Rio de Janeiro

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Well, it's nearly the end of my South American trip. I fly home tomorrow and I've spent the last week or so in Rio de Janeiro. It's a huge place, there's lots to do here and I've spent a lot of time walking around and seeing the sights. I'm staying in Ipanema which has a good beach as well as lots of cafes, restaurants and bars, and it's next to Copacabana with its 4km stretch of sandy beach. I've done the obligatory tourist things - I went up to see the Statue of Christ at Corcovado and I took the cablecar up Sugarloaf Mountain at sunset.

It was my birthday while I was here and I went out with a load of people from the hostel where I'm staying to a lively place called Lapa where there are lots of bars and clubs playing Samba music, and stalls selling food and drinks in the streets. We tried caipirinhas, a Brazilian cocktail made from fermented sugar cane and lime, which was very tangy and quite sweet. The atmosphere in Lapa was great and we had a really good night.

I went to see a football match at the massive Maracanã stadium. Two local teams were playing, Fluminense and Botafogo. We were with the Fluminense fans and everyone was going crazy, constantly chanting and waving huge flags. It ended in a 1-1 draw and it was pouring with rain but it was great to experience the atmosphere of a Brazilian football match before leaving Rio.

This morning I rounded off my trip with something a bit special - I did a tandem hang glide at Tijuca Forest National Park in Rio. The pilot, a Brazilian guy called Paulo, flew me off a ramp high up on a hill, over the forest and finally over Pepino beach where we landed. It was over quite quickly but was really exhilarating and the views were fantastic. It was an amazing way to spend the morning of my final full day in South America.

It seems strange to think that I'll be home in a couple of days. I've had a wonderful experience and I'm really glad I decided to travel in South America. I've been to so many interesting and diverse places and met some great people. But I'm only home for 3 weeks before I head out to New Zealand for the start of another adventure!

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