Once again I barely got 2 hours of sleep and I found myself up with loads of energy ready for another exciting day in Rio. It is Mothers Day today so lastnight I made sure to send my wonderful Mother a special message and apologize for not being there. Lilian had to go sit an exam early so I decided to go for a walk along the coast - on Sundays they close off the highway and allow pedestrians, cyclists and skaters to use all the roadways. It was wonderful seeing ...

After not much sleep again Lilian and I were up early to go visit some of the Saturday markets. I have decided to go to a football match at Maracana (the biggest football stadium in the world) as there is a derby this weekend and the game will apparently be very atmospheric between Fluminence va Flamengo. I am not at all a football fan but want to go as Brazilians are famous for being very passionate about football and the fact the World Cup of Football is happen...

I literally didn't sleep a wink lastnight as I was bursting at the seem with excitement - I am in Freaking Rio in a Penthouse apartment with wonderful friends!! When I got up I made some Mate and met Lilian and Leonardo's maid and soon after Lilian returned and I was introduced to a very delicious breakfast - Tapioca pancakes: made with tapioca flour, coconut and salt (very dry recipe) and then fried - the result a fluffy and slightly salty pancake eaten with jam...

Today I am off to Rio de Janeiro which I am very excited about. After saying goodbye and thanking Fernanda for her amazing hospitality I packed the last of my things and then headed for the metro. Amazingly I figured the metro out quite easily and made it to the bus station quite easily with Fernandas directions. I was able to find a bus with a spare seat leaving in 30 minutes so another win for me. The bus ride took about 6.5 hours and had a really nice scenic d...

At about 4:30am I woke feeling quite hungry so I had some banana, honey and oats which hit the spot perfectly and luckily didn't make me feel ill. I went back to sleep and woke when Fernanda had to leave; I was definitely feeling better and had not been to the bathroom once in the evening - a good sign. I took it easy in the morning; sleeping some more and drinking lots of water, green tea and honey mixes - finally feeling like my body is starting to rehydrate. A...