31/08/08

Arrived in Rio and headed to our hotel located in the area of Flamengo. On the way we had the enjoyment of peak hour traffic Rio style were the hold ups on the freeway were due to people standing in the middle of the freeway trying to sell prawn crackers and chips. They just stand in between lanes moving out in front of traffic when it pleases them - crazy stuff!

My next welcome to Rio was some homeless dude walking out from behind a monument into the long grass to do a number 2! Yep i had to look twice! Not good for the eyes when they have there back to you. But never fear my third introduction was at a local bar where we went for 1 beer but every time we got near the end of our beers the barman would just appear with two more beers and would not leave until you downed the one you were on. Happy days indeed - we did finally manage to stop after 5 or 6.

It is not as cheap as we would like but hey its Rio and were in the heart of the tourist area.

01/02/08

Went to the Red and Black ball which is dedicated to the world(??) famous Rio football team, Flamengo with its red and black flag. It is a great night and is very much like a cheesy disco but with trannies and what appeared to be gang members.

Ian and i headed there early as we had to buy tickets. After grabbing our tickets we proceeded to a nearby (random)pizza joint which didn´t serve pizza. We managed to order some random food (spiced pork sausage, carved pork and fried onions with bread) which turned out to be dam tasty! As usual we had no problems ordering the one litre beers :)

After dinner we met Shane and Renee for a few beers outside the venue and then headed in. After a rushed and uninformedpurchase of drink tickets we proceeded to get very merry on too many Caipirhinas and partied the night away. Caipirhinas are a mixture of Cane Spirit, b***** all lime, and probably to much sugar! We discovered later that most people order only two or three Caipirhina drink tickets and then buy beer tickets or something else. After about seven Caipirhinas and a or two (kindly given to me by the locals) i was dancing like a Brazillian - or at least i thought i was :) A great fun night indeed!

I made the twenty minute cab ride back to the hotel for less than it cost to get there whereas Ian and some others had a cabbie who wanted to rip them off. Can only assume my Portugeuse was going great guns after my beverage consumption as after seven years of loosing my tan in London i sure as hell don´t look like a Brazillian.

02/02/08

After a few hours sleep we headed from our hotel at 8:30 (missed 8am bus in true form) to visit two of Rio´s famous landmarks, Pao de Azucar (sugar loaf mountain) and Corcavado (the statue of christ). The weather was fantastic as we arrived first at Corcovado via the old cog railway. From Corcovado you can take in views of Rio from Galeao airport to central downtown and around the bays to Copacabana and Ipenema beaches.

After this we headed to Sugar loaf mountain for an equally impressive view of Rio and Niteroi which is accross the Guanabara bay from Rio.

03/02/08

Finally the biggest day of our Rio experience has arrived - Carnival!

We had a fairly easy day as we new an all nighter was approaching. We headed of to the Sambadrome about 6pm. After arriving we cracked a few beers and proceeded to soak up the atmosphere.

Carnival kicked of around 8pm and from that moment on it was truelly the most brilliant display of people, floats, music, and colours i have seen. This continued on till 6am with only 20-30min gaps between the six Samba schools competing that night. The energy the Samba schools give off as they parade is infectous and you cannot help being swept up in the wonder vibe that is carnival!

If your curious about safety in Rio, well having been there now i can say that safety during carnival time is probably at its best where common sense should steer you well clear of problems. Although walking around by yourself at night is inviting trouble.

Oh and for the men reading this, the lack of photos of scantly clad women has a lot to do with the fact that more than a few are not women. There was a woman parading who´s costume came off (completly) and five blokes thought is was a woman until someone interpreted the article in the paper the next day which said she was most definitely a he.

Loved Carnival and will hopefully go again!

04/02/08

Today we toured the Favelas (or Shantytowns).

A low wage economy in Brazil has forced urban migration into the cities. The result of this is large sprawling shanty towns going up on any available land. The Favelas house the cities poor but dwellers are working together to gain equal status in Brazils society.

It was an eye opening experience walking through the Favelas. It is like a society existing independently withing a greater society. The people we passed were friendly and i would recomend a visit to see the other side to Rio. You may wish to avoid the butcher shop though as you get to pick your chicken (alive) and watch it be transformed into chicken breasts and drumsticks etc.

It is also good to note that part of the tour cost goes directly to the Favelas to help with schools and medical centres etc.

05/02/08

Today we hung out at Ipanema and Copacabana beaches taking in the scenery and then took a boat cruise around Guanabara bay. A quiet day but a very relaxing one too.