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Published: January 23rd 2014
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Obvious blog title but fitting nonetheless for our first blog post for Rio de Janeiro!So we arrived! After a four hour delay at Heathrow due to a faulty mechanism that stops the engines icing over. I was secretly bricking it but had to pretend to be brave... It wasn't helping my mini fear of flying. Anyway, fix number three(!) seemed to work a charm and we were off. Arriving at our hostel at 2am, a bit tired and grubby.After a proper sleep, we decided to take it easy and relax on Copacabana beach... as you do! We had our first of many coconuts, saw our first brazilian thong bikini and took our first step in the ocean. We took it easy that evening and had a few beers in the hostel and met the other people staying there. Everyone is lovely and sociable which is great, we've met a few hilarious characters already, including a nutty Australian and a very amorous Brazilian lady!Day two was a little more productive...
We saw the steps in lapa - escardaria selaron. Named after the artist who created them in 1990. He then went on to set himself on fire in 2012 at the foot of the steps....On a lighter note,they look lovely and Ela and I obviously liked the fact that both Pharrell and Michael Jackson have been to that spot for music videos. Next up was a walk round Ipanema and then onto Christ the Redeemer. It was incredible, the sheer size of the statue and being so high up is amazing. Whilst we were up there we saw a lightening storm in the distance slowly make its way towards us. After a while we decided to make our way down the mountain before the storm hit. Little did we know it was already kicking off in Rio and by the time we got home most of the streets were flooded to about knee height....we actually had to wade through it to make it to our hostel. I dread to think of what was in the water as it smelt like shite and there were a few times when our feet landed on something squidgy.... Ela and I attacked the antibac
soap with a vengeance when we got in....
Next day we went on a favela tour, visiting a favela under police control. It was crazy going in past about 6 cops around you with AK47s. The tour guide took us right into the heart of the favela and told us all about the history and conflict between drug dealers and police. The poverty was really shocking. It was a fascinating tour, if not a little but depressing. That night was our first Lapa street party which apparently are legendary in Rio. They close the roads around lapa every Thursday, Friday and Saturday especially. Everyone packs onto the street for dancing and outdoor bars. It was really great fun, although we both felt the after effects of too many caipirinhas the next day....Our final day in Rio, we made it up to sugar loaf mountain for sunset which was possibly the best way to finish our stay. The sight was
so beautiful. We caught the first cable car up to Urca, had a mooch and then went to sugar loaf for the sunset finale. Ela and I were a bit gutted that we didn't have fancy cameras as ours couldn't really capture the full awesomeness. Our pics are still fairly pretty though and the memory of the sun going down over Christ the redeemer will be with us both for a long time I am sure... and also nothing a bit of Instamagic can't help with!All in all, we have both absolutely loved Rio. The feel of the town, the incredible scenery and the lovely people we met from all around the world. I mostly felt pretty safe there too and think that if you are sensible, generally you are OK. Next off - Salvador and Morro de São Paulo for beach time.
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Becky
non-member comment
Wonderful
Holla babes, loving your first edition to the blog! Keep them coming - superb sunset shot! xxx