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Wow Rio was amazing and a place I don't think I ever thought I would really see.
I left Manchester with the weather being the usual wet and dull weather. As expected there were teary goodbyes to Mum and Dad. I landed in London Heathrow on time and phoned Sharons sister Fuzzy to find out where they were and it transpired that Sharon was only just checking in so I walked out of the arrivals area and walked into the departure/check in area and met up with Sharon and her two sisters which was as entertaining as ever. Eventually Sharon said her goodbyes and we walked through passport control.
The flight was pretty basic and boring and I have to confess that I was disappointed with the British Airways services especially since their films aren't on demand so unless you started watching them when they dictated you were stuck to catching something that was half way through or waiting till it had ended and started again....... Continental Airlines are winning the airline of the year award with me at the minute.
Towards the end of the flight the purser announced that there would be screening at Rio for
swine fever to which Sharon started panicking however it transpired that there was no real check and apart from a few staff wearing face masks there was no other sign of problems. For anyone who cares the Brazilian passport stamp is very disappointing and doesn't even show that you have entered Brazil!!
We managed to get through customs with ease and we were met in the arrival lounge by the taxi guy. After a journey through Rio where the taxi man pointed out all the main sights of Rio we arrived at our hostel. Unfortunately the hostel was a bit of a disappointment but was ok on the whole. We ended up in a 6 bed dorm and Sharon and I both had top bunks. Unfortunately the air conditioning wasn't very effective in the 27c heat so it was stuffy in the room and made worse by the fact that it smelt of very smelly sweaty boys feet!!!!
Tuesday morning we awoke bright and early and headed off to Copacabana beach. The weather was humid but overcast. After sitting on the beach for awhile and having the obligatory paddle in the sea we set forth with our action
plan for the day that was to go and visit the Sugar Loaf. We walked through Copacabana to Botafago and on to the Sugar Loaf where we got the cable car up to the top. The views were good however some what marred by the overcast weather.
We hunted around for a bus to take us back it Copacabana or even Ipanema however were lost in the bus system so decided it was quicker to walk back. On arrival at the hostel we decided to go to Ipanema and see if we could watch the football (Man Utd were playing and since Sharon is a big fan and it was "an important game" we had to watch it!). Anyway once again we couldn't understand the bus system and despite a well meaning security guard at the metro station we gave up and went to watch the match in the hostel bar which is where we stayed for the rest of the night......
Wednesday was the day we were determined to get to grips with the transport system and get ourselves to Christo Redentor (Christ the Redeemer). Anyway after lots of internet searching I had it figured and off
we set. The bus system once you understand it is easy although you take you own life in your hands getting on a bus as they drive really fast (one guide book said that the bus drivers are trainee F1 drivers and it wasn't too far wrong). The buses were really cheap and only cost 70p for a journey and it didn't matter how far you were going.
Anyway we got ourselves to the bottom of the Corcovado and got on the funicular. The weather was fantastic and we had bright blue skies and a burning sun. Christo was duly impressive close up and the views were amazing!! After a quick lunch stop we jumped on a bus to Ipanema. In true Brimelow and Deirdre style this wasn't as straightforward a journey as you would think. Effectively the bus stopped and we thought he was going to Ipanema and so asked the driver and he said yes so we jumped on. There was no-one else on the bus and no-one got on behind us. We duly paid our fare to the conductor however he wouldn't let us through the gate to sit down and instead told us no and
Just for Sharon....
Sharon actually stopped mid conversation to turn around and stare an=t this guy as he ran past us!!!!! he stood up. The bus then stopped and we had to get off the bus and run to get back on via the back door. At the next stop and all stops thereafter everyone else was allowed to walk through the gate. In hind sight I think the bus driver and conductor saw that we were "gringos" and decided that we were stupid enough to do as they said in order that they could pocket our bus fare..... It didn't harm us and in fact provided us with much amusement.
We arrived in Ipanema and headed straight down to the beach which was impressive and had lots of beautiful (and not so beautiful) people on it. We sat and chilled for awhile and Sharon went for a paddle. We then walked along to the end and decided it was time to head back to the hostel.
Thursday morning had us up and awake early. We tried but struggled to find a bank that would give us some money so had no choice but to head to the bus station in the hope there would be cash machines there or that the bus company would accept a bank card.
We decided that it was too much to navigate Rio by bus with our bags and so the hostel arranged a taxi for us. The taxi journey was very eventful.........
Unfortunately I assumed the hostel had informed the driver where we wanted to go but as soon as we sat in the car he spoke very fast Portuguese at us So after a scrabble around for th phrase book we told him in broken Portuguese we wanted to go to the central bus station. This then prompted him to ask where we were going so we told him Pararty however he then tried to take us there himself and started showing us his price list. After much stress, laughing, telling him no, repeating the name of the bus station and showing him our map of Rio he gave in. Although it didn't stop him to keep trying not helped by Sharon keeping trying to speak to him and telling him we want the bus station in broken Portuguese.
Anyway we arrived a the bus station in one piece and were able to buy our bus tickets - after asking at three different desks and each time asking if
they spoke any English to be told no and me then asking where we could get the bus to Paraty from. Needless to say we eventually bought a single ticket to Paraty and our journey through Brazil started.....
SHITHEAD SCORES:
Brim 11
Deirdre 7
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Rachel
non-member comment
What??
Looks super and obvious you are having great time :) What on earth are shithead scores ?! Rx