Rio de Janeiro

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Welcome to South America!

We left London on Friday night and arrived in Rio 17 hours later. We managed to get through customs with no worries and then struck our first problem for the trip - getting cash out! Out of 7 ATMs, HSBC swallowed one card, which had to be pulled out of the machine with a pair of tweezers, whilst the others didnt recognise maestro or Visa and none had English instructions.... great! We had just about given up when one of the machines came through with the goods.

The airport is on the north side quite far from the beach, so the taxi ride took us through the slums. Or more accurately bi-passed over the slums and derelict buildings. We arrived to our hostel, Lemon Spirit in Leblon, where we were given the top room which was private with its own balcony.

We went out to explore the surrounding areas, strolling along the beaches of Leblon and Ipanema. The waves were massive! Not even surfers were attempting to get out there! We also had our first taste of Brazilian women....

That night the hostel put on an all you can eat BBQ for R$15 pp (5 quid each!). We stuffed ourselves and after considering a night out on the town, decided otherwise and went to bed.. shattered.

Pao de Azucar, the Sugar Loaf Mountain

Still getting used to the time difference, we got up early and went out for a swim to start the day. We organised a taxi out to the base, where there are 2 cable cars to get across to Sugar Loaf Mountain. Instead of the first cable car, we decided to hike up that part which only took 30 mins through rain forrest. The view accross Copacabana, Ipanema and the other beaches was amazing.

The taxis refused to put the meter on for the fare back and so we negotiated a price and got dropped at Copacabana, and started the 1hr trek back along the beaches to the hostel.

Flamengo Vs Flumenense at Maracana Stadium

We booked a tour through our hostel to see the game at Maracana Stadium, which originally had a capacity of 200,000 without seating, but has now been reduced to about 90,000 with seating (although no one actually uses the seats! Except for throwing at people!). We were seated in the neutral section, but after seeing the Flamengo supporters going crazy, we headed over to join in, along with an Aussie couple and 2 Norwegian girls, despite our tour guide warning us against it. The atmosphere was incredible, with chanting, dancing, flags, banners, flares, balloons and confetti! It makes English fans look tame!! Luckily, Flamengo won 1-0 meaning the fans on our side were in a good mood and there was no trouble.

O Cristo Redentor, The Christ statue

We took a car from the base of the mountain with a local guide. Unfortunately it wasnt an overly clear day and the Christo´s head was in the clouds for most of it. The statue stands at 30m tall with a 28m armspan which looks even more impressive up close. Once again, provides stunning views of the surrounding areas.

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