Rio de Janeiro and Ilha Grande

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Hello again! and so soon after you´d just finished reading the last one, anyone would think that we are sat in an internet cafe on our last day in Rio cramming as opposed to enjoying the sights!

Anyway, we have both been blown away by Rio. Janice and I have agreed that this is another of those cities that we could live in were we given the chance. Everything about the city is captivating, from Christ the Redeemer watching over your every move and the spectacular beach front location to the Favelas and football culture.

We decided to stay in Copacabana in a lively but nice enough hostel just a stones throw from the beach. We visited Christ in all his majesty on the Corcovado (the name of the hill he stands on) and the views were spectacular. We also got some good shots as the sun was setting from a helipad not far from the statue itself which looks back up at him. That night we went to an area called Lapa for a massive street party (around 10,000 people) it had a great atmosphere and I´m happy to say that I was accosted several times by the locals but unfortunately they were all men, apparently gay people in Rio like me.

Janice visited Sugar Loaf Mountain the next day whilst I lazed on the beach, this is said to be the place where the best views across the city are to be found and the pictures Janice took attest to that.

We visited a Favela called Rocinha (Favelas are the shanty towns on the edge of the city where poorer people live and crime is very overt). Our visit was part of an organised tour with a group that donates a lot of it´s proceeds to the up keep of a day care centre. We learnt about the history of the favelas and how much crime plays a part in the lives of the people there. We felt surprisingly safe, the locals know that the drug lords don´t like crime against tourists because it´s an invitation for the Police to come in and start shooting people which they do regularly. That night we took part in a pub quiz in our hostel which I´m glad to say that we won! Free t-shirts all round!

After a few days of hustle and bustle in Rio we decided that it was best if we spent a few days relaxing. We went to a lovely island nearly 200 kms S.E of Rio called Ilha Grande (Big Island). It has one of the worlds most beautiful beaches in the world (Lopes Mendes) where we spent a bit of time topping up the tans so that we look healthy when we come home to all you translucent, England bound individuals. We also did a snorkelling trip with a group of people that had come over from Rio and had been staying in the same hostel as us. We enjoyed our time in Ilha Grande but we were both really excited to be getting back to Rio for our last 2 days before flying back!

Yesterday we arrived back and met up with a friend that we had met on the Inca Trail in Peru who is also on the same flight home as us! It is indeed a small world.

Today we have laid in bed for a while feeling sorry for ourselves, checked in to a different hostel that took 40 minutes before they were ready to show us our room(!) and visited Ipanema beach just a few kms away from Copacabana. We are really excited about getting back and seeing you all now-just one more sleep on Terra Firma before our LONG flight home to England.

See you all soon.

Love and hugs.

Adam and Janice.xxx

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