Day 186-187

This morning we organised our Australia trip and booked our flights and campervan around OZ. We said goodbye to Steve and then got a taxi to the airport. 3 hour flight to Lima, a 5 hour flight to Sao Paulo, a 1 hour bus to the bus terminal a 4.5 hour bus to Ubatuba and then a final 2 hour bus to Paraty. Wow, I will not miss these long journeys when I get home….. While in the Sao Paulo bus terminal we got chatting to a Brazilian who was living in Canada. He was asking us about how we find our hostels etc, as he was planning to take his son backpacking in a years time. He was a nice chap and it passed an hour at the bus terminal. The whole journey took about 16 hours. We arrived in Paraty (half way between Sao Paulo and Rio) and got a taxi to our hostel. It was recommended in the lonely planet and so that should have meant it was good. Nope. When we got there, we were greeted by a lovely English couple, the bloke was from the west country, and had a ridiculous yet charming west country accent, reminiscent of my good friend from University "Rainman". The kitchen at the hostel was tiny and didn't even have a fridge, which was not a good sign. We were shown to the room, and the owner uttered an immortal sentence "I should warn you, there are quite a few mozzies around here" he wasn't joking. The room had about 50 in them, that we discovered over the next 20 minutes. They had bought a couple of insect killing electrified tennis racket gizmos. We spent the next 2 hours, along with a Swiss couple, whom we were sharing our room with, killing around 150 mozzies. It was ridiculous; I don't know where they were coming from. There wasn't any air con, or a ceiling fan, and so I hung towels around my bunk bead to make a makeshift mozzie net. After plugging in 2 mozzie plug killing thingies, and burning 2 mozzie killing incense type coils we went to bed.

Day 188

The next morning we were awoken at 5am and every 10mins there after by a strange ringing. We were definitely not staying here. We left after breakfast and found another hostel. It was much nicer and there was nowhere near as many mozzies in the area, certainly none in the rooms. We walked to the old town, which was lovely, once again colonial, cobbled, white washed….the usual. We went to ice cream parlour and had an insane amount of ice-cream. It poured with rain on the way home, but it was warm tropical rain, not that bad. .

Day 189

We woke up this morning and heard kids giggling and running around. We got up to have breakfast and saw around 50 5 year olds having breakfast with their parents. After talking to some of the parents, we realised that it was a weekly nursery trip. It was quite funny watching them run around and at one point 5 of the little girls carried out a ballet performance. We returned to the room and fell back to sleep. Later that day we walked along the beach and then had dinner on the beach overlooking the ocean…pretty nice.

Day 190

We moved out of our private room and moved into a dorm because it was cheaper and the private rooms were booked up. We spent half the day on the beach and then walked into the town. More ice cream and food shopping. Kelly spent the whole day laughing at something that happened on the beach….I'm not much of an animal person and dislike and distrust most animals….while relaxing on the sandy beach a mental Dalmatian puppy jumped on my face and started licking it. I woke with a start and yelped in fear, everyone on the beach looked at me….she seemed to think this was very funny.

Day 191

We spent all day on the beach and got a little pink. That evening we skyped my parents and had an early night. We were woken 4 or 5 times that night my manic, screaming and frankly rude Brazilians, who were staying in our room. There is one thing worse than backpackers…..people on holiday….god I am such an old man!!

Day 192 - 197

We were out of the hostel by 10am, scowling at our Brazilian room mates as I left. We caught a 2 hour bus to Angra Port and then caught a 2 hour ferry to Ihla Grande. Ihla Grande was a beautiful island off the coast of Brazil. It was a roasting hot day and we had to walk across the island with our huge backpacks. After stopping for lunch, we found our hostel, a 20min walk uphill. The hostel was really nice and our dorm room was in a cute little bungalow. We walked down to the beach and explored the small town. We spent 5 days on the island, sunbathing as much as we could. Not a great deal happened while we were there, and after a rest we were off to Rio.

Day 198

We caught the ferry back to Angra and then got a 4 hour bus to Rio. We caught a taxi from the bus station and drove to my friend Pauls flat in Botafogo. After a quick chat we went for a walk to explore the area with Paul and his girlfriend Mari. We walked around a huge central lake and familiarised ourselves with the area. We walked to the beach, and Paul and I found an outdoor free gym. We had a quick go on the weights (very quick, I hadn't been to the gym or done any exercise in 4 months) and then went out for a Lebanese meal in ipanema. We had quite a few beers, mainly Choppes (not sure of the spelling). Choppes are about 90% lager and 10% ice. They are not very strong and very refreshing in the Brazilian heat. We then walked to Paul's friends (Pasha) house and introduced ourselves to his mate. We were also introduced to a rum/whiskey called Cashasa. This is a very strong, but smooth spirit….that goes straight to your head. A long day and off to bed. Paul had kindly let us stay on his floor and we were glad not to be staying in a hostel.

Day 199 - Christmas Eve

This morning we had breakfast at Paul's and walked to a local shopping mall. Kelly wanted to buy a few things and Paul had to buy a gift for one of Marianna's relatives. After the shopping we were picked up by Marianna's friend and driven to a samba party somewhere in the city. It was a street party and involved the local residents closing the road and setting up beer and water tents on the pavement. They then placed a table and chairs in the middle of the street and local musicians sat and played well known samba tunes. It was a great experience and we experienced the carnival-like atmosphere. We left the party at 6ish and headed home for a shower. At 8 we caught a taxi to Marianna's father's house for a Christmas Eve party. In Brazil they celebrate Christmas on the eve and open their presents at midnight. There was a lot of alcohol and even more food. We didn't eat until 12am and the party continued until gone 3am. The party was a strange experience, and involved her dad dressing as Father Christmas and jumping around the house like a lunatic….it was hilarious. He was having a great time and his whole family were joining in the madness. We sat there observing, and realising how quiet and reserved an English Christmas is in comparison. Her dad was incredibly welcoming and made us feel at home, and even bought us Christmas gifts. At 230am, Paul, Marianna's dad and I walked down to the beach for a secluded "man beer" away from the women. This is a very macho South American thing to do, and it was nice to get some fresh air by the sea. We left at 3ish and said thankyou and goodbye to her whole family, and were home by 330ish.

Day 200 - Christmas Day

Today we caught the train to Ipanema beach and went to Paul's friends (Pasha) house again. Pasha had kindly allowed us to use his flat and internet to skype our parents and family. After speaking to our parents, we went to a massive "pay as you weigh" grill. These restaurants are all you can eat buffets with many different dishes. The process, is that you serve yourself as much as you want, and then you put your plate on a weighing scale. The more it weighs the more you pay….simple really. Paul and I discussed the tactics and methods of how to get the most food and meat, but with the least weight/cost. The trick it seems was less of water soaked/heavy vegetables….the things we do to save money. Later that day we went back to Pasha's house and spent the evening there.

Day 201

We had another shopping day and visited a really large shopping mall. After our shopping we met Marianna's friend, whose nickname was "Japanese" in a tapas bar and spent the night trying Brazilian tapas and drinking Choppes.

Day 202

We awoke feeling a little hung over and walked to a local fruit market. There were hundreds of different fruits. We walked from stall to stall asking to try different fruits with the intention of buying our favourites. We bought a lot, but we were full from all the free samples and so didn't really want most of it by the end. That afternoon and early evening Paul, Kelly and I visited a large island/mountain called "sugarloaf", which resembles its namesake. This high point has a fantastic view of the city and can be reached by cable car. After we descended we met Marianna and her mum and went for dinner. It was a nice meal and her mum invited us round to her house for a coffee. After a coffee and lots of homemade chocolate we headed home.

Day 203

We were up early and caught a bus to the central bus station to buy tickets for our next destination, Iguazu falls. Once we had them we caught the bus back to Pauls flat and we organised a Favela tour. Favelas are illegal housing, often built into hillsides and without infrastructure (electricity, water etc) The government fails to recognise them as housing and often they don't appear on maps, as they don't pay taxes. The favelas are often run by local drug lords and are incredibly dangerous places involving gun battles with other gangs or the police. We were on an organised tour that took you inside the favelas and showed you the community projects and community spirit within the areas. The favelas we visited were very safe and not what I had expected at all. They were more sophisticated than I imagined, with shops, mechanics and electricity and water (stolen from the mains). That night we went out for dinner in Leblon and had an amazing Brazilian steak bbq.

Day 204

This morning we visited the huge statue of Jesus that overlooks Rio, called Christ the Redeemer. It's an amazing piece of engineering and you have to catch a train to the top of a mountain to reach it. We took the usual touristy photos and were home in time for a party at Paul's place. They had invited some of their friends over and were cooking a traditional Brazilian dish called a Fejouda. This is a type of stew. It's different meats and black beans slowcooked with herbs and spices, and then served with rice and spinach. It was really nice although as with most South American food, very stodgy. We had a load of drinks, including Brazilian Caiprinhas (cocktails) and played some games.

Day 205

We woke up late this morning and walked to a local Starbucks to use their Wi-Fi, and to catch up on emails. Later that day we jumped on a bus to Santa Theresa, a lovely colonial part of town built on a hill. We had a fantastic tapas type meal and then went to a busy and lively area called Lapa. Lapa holds huge street parties nearly every week and tonight was that time. The noise of the music and drums was deafening, but great. We went to a Samba gig and listened to modern samba for a couple of hours.

Day 206

Today was New years eve. Kelly, Paul and I walked down to Ipanema beach near to Pasha's house. Although its cheesy, I found myself sub-consciously whistling the "girl from ipanema" tune constantly while in Rio. We spent a few hours at the beach and Paul showed me where some of the local lads play footy volley (volleyball using football skills). The Brazilians take it very seriously, and this added to their macho posturing, meant it turned into a fiery affair. We then walked to Pasha's flat for a party and spent the evening eating and drinking. At 11pm, we all walked down to Copacabana beach for fireworks. There is a Brazilian religion that worships nature and the sea etc, and many of its traditions have been absorbed into Brazilian culture. One of these traditions is that everybody wears white clothing, which we also did. Paul's friend gave us a herb/plant that we had to carry in our pocket and we were told we had to jump 7 waves in a row for good luck. After the fireworks we walked to the ocean and began the wave jumping. At 2am we headed home and Paul and Mari stayed at Pashas house. We then had the flat to ourselves and slept in their bed. We had been sleeping on the floor for a week and so the bed was a real luxury.

Day 207

The next morning we woke feeling okay. Although Paul wasn't feeling too hot. We decided to take it easy and went to the cinema.

Day 208

The next morning we went to Starbucks for a last minute Wi-Fi session and then got the bus to the bus station. We then caught the bus to Iguazu falls. It was another 24 hour bus…..only one more left. The bus journey was a bit strange, there were people standing up in the aisles, as the company had double booked the seats. We then had to change buses as there had been another mix up….the buses and service in South America is a joke!

Day 209

We arrived at 4pm and had a late lunch. We were staying in a dormitory again as the hostel had b*****ed up our booking. That evening I watched the man city v Liverpool game. Not a good result!

Day 210

The following morning we moved to a double room, and then caught a bus to the falls. We spent the day walking around the falls and took a million photos. The falls were amazing and the platforms that you walked along were so close to the falls, that we were soaked.

Day 211

We spent the day shopping, and the sun was baking. We bought gifts for friends and family and took it easy.

Day 212

The next morning we got the bus to the argie border, and said goodbye to Brazil. We then caught another bus to the Argentinian side of the falls. The falls divide Brazil and Argentina and we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to see both sides. We were at the hostel by 12 and back into a dorm. We explored the town and made dinner.

Day 213

After breakfast we visited the Argentinian side of the falls. We spent the day there and this side was even more impressive than the Brazilian side. We took a motor boat around the falls including driving under one of the largest. That evening we skyped my mum for her 60th birthday and ate dinner out.

Day 214

We spent the day in the hostel talking to some aussies and then walked to the bus station. We hadn't printed our tickets and the bus company weren't going to allow us on the bus. After some arguing we managed to get on the bus and began our final 19hour bus journey to Buenos Aires.

Day 215

We arrived in BA at 12 and went out shopping in the centre of BA. We bought quite a few things….too many if you look at my bank account. That night we went out for an amazing Argentinian steak meal in Palermo Viejo. Kelly made a schoolgirl error, she ate too much bread and felt guilty that she couldn't eat all her steak. On the way back we caught a Taxi with a driver called Osvaldo. He was from Salta, which we had visited 4 months earlier. We chatted in the taxi, and then for 5mins outside our hostel. He was very friendly, we shook hands and said goodbye.

Day 216

We went out shopping again. This time a suburban area with lots of outlet stores. We bought more….yes more clothes. It was boiling hot, 38 degrees. When we got back, we skyped mum and dad. We went back out into the centre to pick up our hand tailored leather jackets, and then went out for dinner in san telmo, where we originally stayed. We looked around for a restaurant and in the end we decided to return to where we first had dinner in South America. We were served by the same waiter and he remembered the night he served us,(because there was a massive table of deaf blokes next to us). The steak we had tonight, was one of the best steaks ever….phenomenal. Kelly had a jumbo steak too, I can't believe she didn't eat beef for 17 years, and now she is tucking into a massive Rib eye. The waiter was great and gave us champagne, which was a nice touch. It was our first night in South America and also our last. We went back to the hostel, packed and went to bed

Day 217

We collected our laundry, and got a taxi to the airport. We said goodbye to South America and Buenos Aires, which we had enjoyed immensely. We were sad to say goodbye, but were looking forward to returning to some normality in Australia. We will miss the crazy experiences of South America, but look forward to speaking English, eating normally, sleeping normally and no more horrendously long bus journeys,….I think being cooped up in a bus for 28 hours at a time has permanently affected my muscles and therefore put an end to my promising professional football career!!! Such a waste of talent!!