Blogs from Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America - page 144

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South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro February 10th 2006

pulsating samba beats, expansive white beaches crowded with sun tanned bodies, and impressive and scenic landscapes filling in the backdrop....this is daily life in rio de janeiro. i wasn't quite sure what to expect upon arrival in rio. i had decided to go for one week, traveling to and from buenos aires. definitely not enough time to do justice to the expansive country of brazil, but it seemed a shame to skip brazil completely...especially with its infamous reputation for fun living, exorbitant nightlife, and unparalleled dance and music origins. i stayed in a cute little hostel, called ipanema beach house, nestled into a quiet street in the posh barrio of ipanema. as many are compelled to sing "and she's go-ing to san-fran-cis-co....la la la.." when i tell them where i am from; ipanema may be one ... read more
copacabana beach
lagoa de rodrigo de freitas
eugenie, david, and lorenzo..enjoying the seclusion of a local beach

South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro » Botafogo February 7th 2006

Hey guys! So for all you doubters that didn´t think we´d make it out the duty free lobby in Heathrow you were wrong!! In Botafogo in Rio, admittedly did nothing our first day as jet lagged so just wandered around and generally got lost! Note to self - do not wear brand new flip-flops on the beach as your feet get massacred and effect your ability to walk (obviously this was Jemma that this happened to - add this to elephantitus of the foot)! However we´ve now got our bearings and have given the Japanese a run for their money taking pictures of every building even if we´re not quite sure what it is! For all you boys you´ll be impressed that on just our second day we went to a Brasilian semi final at the ... read more
Jemmas scabby elephant feet!
View from Sugarloaf Mountain
Sugarloaf Mountain

South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro February 7th 2006

So before digging up Senor Ronaldinho´s back garden, we decided to take a look a round the city. Firstly, Copacabana beach - what a place! Along with Ipanema beach, there are no places like it, golden sands backed by palm trees and high rise buildings, peopled by beautiful Brazilians, and in view of Sugar Loaf mountain and Christ the Redeemer, who looms over the city like a guardian angel. The next day we went to the Maracanã stadium and watched Botafogo beat Americano 2-1 in what we discovered afterwards was some sort of semi-final. They played in 40 degree heat, and the fans had some really big flags. And Eric was on a radio station - this commentator sat next to him - shoved the microphone in front of him- Eric´s famous words to all of ... read more
Look into my eyes...
Us and Christo
Eleni outside the Maracanã

South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro February 6th 2006

For those of you who have been checking every day, we finally made it! After a 13-hour flight and a noisy group of Swedes 'on tour´ we are now in one of the most beautiful cities in the world! Not done too much yet, spent a lazy day soaking the rays on Copacabana, and watching a semi-final at the world-famous Maracana stadium, where the frisking security process involves a pat on the chest, a pat on the bum, then a hefty whack into the crown jewels! There´s no need for that.... Today we set for to explore the local area, including a cathedral that resembled an Aztec Temple. The highlight of the walk up to it was Eleni stepping into a steaming, sloshy, infected, fresh pile of dog . Luckily we had on hand 2 fresh ... read more
Stairway to Heaven

South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro » Botafogo January 23rd 2006

January 23nd, 2006, second day in Rio de Janeiro, Bresil, day 17 of our cruise. We are at the cruise ship dock of Rio, minutes from downtown, safe because the tourist police have a station at the gate. Rio is one of the most beautiful cities that I have had the privilege to visit. Yesterday we went up Corcovado Mountain on a cog railcar to see the city and the statue of Christ the Redeemer. Back at sea level, we visited the new, cone shaped cathedral, San Sebastian, which can hold 20,000, it was built with openings in the walls and large doors that slide open to let the breeze in- making it cooler in church than outside. The digital thermometers on Copacabana and Ipanema beaches registered a high of 42 degree Celsius and the humidity ... read more

South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro January 18th 2006

In an insane moment we decided to do a hang glide off Pedra Bonita, a cliff standing 510m high over Rio. We were paired with different instructors and received approximately 30 secs training on how to run off a cliff!!! With our hand on the left shoulders of the glider and our bodies strapped to the kite we then individually ran off a mini ramp, and experienced an amazing glide down onto Pepino beach! As you can tell from these pics, Andrea was having a whale of time! Ann Marie, was a tad bit nervous as her grip suggests! Yay! Football at last! and where better than Brazil?? Ann Marie finally managed to drag Andrea out to her first football game, and it was with two of Rios local teams, Vasco and Madureira, for a pre-season ... read more
Hang glide
Hang glide
Hang glide

South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro January 18th 2006

Now feeling confident that the whole of Brazil believes we are Brazilian, and considering that we accidently stumbled into a favela in Salvador, we dared to venture into Rocinha, the largest favela in Brazil. For those of you who have seen City Of God, you can forgive us for expecting to be ducking stray bullets, but in actual fact, the favela by day was incredibly quiet, and the people were extremely friendly and the kids were happily playing and flying their kites. We were struck by the poverty within the area, the children were subconsciously running around barefoot amongst the sewage water, that leéks through the favelas narrow streets and staircases. While some of the children begged, many others were selling pieces of art and jewellery that they had made as a means of gathering money. ... read more
Rocinha
Rocinha

South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro January 17th 2006

The moment we stepped off the plane we knew we felt at home. We glided through the airport with no complications and when we arrived at the hostel we were greeted with a lively atmosphere, with the whole hostel preparing to enjoy their Saturday night! Buoyed by the atmosphere (and the hostel's caipirinha bar) we immediately got ourselves ready for our first night out in Rio. We all (approx a group of 10 to 15) headed to Lapa - filled with bars and clubs. For 2 Reais (approx 50p) we got into a cool hip hop club, and if you didnt fancy paying the entrance fee, you could always join the hundreds of revellers outside who were enjoying the music for free and dancing on the streets! Partying aside, while in Rio we have been eager ... read more
View from Corcovado
sugar loaf
sugar loaf

South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro » Botafogo January 8th 2006

Rio has been an awesome place to spend time, and you could easily spend a lot longer there (Mehalah spent 2 months and needs more time). There is a massive variety of things to do and the people are very friendly. It is hard to grasp quite how big rio is, it follows the coast for miles and miles, sorounded by by mountains and lush forests. This means that pretty much where ever you are you are not far from an amazing sandy beach, backed by cycle paths and beach sellers. These beaches are pretty amazing especialy considering the fact that you are in a city the size of london. True to its reputation rio is full of fantastically beautifull people - wearing very little. Sadly we were not able to fully enjoy these beaches as ... read more

South America » Brazil » Rio de Janeiro » Rio de Janeiro » Botafogo January 7th 2006

Well, I seem to end up in a place for a few days, sometimes a few weeks, but eventually it is time to move on. I booked a bus ticket this morning. The bus will take me to Porto Alegre tomorrow. From there I will jump on a bus to Montevideo and spend a few days in the Uraguay Capital, before getting a boat accross the bay to Buenos Aries. I have a flight booked out of Buenos for a weeks time, bound for Ushuaia in Torre De Fuego. I have spent about 10 days in Rio de Janeiro. I spent New Years on Copacabana Beach, I went to stay with Camilla's family in Nitaroi. All in all I had a fun time. The weather here has, this morning, turned sunny (it is always hot in ... read more
Mo, the manager.
Daniel, he works in the hostel
A quick project I had in mind




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