Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Apologies for the lack of updating everyone - internet access is scarce and slow over here!
We spent 6 days in Rio, and as gorgeous as it is, it was a little too long. There´s not a lot to do in Rio if the weather isn´t great, so we spent a lot of time just relaxing at our hostel and around Ipanema. On the Friday we were there, we went to Lapa, a region of the city, with some people from our hostel where there was a massive street party. Literally thousands of people drinking in the street with live music and a great atmosphere, it was really cool. We went to a club with three floors and a live band, where I managed to lean on a glass table with just my hand and the top detached itself from the base, causing the top to fall and smash and everyone in the club to stop and stare at me. Possibly the most embarrassing moment of my life, but it was hilarious! The next day we felt hungover and sorry for ourselves but took a trip to the Sugar Loaf for sunset. Once again, it was cloudy but it cleared just in time for the sun setting and we got some amazing views and photos (which I`ll add as soon as I find enough patience to cope with the speed of the internet!). After that we met up with Felicity, a friend of mine from Ireland, and went for some drinks and a catch-up with her and her boyfriend which was really nice. We also met them for lunch the next day, before moving hotels to meet our tour group.
The tour group are amazing, we couldn´t have asked to be put with a better group and our tour guide, Paul, is a great laugh and incredibly helpful. There are 15 of us, mostly Brits but a few Aussies, a Kiwi, an Austrian and a Canadian. Unfortunately our group seem to be having the worst luck in the world, and not just with the weather... Matt got his big backpack with all of his clothes stolen whilst we were at Sao Paulo bus station waiting for our 18 hour bus (which was surprisingly comfortable!) to Foz de Iguassu. Jim sprained his ankle on the boat from Ilha Grande and is now on crutches, and Ian has hurt his achilles. Corrine also got money stolen in Salto and Dave ripped his toenail off in Paraty! Poor Paul has to do the paperwork for all of this... he must be loving us!
After we left Rio we went to Ilha Grande, an island off the coast of Brazil. It was like paradise, there are no cars or roads so it´s just dirt tracks and is just really peaceful. The journey over to the island was a great ice-breaker as it was raining torrentially and we were all soaked to the bone and freezing for 2 hours but we had some beer and had a laugh about it! We were staying at this really cute hotel with decking and a bbq area and a steam room, which was much appreciated after the boat trip from doom! That night we played some drinking games and had a barbecue and just all got to know each other. The next day we went on a 3 hour trek through the jungle (as you can all imagine I moaned for the majority of these 3 hours!) which was tough, especially with a bit of a hangover, but a great experience and great practice for the Inca Trail! I managed to fall over twice and look like I`d pooed myself which provided everyone with much hilarity. The trek ended at this beautiful idillic beach called Lopes Mendez which was practically deserted. We played in the sea to wash the mud off ourselves from the walk and relaxed for a while, until the rain started! We then got a boat back, and our boat broke down... thankfully a boat carrying food to the island saved us pretty quickly and took us to shore! The next day was a lot more relaxing, we just walked around the town and went to look at the ruins on the island (it used to be a prison for political offenders) and sat on the beach.
After Ilha Grande we headed to Paraty, which is a very brightly coloured, quaint little town also filled with horses and carts! We were met off the bus by Carlos, an ex-GAP adventures leader as Paul had to take Jim to the hospital after he hurt his ankle on the boat. Carlos lives in Paraty so he took us around the town and told us all about it. The next day Carlos took us on a tour around the area - we went to Trinidade beach, and then to a natural pool. To get to the natural pool we had to trek through the jungle again, this time barefoot as it was horrifically muddy which was an experience to say the least! We washed off in the water and played frisbee, then treked back which was a lot easier as Carlos made me go at the front with him and he literally held my hand the entire way and just dragged me along! We then went to a waterfall which Paul, Ian, Matt and Chris all went down on their bums but it was far too cold and it was raining so I decided to stay vaguely dry! Some locals surfed down it on their barefeet which was crazy! We then went to a cachaça distillery and got some free samples which warmed us all up! That night we went to a bar in the old town which was really cool and Chris got asked to dance by an old Brazilian man!
The next day the sun finally shone, just in time for our 24 hour bus journey to Iguassu Falls (again, bad luck!). The journey was fine and passed really quickly, I got a better night´s sleep than I did on the plane!
The Iguassu Falls were just incredible. There are 270 waterfalls and it´s just mind-blowing. It´s impossible to explain how amazing it is. The first day we went to the Brazilian side, where you can view the Argentinian side which has more waterfalls, but the Brazilian side has a higher, bigger one. I took 88 photos of waterfalls, I´m pretty sure they all look the same! The next day we went to the Argentinian side (more stamps in our passports, woo!) which is just unbelievable. We went on a boat ride into the falls and got drenched, it was so much fun! We then walked around and saw all the various waterfalls and went to the Devil´s Throat, which is where all the waterfalls start. It was unbelievably cool! That night we had a barbecue at the hostel and finally had some Argentinian wine (it had been beer beer beer up until then!) which made it a rather messy evening, but great fun. We put make-up on Paul as a forfeit for losing a drinking competition the night before, which was hilarious!
Next day we went to Paraguay for the day to go shopping. In Paraguay, there´s no import tax so it´s cheap cheap cheap! I got travel ipod speakers for $5 which have already been put to use. We didn´t really see Paraguay itself, but even from the journey there it was noticeably a lot poorer than Brazil. After Paraguay, we got another night bus to Uruguay. We spent one night in Salto, which isn´t the most exciting place in the world but it´s cheap! We went to the zoo and a thermal spa place and just chilled out for the afternoon. We went for dinner without Paul and managed to order completely in Spanish without him, which we were all proud of because he´s like our personal translator! We left early the next morning and arrived in Montevideo around lunchtime, unsurprisingly in the rain. After an amazingly cheap and tasty lunch we headed to see the football stadium, which is where the first World Cup was played. However, the museum was closed by the time we got there and it was in a bit of a crap area. The whole thing just looked very run-down which is a shame considering the history behind it all. At night we went bowling, with the losers having to do vodka shots... hence my terribly hungover state at the moment!
Today the sun finally shone so we walked around and saw the old town. Uruguay is unexpectedly cool, and the men are actually better looking than Brazilians, which is surprising! Heading to Colonia for the day tomorrow and then to Buenos Aires for a few days.
Despite the crap weather we´re having a fantastic time and loving every minute. Will try and make the next update sooner and shorter than this one!
- comments