Romping around Rio

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Nick: After all these months of planning we are finally here. I write this entry from the air-conditioned comfort of our hostel room, at about 06:45 on our second morning in Brazil. Our journey here was quite a slog, taking a good 16 hours in total.

The trip got off to a bit of a bad start when the delightful people of Alitalia refused to let us board our first flight as we did not have sufficient proof of onward travel from Brazil; clearly our round-the-world itinerary was a sham we had masterminded in order to facilitate our illegal immigration to Rio! Needless to say, a panicked negotiation of this red tape ensued and we spent a good ninety minutes acquiring the necessary information to get us on that plane. Eventually we made it through security, with enough time to spare for a hurried beer too - phew! The flights were long but uneventful and after a quick changeover at Rome, a couple of in-flight meals and a fitful sleep, we had landed.

No issues at immigration (and so our master plan remained on course, mwa-ha-ha-haa!) and despite a rather evident language barrier we somehow found ourselves in a taxi headed to our hostel, located in Ipanema. It was about 06:15 a.m., and already 26 degrees. The unfamiliar sights and smells of Rio came in through the taxi window, with our driver pointing out the key tourist sights en-route: sugarloaf mountain, Christ the Redeemer, and the Maracana stadium. It felt like our journey had truly begun!

Sarah: once we dumped our bags we had to wait until the afternoon to check in, so after a quick refresh, change of clobber and slapping on of the sun cream we decided to head off down to the beach. There we found all kinds of shapes and sizes walking and jogging along the front, as well as a variety of exercise classes going on on the beach. In that heat, no thank you!

The scenery is spectacular. As we walked, sugarloaf mountain was looming ahead of us and Christ the Redeemer kept making appearances between the apartments and tower blocks. After a good old romp around to get our bearings and take in the sights, we'd made it to 10am.... It was going to be a long day as we already felt we'd been awake long enough to earn our first beer! Instead, we went for a couple of cold cans of the soft variety, accompanied by some generic cheese, meat and bread snack.

We then headed back to the hostel feeling pretty done in, deciding to have a read (sleep). I took the hammock and was asleep in seconds. I woke up feeling guilty as Nick's head was lolling in a White Plastic Gardening Chair (beware of the WPGC!) so we did a little swap and I grabbed the iPad for a little trip planning. After our Heathrow airport purchase, the loose plans had been thrown up in the air a bit, but after a couple of hours we had plans and some transport booked for Paraty to São Paulo to Iguazu Falls to Buenos Aires between now and 12th March! We checked in to our very nice room and finally had a proper shower. We headed out again to walk around Leblon. It felt a lot more lively at 3pm, as did we!

After a bit more walking and appreciation of the fact we were not sat behind desks staring at screens, we had a few drinks and found a sushi restaurant for dinner. It was really good sushi and accompanied by some amazing street Capoeira. Man-oh-man do those boys have a strong core! .

Right, it's almost brekkie time and then we're heading off to try and navigate our way to the free walking tour start point. Hope everyone is good. Lots of love xxx

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Comments

[Jean Adams]

Happy for you
Thanks for the pics and update. Sarah does look as though she was made to occupy a hammock in a sunny spot! Sorry Nick. Mad initial problems sorted out but typical petty beaurocracy! Lots of love. The sun is actually shining here too, but not quite as warm. XX