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Published: August 17th 2005
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Finances = Very Green, Fitness = Red, Relationship = Green, Arguments = Still none
...she was a showgirl. Does that give a clue where we are? For those of you who aren't Barry Manilow fans we are currently in an internet cafe opposite Copacobana beach in Rio de Janeiro.
Its been a while since we last blogged - when we were just recovering from our skiing adventure in Bariloche. We stayed in Argentina for a further few days as there was still a lot of chocolate and wine which needed sampling. Between those arduous tasks we also found time to walk up a mountain and through knee-deep snow to a revolving restaurant 4000ft above sea level. The views were absolutely stunning and this was definitely one of the best hikes of the holiday.
On our last day in Bariloche we had some fun tobogganing. We went to a purpose built centre with four graded runs and two lifts. We thought it would take us about 90 minutes to complete the 6 runs we were entitled to. Instead we were there for over three hours! It was so much fun and I was constantly laughing mainly due to Mark
careering into snow drifts and hay bales on the corners. Once again our boots gor very wet. this time with more serious consequences. Mark finally admitted he needed a new pair which were duly bought and sadly his trusty 15 year old boots were consigned to a public rubbish bin. It was a very sentimental moment!!!
So we left Argentina with fond memories and headed back into Chile. Once again we travelled on the nightbus to Santiago where this time the dodgy entertainment was the subtitled Herbie. Consequently it sent us to sleep rather quickly and we arrived in Santiago reasonably refreshed. We stayed in Santiago for a couple of days, ambling around and soaking up the atmosphere before catching our flight to Rio.
We arrived in Rio 3 days ago and it was lovely to be met at the airport so we could be taken to our hotel. We were a little deflated when we realised our driver could speak no English and we could speak no Portuguese as we had absolutely no idea where we aere going. But all went to plan and we checked into our hotel overlooking Copacobana Beach.
Since being here we
have done the two key tourist spots. Sugar Loaf Mountain was first on our agenda, this involved two cable rides to the top. Luckily the rides were very quick - 3 minutes each - so there was no time to dwell on the fact that there was an awful lot of fresh air between my feet and ground below. The views from the top were stunning, albeit a little hazy and from here it was possible to see the strange make-up of the city. One side there are beautiful sandy beaches, on another the ocean as far as the eye can see and another, millions of buildings and houses built on every piece of available space. From the top of Sugar Loaf we could also see Christ the Redeemer just above the cloud. Quite surreal at times but certainly impressive.
Next on our agenda was Christ the Redeemer. This involved a steep train ride up the mountain and then 5 flights of stairs to get to the base. Once again the views of the city were stunning, in fact better than from Sugar Loaf as the cloud had cleared. And while it was good to be at the top, it was actually more impressive when we got back down and realised we had been standing on a platform jutting out from the mountain.
The rest of our time in Rio has been very relaxing, mainly sitting on Copacobana Beach and taking in the sunshine. We seem to be in a winding down mood now, probably because we know we have to come home next week (assuming there are no more BA strikes!!).
Tonight we fly to Miami before picking up a car and driving to the Florida Keys, so this is our last day in South America. We have absolutely loved it here and it has been such a good experience. Our only regret is that we didn´t have more time to spend here.
But now its onwards and upwards as we turn our attention to North America. We´re hoping the hurricanes and tropical storns have blown themselves out as we could do with a little rest and recuperation in the sunshine. It´s a hard life you know!!!!
So, that´s it from us from the Southern Hemisphere. Catch you on the other side!
Love K&M
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Mike
non-member comment
And you could be in England . . .
The Renwick family is off to Yarmouth next week, you're photos of Rio seem so familiar! OK, to show we not full saddos we are going to Lanzarote in a few weeks also. The locations so far look great and this blogg stuff is a great idea. Now you're off to Miami, I can recommend SkyDive Miami, http://www.skydivemiami.com, for a tandem skydive, less than $200 and Fred the owner is a very safety conscious bloke with approx 14,000 jumps. I did a couple of days of jump lessons from Fred in May (when I was "working" in Miami) and the view is fantastic over the sea and Everglades. To keep Mark up to date with Golf, Steve hit a 95 last week. 42 out and 53 back - so he clearly got too excited! He's got a new bigger driver - and guess what - he can now hit it wider and shorter! Look forward to more blogs, take care, from Mike and family