Day 3 My Birthday - Thanks to everyone for their messages and calls, even the one at 5.45am, by the person who miscalculated the time difference, not to mention any names, you know who you are ;o) Ran along the beachfront and then walked in the cool surf before breakfast, then off to Corcavado, the Christ Statue, which was awesome and stunning 360 degree views. They were filming a Bollywood movie and I asked if I could have my pic taken with the leading lady........

Day 2 - Went to the gym which is on the roof overlooking the sea. Tropical storms in the morning, which was good as I went a bit red yesterday due to falling asleep on the beach, and at least it was warm rain :o) Went up Sugar Loaf Mountian by the two cable cars which was fab and the clouds even cleared momentarily at the top so I could take some pics. Had my first pick pocket attempt this evening, which I was advised to shout loudly and threaten violence if nece...

What a fabulous first day. Thanks to everyone who saw me off at the airport, that was really special to me :o) Flight was 11 hours to Sau Paulo and then only 35 mins to Rio, infact it took longer to clear customs at Rio than the flight! The plan was to sleep when I got to the hotel, as I only had a couple of hours broken sleep on the plane, but the draw of Copacabana beach was just too much. Have been drinking fresh coconut milk at the bars and then this aft...

Just a few days to go and the betting has already started as to how long I will last, will it be 3 hours, 3 days, 3 weeks or the whole 3 months???? Side bets for how long it takes for some or all of my stuff to get pinched :o) Grae