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Iguazu to Rio de Janeiro(Brazil)Wed 19th - Sat 22 Nov)
Booked a very early morning taxi from our hostel and crossed the border into Brazil at 6.00 am. It only took 5 minutes to go through customs as we were the only candidates. It is a 22 hour bus journey to Rio. That may not be a problem for the young Lauras or Andrews of this world but we couldn't face that so we decided to break our journey by catching the 7.00 am bus to Curitiba which is roughly half way. 12 hours on a bus is a long time but time seems to pass reasonably quickly with a combination of nodding off, reading, listening to I Pod, eating, writing this blog, looking out the window and the odd toilet break. It is more difficult for Gwen who suffers from travel sickness and therefore can't read anything but compensates by sleeping more.
One night in a hotel in Curitiba and problems with checking out. We had paid for the hotel in advance but we had great difficulty explaining this to the guy at reception who spoke no English. We did not have time to argue as we had another bus to catch so we paid up again. (eventually sorted out) We have had more problems with the language in Brazil than anywhere else. Very few people speak English and we have had great problems making ourselves understood at bus stations, cafes and asking for directions. Fortunately there is usually someone to come to the rescue and and save the day.
The 12 hour bus journey to Rio was our 10th and I hope our last long haul bus trip in South America. We reached Rio bus station and within 30 minutes our taxi driver Rubens Barrichello had us checking into our hotel in Copacabana.
As we only had 2 days in Rio we decided to go on a tour which covered all the main sights. First stop was the peak of Corcovado on the top of which is the famous statue of Christo Redempter. The views of Rio from there are fabulous - hope the pictures give some idea. We then drove through the picturesque and very hilly district of Santa Theresa, visited the weird looking cathedral before heading to the other main attraction in Rio of Sugar Loaf Mountain. It takes 2 cable cars to get there and again the views of the city are fantastic. From here Rio looks a beautiful and stunning place (need to work on my adjectives) Our second day was a lot less hectic. We hired bikes and spent the afternoon on the cycle track which runs alongside the lake and beautiful beaches of Copacabana, Leme, Ipanema and Leblon.
I liked Copacabana - it has a good feel about it and the famous beach is a great place to hang out. It's about 3 miles long and there is always things to watch as you walk along, football matches - never seen so many goalposts on a beach before, old men playing beach volleyball, younger men playing the same game but this time using any part of their body apart from hands. We also enquired about a samba evening but quickly changed our minds when were heard they started about midnight and finished about 4. !
In retrospect we should have stayed longer in Rio and spending only 4 full days in Brazil was probably a bad error of judgement on my part. That's life !
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