We have officially arrived in Paradise and are very proud to have got here all by ourselves! We took a coach for three hours south of Rio and then caught a ride with a supply boat over to Ilha Grande. It seemed like a good idea at the time as it left earlier than the official ferry but we ended up getting drenched in choppy waters whilst squished up to nappies and toilet roll. The Island is beautiful though. There are no roads or motor vehicles just cute shacks set on beautiful beaches - dragging the bag across the sand was a nightmare and a German boy we met on the boat had to carry mine and his luggage!

Me and Alex had a gorge private room for the first 2 nights. It was the ´capitan´ room and was the only one on the first floor, we had an ensuite and a balcony with sea views - it was bliss and all for ten pounds a night each!

The sun is hot so we are finally working on the tans. We have bumped into a lot of people we met in Rio including four Auzzie guys who took us to a party on a beach last night which was a 40 min hike away - the guide told me it was 15!! We are knackered today which is a good thing as we have our first night in a dorm tonight - it has 6 beds but there are only two other girls at the moment. It was Brazil´s national day yesterday so the Island filled up and so did the rooms. We only planned to stay for two nights so had to give up our lovely suite!

This keyboard is really annoying so I can´t write anymore.......

I´m back. The buses were full out of Ilha Grande on Mon so we had to stay another night (not that much of a hardship!) For our last night the hostel manager organised for us and the Auzzie boys to go in a canoe to a desert island for drinks. I gingerly got into on of the two large canoes joined by an ominous piece of wood knowing I had no rowing skills but the guys must have worked hard because we did manage to move. We couldn´t land on the island we hoped to so we had a look at the fishes with our torches (I saw a huge eel and shrieked) and then went to a gorgeous beach further along the island for our beers. We have taken to dorm life quite well, ours has a private bathroom and under bed lockers and roomies who aren´t often around so we are happy. We have booked bu tickets off the island but have only 30 minutes between one bus arrving in Sao Paulo and the other leaving. The alarm is set for 6.30am for the trek along the beach, to find a fisherman at 7.30 to take us to the mainland. Then its a 7 and a half hour bus journey to Sao Paulo followed by a FIFTEEN hour bus journey to Foz do Iguazzu. I´ll let you know if we make it in a couple of days!