Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Time for a quick update on the past couple of weeks' activities!
After Arraial do Cabo we headed to Buzios which is known as the "St Tropez" of Rio. It was a nice holiday spot and our first couple of days there were glorious and sunny so we spent a few hours on the beach and did a boat trip around some of the islands and beaches, which was really good. In the evening we watched the sunset which was beautiful.
After Buzios we went (via Rio- all roads lead to Rio it seems!) to Petropolis which is a city up in the mountains north of Rio. We arrived in a big rainstorm and were absolutely freezing in our wooden hut- we stayed in and attempted to watch a film but the signal kept cutting out because of the storm! Luckily the next day was dry and we walked round and saw some of the sights including the Cathedral which holds the remains of the last royal family. We went to the Imperial Palace (where the royal family used to live in the summer when it was too hot in Rio) which is now a museum and they give you slippers to put on over your shoes so that you dont damage the wooden floor which we had great fun shuffling round in (we think its just a con to get us to polish the floors!).
From here we went and spent a night in the nearby city of Teresopolis also up in the mountains. Our hostel here was set high up and had an amazing view out over the town. The bus route there looked like it would have been scenic too had we not been travelling in the dark! We had an amazing steak in a restaurant themed like a steam train (and agreed that we couldn't wait for an Argentinian steak!). The next day we went on a walk in the national park which took us to a viewpoint out over Teresopolis which literally took my breath away. (Shortly followed by Steve, who had got there first, jumping out of his hiding spot and nearly giving me a heart attack!)
From Teresopolis we were heading south down to Paraty. Again, we had to go through Rio and because we ended up with a few hours to spare there we decided to do something we had not got round to the time before and take the cable car up sugarloaf mountain. We had been told this was good to do at sunset and we got an incredible view out over the city at night including the illuminated Christ the Redeemer statue (it was definitely a good day for views that day!). Then we jumped on a late bus to Paraty...
- comments