19th May 2012 Travelling to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

My alarm went off at 6 but I had already woke up before that (about 5:00). I left the house at 7:15am with Marcelo this morning. He kindly drove me to the bus station. I remembered to take photographs of the house before I left. Unfortunately I never managed to get photographs of Marcelo and Veronica but there are photographs of them in my welcome pack. I didn't really want to leave Posadas though I am happy the volunteering has finished. Marcelo asked in the bus station for me whether it was possible for me to get a bus to the Crucero del Norte bus terminal from the bus station we were that. They had told me I could get a bus from that bus station last week and they said to Marcelo that was fine. Unfortunately the connecting bus was late so I got on it at 8:30 and my other bus was leaving at 8:50. The connecting bus left the station at 8:35 and it took 15 minutes to get to the Crucero del Norte bus station. Luckily there was someone in the Crucero del Norte bus office in Posadas bus station who could speak good English so that made it a bit easier. He left me standing up in the connecting bus in the kitchen area. The conductor moved me into the seats so he could get by me. As soon as I saw the colours of the Crucero del Norte bus station I jumped up and the conductor said that was quick. I explained that my bus was leaving now for Rio de Janeiro. When I got there the person from the bus office in Posadas had told me to ask in the ticket office. Unfortunately there was only one person in the ticket office and he was busy. I asked the security guard and he said ask in ticket office. I went into area where all the buses were as it wasn't very big in a little bit of a panick. I was told to go and take coffee etc by the workers as they were changing buses so it would be a time before the bus left. I am glad it was running late even though it was a little bit of a pain leaving at 9:40. If it had been on time there was a chance I would have missed it. I was a little bit annoyed with myself in that one of the reasons I originally didn't go to the Crucero del Norte bus station was that I thought it would be a fortune in a taxi to there. I thought this would be stupid if I was budgeting for such a small amount and I missed my bus. Anyway I made it for the bus and while waiting for the next one I began chatting to a female from Argentina. She asked would I look after her bags for her while I went to the toilet. I thought thats very trusting. Then I needed to go to the toilet but I wasn't going to leave all my stuff with her. I just left my main suitcase which is just full of clothes anyway and my hiking boots.

When I first got on the bus I thought oh no I can smell sick but it could have been my imagination as soon after I couldn't smell anything. I slept most of the way to Puerto Iguazu apart from when I had lunch and the conductor woke me up for it. I had pepsi, cake, bread roll, like a quiche, chicken and possibly it might have been like an omelette. It was quite a big lunch anyway. We then stopped in Puerto Iguazu Crucero del Norte bus terminal for quite a while. A man from Argentina who lived in Brasil began a conversation with me so we chatted for a while. I've been lucky today with the number of people who can speak English even though it means I am not always practicing my Spanish. Thats the third person today who could speak English. The female I had met in Posadas Crucero del Norte bus station could also speak English. We then went on to the Argentinean border crossing. It was fast going through immigration but then customs were checking a lot of the bags so it was quite slow. I had to remind myself that the women was only doing her job like I was in the bank. Not long after that we went to Brasil crossing and on the way we passed the bridge which I had stood on a couple of months ago separating Argentina and Brasil. The Brasil side was quicker and then we stopped in Foz do Iguacu, Brasil. I felt like we had hardly made any progress with the journey for a couple of hours. I watched films and wrote my journal before we stopped for dinner at 8:20 for half an hour. At one point I thought we were stopping at a bus station but then we carried on. Possibly we were just slowing down for the two dogs in the middle of the road having a relationship. The service stations in Brasil are quite good- I got some salad, meat, spaghetti and potatoes. I then watched the Sniper film which was good but I was glad of the Spanish subtitles at the end. The film began to go funny at the end where there was no sound and it did a bit of jumping. I got the gist of what happened from the Spanish subtitles. I then went to sleep once the film had finished.

20th May 2012 Arriving in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

We arrived into Sao Paulo at 4:40am in morning when we actually weren't due till 7:10am. I wondered whether we were going to have to wait around somewhere to pick people up at 7:10am. I decided to play it by ear and just go back to sleep. It didn't really matter whether we waited somewhere or not I wasn't going to stay awake at that time. I kept thinking I would wake up to do my journal but when I finally thought about it we were driving around bends. So I went back to sleep for a bit longer. I got myself ready and gathered my belongings so I was ready when we arrived about 10:10am.I probably could have got a taxi for cheaper but it wasn't the nicest area, I was struggling with my bags and I didn't want to risk being pickpocketed or mugged. I just wanted to get in a taxi as soon as possible. I paid 54 reals to get to the hotel. My room wasn't ready till 2:00 so I got changed in their toilet downstairs. Luckily there was also a lock for the sink area so I could get changed there.

I then went for a walk past the sand statues which now had colour which they didn't have in January. I'd forgotten how much I liked the atmosphere in the day in Copacabana. I like the city of Rio de Janeiro and feel quite safe in Copacabana most of the time. I was stopped as I was walking along to go in one of the restaurants along the front. I thought why not I needed to have some food and the prices didn't seem too bad. I had a sandwich and banana milk. The banana milk was actually very good made with real bananas and milk. While I was sitting there someone came around selling bags which were reasonably priced. I walked past a moving statue. I kept looking at the statue trying to work out whether he was electronic or a real person. The movement looked like a real person but the appearance looked like a statue as it seemed to be caked in clay with eyes closed. I was stopped by a Brazilian who proceeded to talk to me in Portuguese, ask how long I was stopping in Rio for, when I was returning to Rio, stroked my hand, kissed my cheek and hugged me. Brazilians are definitely very forward. I then walked down to Aproador beach and I was glad as I had managed to miss seeing that part of the beach in January. I had wondered in January how to get there and today I found out. I sat for maybe 5 minutes on the rocks appreciating the view. I then walked along to see whether I could see any surf lessons going on.

I then decided to paddle back. I wasn't trying to get wet but a wave caught me out a little so I then held my dress out for a while till it dried. I was just thinking how lovely the dogs were that were walking in Rio. I could see a golden Labrador in front of me and then I was disgusted. Someone came by carrying a pink poodle. I like poodles but not ones coloured pink for goodness sake. I was glad when I saw the Labrador again who was quite old but carrying a coconut in his mouth. I then walked back looking at the stalls along the beach. When I was nearly at the hotel a person asked me whether I spoke English or Portuguese. He said do you mind me asking where you are from and I said England. He said it was due to the mum of his baby now being gone and I looked like her. I asked where she was from and he said Brasil but her parents were Polish. I said goodbye to him and then he caught up with me again. He said the reason I asked was my wife/girlfriend die in child birth and you reminded me of her. I said I was sorry to hear that and then said goodbye again. This time I let him go ahead and went a different way before going back to the hotel. He didn't seem threatening but it was a weird chat up line. The surf lessons took ages to book and then I went to get money from ATM. I didn't realise how early it got dark in Rio. It was nearly dark when I left. I'd forgotten also how for some reason in Rio de Janeiro it is difficult for me to get cash from an ATM. I was suspicious of one person on a street corner on my way to get money so I decided when I got my money I would cross over to the other side of the street before I got to that person. I finally got my cash in the fourth bank I tried. I think where the person had been there were now two police officers. I got slightly lost on way back but I did stop in a few shops along the way to look at Havianas and found my way again using my map just under McDonalds entrance. I then went in and had dinner in hotel restaurant early at 6:00.

21st May 2012 Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

Well waiting for the desk to open at British Airways in Rio de Janeiro airport. Do I have to leave S America? I have had an amazing time and I can't believe it is finally coming to an end. I am looking forward to seeing everyone again in England, friends and family but I still don't want to come home. Probably would be more happy to come home if Laser was still alive.

Today started with an early wake up again of 6:30am in morning. I thought that would be plenty of time to get my little bit of stuff that I had unpacked back into the case, have breakfast and get dressed. It turned out not to be the case. I was waiting for the lift, my phone was ringing in my room to see where I was. I was quite surprised by how nice the transfer vehicle was to the hostel. It went past the favela that I walked around in January plus the landing site for the hang gliding. I had time when I got to the hostel to get myself ready and have a bit of a chat. At first when I was driving towards the hostel I thought I'm glad I didn't stop here. It was next to a favela. However, after they opened up the gate to the hostel I realised the hostel was quite friendly. It didn't look like the pictures but it looked quite clean if a bit old. The surf instructor took a bit of time to arrive. Unfortunately the lesson was a disappointment. The instructors were friendly enough but the waves really weren't conducive for a beginner today. My first attempt at standing up my back went funny. I thought don't tell me I am not going to be able to do anything else but luckily it sorted itself sort of out. I only got a 1 hour lesson as instructor felt it wasn't safe enough and he thought the other instructor may need him with the other girl to rescue them both. He said the lifeguard was getting panicky on the beach. He said the waves were lovely yesterday and he has hardly ever seen the waves like they were today. Typical of me to choose a day to go surfing when the waves were unnaturally strong and coming from all different directions. The good news was my contact lenses managed to stay in. I saw a helicopter go over. I suppose I just should be grateful that I'm safe and instructors had sense to stop the lesson when they did. Still rather disappointing though that didn't get to stand up and I had a shorter lesson for the same price. It was a good job though that I got an individual instructor as it meant he could always help me. I will just have to save the surfing for another day and hang on to the fact that I stood up on a surfboard in Lima. When I got back to the hostel I had a shower, found out how to get the public bus back and also asked whether there was any chance of money back. I knew it was a little pointless asking as outdoor activities are always a bit hit and miss with weather, wave conditions and water conditions etc. Usually they always say in their terms and conditions about it. I don't feel really that they should have took a beginner out today and the instructor admitted he hadn't looked at the surf forecast.

I got the public bus back and managed to work out how much I had to pay for it and keep standing up till I had. He was rather a fast bus driver. I got back to Copacabana and spent some time choosing my havianas. It was a little bit of a pain as the Shop Assistant was following me around the shop presuming so I didn't steal anything. I then walked along the beach front of Copacabana. It looked like some bad waves had struck there as some of the cafes were shut, had sand around the bar areas, puddles of water in the pavement and they were cleaning the road of sand. The sunbeds had also been collected up. I then went in a restaurant on the way back to the hotel. When I got back to the hotel I was weighing up the pros and cons by going by bus or taxi so I was talking to person on reception about it. I first went to look at my bags and do a little bit of re-packing of them. The porter decided to watch over me in this tiny room where his head was touching the ceiling. It wasn't a very nice room-no windows so neither of us wanted to stay long in there. I ended up packing everything into two bags so as to be able to get the bus. I was about to go when the receptionist started saying he didn't think it was a good idea. I think he may have just been saying that and persuading me to get a taxi so he could earn some money. However, I was a little doubtful as I was wary that I may end up standing out in the dark. I wouldn't like anything bad just to happen before my flight. I ended up getting the taxi ordered by the hotel but I got them down by 10 reals as I had a feeling they were overcharging me. It was a pleasant taxi ride though despite the traffic and the taxi driver could speak some English. The driver bought me something like crisps out of the window from the people selling crisps along the road from the favelas. Driving out towards the airport just shows how many favelas there are. So I munched through some of those in the back seat of the taxi. They tasted of a cross between crisps and something else. I ended up arriving an hour early to the airport before the check-in desks were even open. This was thanks to leaving plenty of time for the bus and then deciding at the last minute to get a taxi.

I finally could check in and I tried to get in the queue before it got too long. I had a walk around the shops before stopping in a hotel restaurant in the airport. It wasn't bad price considering other restaurants. I had an Hawaiian burger which was nice but I did feel too full as it wasn't too long since my dinner. I then went through the security and had a look at the Duty Free shops. I realised that I hadn't bought something for my dads birthday but I couldn't find anything in duty free shops. By that time my bag was beginning to dig into my shoulders. After that I boarded onto the plane.