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By the time that we were due to leave Parati, everyone's bags were packed and ready to be thrown on the truck as soon as possible. Despite Parati being an amazing Brazilian resort, the weather never really improved and we were left feeling a bit soggy! Our hostel hadn't been the best, it was damp and noisy and to be honest the 'all you can eat pizza' offer was the only thing we liked about the place. On to Rio De Janeiro….the mood on the truck on our final journey to Rio was a bit mixed…excited to be visiting one of the most vibrant cities in the world, but a bit sad that our adventure would be coming to an end in a couple of days time. My journey was mostly sad, as I was desperate for a wee for over an hour! My mood perked up after a wee stop and some singing on the truck to Barry Manilow's, Copacabana and Duran Duran's Rio…Cheesy but good! On arrival, we visited a favela project which was really interesting and a bit scary. The project originated as a piece of art based in Laranjeiras neighbourhood of Rio that has developed in to an organisation with aspirations for social change. We arrived in day light and left after dark and we could really feel a difference in the atmosphere of the favela. We could only take a few pictures as for the most part we were told not to use our camera's as the drug lords that govern the favela, do not allow it! Ok, no problem…we weren't going to push our luck. We spent the next couple of days in the City exploring the main sights of Copacabana beach, Christ the Redeemer and Sugar Loaf Mountain. I was a bit apprehensive of Rio before we arrived as I had read so much about how dangerous the city can be, and to be honest, I didn't feel scared at all. I don't know whether it was because we were mostly in a group, or we just stayed in the safest areas (beside the favela!), but we felt as safe in Rio as we had done in most of the other South American cities we had visited. (Just to clarify, that would be moderately safe!) Rio was great but Chris and I continued to feel a bit sad as our adventure was coming to an end. We spent our last couple of nights drinking Caprinha cocktails and reminiscing about the most amazing adventure we had had since January. Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Sydney, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina and finally Brazil. We couldn't believe how quickly the last 4 months had gone, and how much we had fitted in! We flew home on the 19th of May and have already been at home over 2 weeks!
Chris and I have been so lucky to have had the opportunity to travel for 4 months together to some of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. We wouldn't have been able to have enjoyed such an adventure without the support of our families, especially mum and dad Irvine for allowing us to live at home for over a year to enable us to save enough money. I'm sure it wasn't easy for them both to have us invading their peace and quiet, but believe me; this trip of a lifetime would not have been possible without their understanding and support. Thank you!
Also, thank you for everyone that has read our blogs, commented and sent us messages. It was always lovely to hear from you and reminded us that we had great family and friends to return to back in the UK, despite being almost convinced that we wanted to move to New Zealand!
So.. one adventure over, but hopefully many more to come!
The Spirit of Adventure
Becciandchris2012
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