Rio!!!!

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I got to the hostel, Mellow Yellow. Its pretty new but is already very popular just through word of mouth. Its right next to Copacabana beach, on 7 floors with loads and loads of dorms, one with 24 beds! It also comes complete with jacussi and bar, and chill out room. Its absolutely massive. I dumped my stuff and headed to the beach, had one of those reality check moments stepping onto the sand, as in ´oh my god, im on probably the most famous beach in the world´. It was so beautiful, with the hills surrounding, sugar loaf peeping through a gap. The city clings to the hilly rocky coast, the hills covered in green forest. Then of course there´s the Christ the redeemer statue staring down at everyone. It was paradise. It was pretty cloudy , its the rainy season here, but still hot. I even managed to successfully burn my bum to the point that i could never get quite comfortable sitting down that night. I came back to the hostel, and went up to the bar where I met some nice guys - there was Amin and Yuca from my room, the latter being Finnish and mad as a march hare. Then there was Stacey, a Canadian who worked there, and Mark from near Manchester, plus Joel from Brighton, and Josh from Teeside, who i bonded with over being posh geordies. We all got stuck into happy hour, and the night certainly progressed. Stacey suggested a club, and we all eagerly piled in. The boys were suspicious when glitter was thrown in their hair on arrival, but I was oblivious (or too drunk to notice) then the whispers began - ´i think this is a gay club´. Our suspicions were very soon confirmed by a hell of a lot of guy on guy action all around us - they certainly dont hold back here. The boys seemed to get very paranoid, huddling together with nervous looks, but i found it all hilarious. Eventually they had had enough, and we stumbled around looking for somewhere else, ending up at one of the 24 hour kiosks on the beach for a final capirinha before bed.

I lay in till half 2 the next day, possibly the longest lie in ive ever had. I got up and went to copacabana, seeing tiny fluffy poodle type dogs wearing shoes. That made me giggle. Everyone here seems to have that dog, they must have been on special offer at the shop. It was still overcast but warm. A brazilian guy came over - very stereotypical - deep tanned skin, good looking, great body and tiny little swimming shorts. He did his best attempts at English, even getting his 2, as it turned out, lifeguard friends to help out. Of course the inevitable question of a boyfriend came up, but to give them their dues, they stayed around for ages chatting and laughing even after i lied and said i was engaged. I went back to the hostel, my hangover only seemed to be getting worse and worse so i stuck to water for the rest of the night. Got introduced to Irish Dave and we all went out to eat at a buffet pay per kilo restaurant. On the way there we passed typical Rio nightlife - plenty of people sitting out on the street drinking beer and listening to random live Samba performers, its so full of life here. Had a terrible case of eyes bigger than my stomach. Still, i stuck to the water and even made it out clubbing again - a very popular club that didnt even allow flip flops. The men inside were unbelievable, a few of them literally grabbing my wrists and head and not letting go. I got so pissed off I ended up screaming in the face of a persistent offender. The women were beautiful though, and boy could they move. We came home in dribs and drabs, with promises to wake each other up for the beach the next morning.

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