the such the journey was no problem whatsoever, even having the chance to stop at a ubiquitous barbeque restaurant along the way with fantastic charred rotisserie steaks. A trip to Bem Brazil is definitely needed when back in Manchester.

Since getting to Rio we have made a good go of sightseeing, visiting Ipanema and Copacabana to admire the local flair for beach life (there are far too many gym addicts around for our liking!) as well as taking a train up to the towering (really, it is massive!) and awe inspiring Christ the Redeemer where the views quite literally take your breath away. We have a visit to a local football derby planned tomorrow (Fluminense vs. Botafogo) and then, with very mixed feeling we will be coming home.

Thanks so much for reading, we´re really looking forward to seeing you all when we get back. Nearly as much as we are looking forward to salt and vinegar crisps and Bovril toast…


All our Love


Adam and Emma


On a quick aside, I wanted to say a huge thank you to Mum and Dad, largely because of your generosity with regard to accommodation, food, and lifts I´ve been able to have the trip of a lifetime. Also thanks to Emma who had the idea in the first place and has been the perfect (mostly!) travelling companion.

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Photos

Ilha Grande
Worth the walk!

Christo
The gigantic Christ the redeemer

Rio
Christ´s view over Rio, made all the better by my big head!