I'm back at the beach! Hurrah! After weeks of changeable (read, dodgy) weather in Rio and then in Sao Paulo, I've found the sunshine in the gorgeous island resort of Florianopolis. A playground for Brazil's rich folk, the island has stunning beaches, high sand dunes (you can sandboard here, although after my injury sustained on the sand dunes of Vietnam I won't be trying it again) and lots of nightlife... there's even a Pacha! After a 14 hour bus journey last ...

Hola from Sao Paulo! I'm being a Paulistino at the moment, having ditched the carioca vibe in search of new adventures... My friend Rod is from Sampa, as the locals call it, and despite not having a positive word to say about the place encouraged me to stop over there and explore. I feel a bit sorry for Sao Paulo - no-one seems to like it! Residents all want to live somewhere else, despite the fact that (to a tourist) it seems to have a lot going for it. Ok, so ...

After almost 2 weeks in Rio, the time had come. No more patient waiting, hopeful glances at the sky, praying for the clouds to blow over. I was going to see Christ the Redeemer. Every day I've been leaping out of bed, looking outside and hoping that today would be the day that we could get a clear view of the world's largest art-deco statue depicting Christ with his arms outstretched. I'd had enough - it was sunny, there were small fluffy clouds, I was sure tha...

The sun has his hat on again in Rio! After the cloud, torrential rain and general ickiness of the past week, Rio gave me a break today and the sun shone brightly. After a bit of a lie-in (had a very late night out in Ipanema last night, dancing to rockabilly) I headed to the peaceful tranquility of the Botanical Gardens. Monkeys chase each other through the bamboo, orchids bob their heads gently, and silly backpackers pose for photos and nap in the lawns. Gor...

I've survived Rio Carnaval! The world's biggest, craziest party hosted in one of the greatest cities, Rio sure knows how to throw a shindig. I kicked off with a Silent Disco, where we jumped around to some stupidly fun music (too embarassing to name here), then had 5 days of carnaval; partying all through the night, trying to Samba, gasping at the incredible floats and outfits at the Sambadromo, hopping on combi vans overloaded with people to go wild in Lapa......