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Back in Rio and back to having trouble sleeping!?? How strange that in all the big cities I have trouble sleeping and constantly waking up throughout the night. Today I really wanted to sort out a plan for heading North through Brazil as it has become quite apparent that I will have trouble finding hosts in the cities in the North as World Cup approaches and begins on June 12th. The weather wasn't looking so nice today but I headed to the beach anyway in the hope the clouds might clear. Unfortunately the clouds didn't clear so I found a nice little bench under a tree and wrote the last few days of my blog. I am still not sure exactly what route I will take but because of lack of accomodation and the increase in transport costs I am pretty limited. Leo had told me about a people's market in the heart of the city so after lunch I walked into the city a nice 6 or 7km walk. The city centre is quite hectic and to be honest I didn't feel overly safe but I managed to find the market; basically a huge shopping area selling all kinds of things from clothes to electronics. The amount of people, the lack of tourists and the tight spaces overwhelmed me quickly so I decided to get the hell out of there and walk through a different part of downtown. On the way back I stumbled across the now famous Spanish steps - that are in the heart of one of the cities many favelas - the stairs have been decorated in ceramic tiles and amazing artworks and has become a big tourist attraction after being featured in Snoop dogs new music video. In the evening I made a tortilla and roast pumpkin for Leo as I had cooked for Lilian and she had raved about it so I had promised to cook it for Leo. Leo was very grateful and enjoyed every last bit which made me happy, we made some passionfruit juice for desert and them spent the rest of the evening chatting and playing guitar. Leo is a very interesting guy and I am learning a lot from him about Brazil.
OBSERVATIONS:
- Transport costs skyrocket for World Cup time
- World Cup craziness starting 3 weeks before first game kicks off
- Downtown very hectic
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