Blogs from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America - page 232

Had a change of plan. Didn´t go on the Favela tour today we´re going tomorrow we went to a football match instead! We saw Botafogo v Vasco de gama. It was good, a little scarey to start with as we had to walk through all the fans and they were all shouting ´gringo!´ this means not a local. hEard lots of bangs which we are assuming were fire crackers, but wouldn´t count on it!!! There were loads of police which should have made us feel better but no as we have heard a lot about them and one of it is good! I´ll tell you about this later. The match was good they had massive flags and we joined in some of the chants! Andy was chanting his own Rotherham songs! At the end of the ... read more

DAY 4 Not much is the answer! So we have moved across town to Ipanema. We feel much happier about being here as it isn´t so intimidating as Botafogo. We might even venture out tonight!! We managed to get across town with our massive bags, getting through the turnstiles on the little bus was fun! First impressions of our new hostel are all good. The lady running it is nice (young bilingual one Gareth!!) and quite nice as well (Andy) ha ha. Anyway the peole are nice and we are in a dorm for the first time. 5 blokes and me!!! Hey, as we arrived at our hostel we saw the young couple we sat with on the plane!! We are meeting up for drinks tonight. Tomorrow is Independence Day so the Brazilians are on holiday ... read more

We´ve seen it on the photos but now we have seen it for real!!WOW what a view,and guess what I could see the pub from up there!Its the biggest pile of soil we have ever been up,Bigger than belle vue hill (the cobbled road that leads to Andys mums house)and she would still manage to carry 8 big shopping bags up it No problem! The views were wicked and we got some really good photos (going to try and put them on here!) After that we went to Ipanema beach. This is where on a Sunday all the locals go there and they pedestrianise some of the streets so it was really busy. Men posing in pouches and playing volly ball and yes all the women in the tinyiest bikinis, all sizes! Waves at all the ... read more

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 ... read more

well we´ve left the severed bulls head behind, we had to face the reality that a dead bull and plus 30 heat just didn´t mix.....we rode the ride in style, got deported from Ilha Grande, but the people lined the streets to hail the vaca loco! He slept with swedish girls in Rio, chased dogs in Ilha Grande, drank beer in paratay, but the pantanal is just one stop too far, after all pirhanas don´t really like bulls, or is it that they like them too much! The maddness improves in leaps and bounds just as my love for tequila, coincidence? Thanks to the advancements in upper arm floatation devices, ligers for dave and seahorses for me ( I am secretly jealous) we laughed a watery grave in the face....on a boat trip out to a ... read more