Ole Ole Ole Ole Brazil! Brazil!

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Hey!!!

Well I guess this will be my last blog as I´m going home on Friday...boooo!!! The last part of the South America trip has definately been the best! Brazil is officially my favourite country!

Well the city tour in Montevideo wasn~t the best...in fact about 5 people out of our group managed to fall asleep on it!!! Its not the most exciting city! We went out in the evening though and had a pretty big night so I guess that made up for it! We went to a bar that had a live band playing salsa music so we all tried our hand at some salsa moves! 😊

The following day we had a 5 hour bus rise to a place called Salto...When we arrived in Salto a lady came up to me at the bus station and asked where I was from. I replied "England" then she proceeded to ask me why I was in Salto. I began to explain that we were doing an organised tour from Buenos Aires to Rio and this was one of the stops on the trip...she said "Yes I understand that but...WHY SALTO???" We knew from then on that this wasn~t really going to be the happening town that we´d been to previously and it didn´t let us down! We spent all of the following day walking around the town (which was mostly full of closed shops) saying "WHY SALTO, WHY?!?!?!"

We left at about 5pm that evening thank god, although none of us were looking forward to the 17 hour bus ride from Salto to Iguassu which was our next stop! We had to go from Uruguay to Argentina in taxis then we caught the bus from Argentina and on the border we were all comparing passports when one of the American girls, Synthia looked in another girls´ passport and realised that she didn´t have a Brazilian visa!!! We´re ok coming from the UK but all US and Aussie citizans need a Brazilian visa. Things went from bad to worse when the bus was delayed 3 hours then when we went to get on it, there wasn´t enough room for our bags. The bus driver didn´t seem to care, he just shrugged his shoulders like "what do you expect me to do about it, it´s not my problem" so we had to take them on the bus and store them at the back. I actually slept pretty well on the bus as I had an eye mask and ear plugs but aparantly there were some really noisy Argentinians shouting all the way through the night so some people didn´t get any sleep at all! After we got to Iguassu we then had to leave Synthia on the Argentinian side of the falls because it was a Saturday and the embassy didn´t open til the Monday. We were supposed to be doing the Brazilian side that day but we decided to switch the itinerary around and went to Paraguay that afternoon instead.

Paraguay is....well lets just say I´ve been there!!! There was supposed to be some amazing market there that you can buy electrical goods at half the price but when we looked around the stuff appeared to only be about 20 or 30 quid cheaper than the UK and you´d probably pay that bit extra for a British guarantee! We looked around the shopping centre for about 30 mins then went to the cafeteria and played UNO for an hour!!! I must admit though...if you´re after a cheap sniper rifle or night vision goggles, Paraguay is the place to go!!!

That evening we went out to a really nice restaurant and I had the best meal I think I´ve ever eaten!!!! It sounds a bit weird but it was a filet steak with a side of pasta in a wild mushroom sauce...it was just so tasty and they went brilliantly together!!! After dinner we came back to the hotel and drank a bit there then we went to a bar where they had a live jazz band...the band was brilliant and we all had a really good night!

Sunday we went back to Argentina to do the Argentinian side of the falls so Synthia could join us! There is only one thing I can say about Iguassu falls and that is AMAZING!!! They are the most incredible thing I have ever seen! In the morning it was quite sunny so we went on a speed boat that took you down the river then underneath some of the waterfalls!!! After we´d dried off we went on one of the walks to see all the falls from the top. I´ve put some pictures on here but no pictures can do it justice...it was just AMAZING!!!

That evening we had a bbq at the hotel with free Caiprinihas (which are the local drink in Brazil made with lime juice, cuchassa, and sugar!). Needless to say I´ve found my new favourite drink!!! After the cocktails were gone we went onto the beer and played something called Flip Cup...it was introduced to the last group by a couple of Canadian girls and has been passed on to us. Its a team drinking game which involves downing your drink then flipping your cup on its head then the next one goes and the next til one team beats the other. It was a lot of fun but VERY competitive!!!

Monday was the Brazilian side of Iguassu and we were all a little worried that we were going to be underwhelmed after the previous day. We didn´t need to be...on the Brazilian side you don´t get as close to the falls but you get a better view of the vastness and its still incredible!!! I think we were still in awe when we got on our bus to Paratay.

This bus ride was the dreaded 24 hour one! I was pretty confident I could sleep some on this one as on the last long ride I got about 7 hours but for some reason my brain wouldn´t switch off and I only got about 3 hours sleep. When we got to Paratay though it was all worth it...it was a really pretty town and our hostel (although there were 7 of us girls sharing a 6 bed room) was really nice and friendly.

We were all pretty tired after the bus journey so we went out for dinner then got an early night. The following day we were greeted by bright sunshine and a stunning beach! We spent most of the day sunbathing and playing beach volleyball (the first bit of exercise I´ve done on my travels!). It was a really good day then in the evening we had some food at the hostel then went into the town for some drinks at a cuban bar. There was a mini festival going on so the town was buzzing which gave it a really good atmosphere!

Thursday we took a short local bus to the port then got a taxi boat to Ilhe Grande. It was a bit dull which was disappointing but our hostel there was nice. Everyone was pretty tired after Paratay so only a few of us went out for dinner that evening.

The following day we woke up to torrential rain...I was absolutely gutted because Ilhe Grande is supposed to be one of the most beautiful places in the world! We made the most of it though and went on a walk through the forest to an old prison. It was nice to get out even though the weather wasn´t that good. In the afternoon we decided to have a bbq as the hotel had a covered bbq area. It was really nice and we followed it up with a game of flip cup! In the evening we went into the town because they have a festival on every weekend in July. There were street sellers selling food and alcohol and other curios and we danced salsa in the street! I also managed to aquire a straw hat which I have been told that I need to keep for the rest of the trip!

Saturday was actually a pretty nice day so we decided to go to a beach at the other side of the island that is good for surfing. It was a really nice beach but we only managed to rent a couple of surf boards so I had to make do with a body board! We were all pretty tired again after a day in the sea so we went out for dinner then all went to bed to prepare ourselves for RIO!

Sunday we left early and got the boat taxi to a different place. It was then a 3 hour minibus ride to Rio. We got there about 1pm and had a walk along Copacobana to Ipanema where there was a big hippy market. I really wanted to buy some art for my house but they didn´t really get the hang of bartering and my Portugese isn´t brilliant so I gave up! That evening we went out to a traditional Brazilian restaurant. Its an all you can eat place where you go up to the buffet to get salad and stuff then they walk round with huge skewers of meat and just carve off what you want...it was absolutely amazing and I ate far too much!

As it was our last night of the official tour we wanted to have a good night out but I guess Sunday in Rio not many people go out so it took ages to find a place that was open past 12! We were eventually directed to a smallish bar but it had a few people in and a dj so we settled in there. It got to about 1am and the music wasn´t amazing so I suggested to one of the girls that we make a few requests...well it turns out that thr dj had no idea what to play so he just played all our requests all night and we had a night dancing to arctic monkeys and the killers!!!

Yesterday was our first day on our own in Rio! We checked out of the hotel and into our own hostels then I think everyone took an afternoon nap as we didn´t get back til 4.30am! Al, Suzie, Emma and myself then met up at 3pm to go to Sugarloaf Mountain as we´d heard that it was best to do it at sunset because you could see the sun set behind the christ statue. We got there in good time and got some amazing pictures of the city and the sunset!

I´m staying in the same hostel as Al, Bryan and Annie so we all met up in the evening for a couple of drinks and we did the hostel´s pub quiz which we came joint 2nd on!!!

Today we got up early and met the rest of the group to do an organised Favella tour...I think this is definately one of the highlights of my entire trip...we got motor-taxis (rode on the back of a motorbike with a complete stranger) to the top of the Favella then our tourguide took us through the streets of the Favella...it was absolutely brilliant to see how these people live and how huge the Favella is. The Favella we went in (I can´t remember the name) is the only Favella the general public are allowed to enter and they have an agreement with the drug dealers who govern the place that the tourists don´t take pictures of the drug dealers with their AK47s and they don´t shoot the tourists!!! I was really glad that I didn´t buy any artwork in the market on Sunday because our guide took us into a studio in the middle of the Favella and I bought a gorgeous picture from one of the local painters.

In the afternoon we met up again and went up to the Christ the Redeemer statue. It was a gorgeous day so we had amazing views of the statue and the city (see photos!!!). We only needed an hour or so up there but it was really exciting to see such a well known landmark!

I think tomorrow if its nice we´re going to beach it ALL DAY! We haven´t had such good weather on this trip so I need to catch up with everyone back in the UK on my tan!

Hope you´re all ok and enjoying the sunshine back home!!! Can´t believe I´m home on Friday!!!

See you all soon! Miss you!!!

Jane xxx

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