Sao Paulo and Curitiba Ok, first of all, ignore the photo! I`m struggling to add my own on here and you have to add one of their library ones to each entry if you don`t have your own. So, after a week or so of relaxation in Ilha Grande and Paraty, I got the bus to Sao Paulo. The sheer vastness of the place hits you immediately as you approach on the bus. And probably, with hindsight, arriving after dark was probably not a great idea. Anyway, I got the metro...

Ilha Grande and Paraty So after all the excitement of Rio, I was glad to be making the short trip to Ilha Grande for some relaxation time. And what a place it is. Your stereotypical tropical island paradise really. Beautiful beaches, amazing rainforests, no cars, friendly people, lovely food etc etc. I arrived on the island planning on staying for two nights. Well, I kept trying to leave but just couldn`t bring myself to get on the boat until I`d been there ...

Well, it´s been a while since my first entry so I´ve got a lot to talk about now. Rio is a fantastically crazy city and my 7 days there were something of a whirlwind. After my first day sightseeing I got up early on the Wednesday morning to go on a tour of two Favelas, which took in Rosinha (the largest Favela in Brazil, 300,000 people packed into 1 square km) and another, much smaller Favela. We were informed by the guide that we´d be completely safe (as l...

Day 1: Two cathedrals, a trolley bus and a tea room... Well, I arrived in Rio at 9pm on Monday tonight and, after the long and painful passport control, security process, got myself a taxi to the hostel. The taxi driver I chose, in transpired, was clinically insane. I thought at one point that this was going to be the shortest round the world trip in history as he attempted yet another daring overtaking manouever in the rain. However, I did somehow make it t...