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Hellooo,
Welcome to our final and most fabulous blog from South America! After 12 weeks of travelling, 6 and a half countries, 7 and half days spent on coach journeys (over 178 hours!), various Wonders of the World (depending on which list you read), 1 of the top 10 beaches in the world and 2 seder nights, we are nearing the end of our magical mystery tour!
We're currently in Rio de Janeiro and thought we'd write this now, so as to not interrupt our last couple of days of sun... This is what we've been up to...
After the amazing waterfalls of Iguazu, we headed south to a city called Florianopolis. The city is divided so that half is on the mainland, and the other half on the Island of Santa Catarina (the two halves of the city are connected by a bridge). Of course we headed straight to the island half of the city, complete with beaches, lagoons and plenty of sunshine! We spent an amazing couple of days chilling on the beaches, sipping acai juices and caipirinha cocktails.
At this point we realised that time was REALLY running out for our trip, so we headed to Sao Paolo on an overnight bus. We'd heard mixed reviews about the city and we quickly decided it wasn't one of our favourites, but we found an amazing exhibition at the city's modern art museum by a Brazilian artist named Vik Muniz, who creates his art using things from diamonds and caviar, to chocolate sauce and dust! We also managed to eat some yummy sushi in the Japanese area of the city, so all was not lost!
After waking up to a grey and drizzly day in Sao Paolo, we decided to head towards sunnier climates and were soon on a bus to Paraty, a beach paradise. We spent a fabulous day on a beach-and-island-hopping tour by boat, during which we swam in clear blue waters surrounded by tropical fish (Mel went for the sensible approach and climbed down the ladder of the boat. Joel went for the fun approach and took a running jump off the side!), Joel played some football on the beach with Brazilians and we attempted to chat to fellow passengers (although it didn't help that we were the only english speakers on the boat!)
Not yet content with the time spent on beaches so far, we decided that the next stop on our trip would be to Ilha Grande, a GORGEOUS island off the coast of Brazil, covered in lush rainforests and surrounded by miles of beaches. The ferry that took us there was terribly slow, but when we arrived we realised it was worth the wait! We had a lovely dinner and some yummy cocktails on the beach by candlelight, before waking up early the next morning to catch a boat round to the other side of the island. We spent the day sunbathing on a beach called Lopes Mendes... which is apparently one of the world's top ten beaches! Miles of gorgeous soft white sands and clear blue seas on a tropical island - any guesses why we were wishing that we could have stayed longer?
Realising that time was now REALLY REALLY short, we took a megafast (and mega windy) speedboat off the island (a vast improvement on the ferry we had taken there... 15 mins as opposed to 2 hours!!!), and then a shuttlebus to Rio de Janeiro. We had a nasty surprise when the shuttle driver dropped us at the bottom of an incredibly steep hill, pointed to the top and told us "your hostel is there!" before claiming that his van couldnt climb the hill... and so we found ourselves trekking up the ridiculous (and we mean RIDICULOUS) hill with our backpacks. We were not impressed!
Our time here in Rio is really short, so we're trying to cram as much in as possible. On the evening of our arrival we went to the world famous Maracana football stadium to see Fluminense (or 'nense as they are affectionally known by their fans) a local Rio team play Corinthians, a team from Sao Paolo where the legendary Ronaldo plays, in the quarter finals of a brazilian cup. The atmosphere was craaazzy! The stadium was huge, the fans were mental and it was just a shame that the Rio team lost :(
Yesterday we visited the Copacabana beach and the beach at Ipanema (an indigenous word meaning 'dirty water'... although we thought the waters were anything but!) Once again, gorgeous sands and sea and some pretty enormous waves. This morning we woke up early to take a tour of the city with a fab guide called Rodrigo. The tour departure was delayed slightly, due to 'Brazilian fireworks'...gunfire!!! Gangsters from a nearby favela (a poor brazilian shanty settlement) were in the midst of a crazy gunfight with police, during which we were advised to stay indoors because of all the gunfire and helicopters that descended on the area!
The gunfight really brought home to us just how dangerous the city can be. We'd already taken some precautions such as not wearing watches or jewellery when we step outside (we even hide our money in bras and socks when we go out!), but its shocking how there can be such poverty and danger right on the doorstep of the city's most touristic area...
The tour of the city (once it got started!) was pretty impressive! We went from place to place in a fab hippie-like combie van with rasta music blasting and visited the enormous statue of Christ the Redeemer, spent some time staring in awe at the artistically tiled steps in Lapa, attempted to enjoy a traditional Portuguese lunch (although not being able to eat meat hampered our efforts), and finished with an uphill hike and cable car to the top of Sugar Loaf mountain, where we relaxed and watched the sun set over the mountains. We were lucky to have picked such a clear day for our little adventure, as it meant the views were truly spectacular.
We can't quite believe our 3 month trip is reaching a close... we fly back from Rio on Sunday evening and, whilst we're excited to see all of you (and Joel can't wait to get his hands on a steady supply of kosher meat and sweets), we will definitely miss our travels. South America is just amazing...
Lots of love and can't wait to see you all soon!
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