Hey! Hope everyone's well. I have managed to tear myself away from Rio even though it was so much fun - but at the same time I was ready to start traveling again. Just to update you.... We went to see a footy match in Rio's maracana stadium (which is huge!) - one of the local sides (Flamengo) against an away team I no longer remember the name of! The atmosphere was great, the fans were constantly singing and chanting which was perhaps more entertaining...

Carnival, Carnival!!! Dave and I are recovering from about 5 days of Rio street parties which go on till the early hours. It's been absolutely amazing here, we love Rio! Before arriving in Rio, we did a 4 day tour of the Pantanal, a vast area of swampland the size of France situated near the border with Bolivia. Our tour group were cool and we saw all manner of animals - capybara, piranha, caimen, the rare blue macaws, anteaters, lots and lots of cows, and ...