Four days was never going to be enough for the colourful, energetic metropolis that is Rio de Janeiro, but we managed to make the most of what little time we had.

It took us three attempts to find a taxi driver to take us from the bus terminal to our hostel in Vidigal and we soon found out why... It turns out that the name Casa Alto means exactly that (elevated house), and we sympathised as our driver wound higher and higher through the heart of the favela Vidigal. Several times he checked with locals that we were on the right track, and they simply responded, 'Up'.

After the African slaves in Brazil were freed there was no government welfare system in place and the liberated were forced to build communities in impossible, over-looked hill-side slopes just like Vidigal. Although these areas are considered 'slums', these spider webs of narrow cobbled streets are managed effectively by very tight-knit communities. Desperation has led to drug trafficking and contributed to the negative stigma. Our hostel manager, however, assured us that to commit a crime in a favela is to cut yourself off from the community forever. In six months, he had only witnessed one police chase and only heard a couple of gun shots! If anyone is desperate enough to commit theft, they would rather target the heavily touristic areas and beaches... We're not sure how reassuring this sounds but we do know that we definitely felt very safe in this favela, much safer than we felt in the rest of Rio.

On top of the great workout we received from hiking up and down to the bus stop, the highlight of this place was the view. Perched on the hillside with a huge open patio, we were spoiled with a fantastic panorama of Rio's beaches and city lights. A short hike up the adjoining mountain and we got our first glimpse of the world famous Cristo Redenter. We intended to pay a closer visit to this powerful landmark but we honestly ran out of time and motivation, considering our own backyard views.

We explored central Rio with the help of another energetic free walking tour. We learned about everything Brazilian, from government corruption to historical theatres, and finished with a mouth-watering bowl of feijoada, arguably Brazil's national dish. The highlight was the Escadaria Selaron, a set of steps covered with tiles from all around the world. The artist, Jorge Selaron, originally decorated these ordinary stairs with two colourful rows of tiles in 1990. Public response demanded more but Selaron had no money. As word spread, tiles began to arrive by post from all around the world and the concrete steps were slowly covered in international cultural images and vibrant colours. Leading into one of the rougher favelas, we were warned not to venture too far from the crowd. The punk kids in dirty shorts and bleached hair yelling out from above convinced us that we should listen.

Luckily we also managed to catch the tail-end of Carnaval, scoring tickets to the Sambodromo finalist's parade. Our seats were average but the ambience was amazing, the floats excessive, and the addictive energy of the samba carried us easily through the night and into a new day. After a good sleep we squeezed in an afternoon of relaxing on the beaches around Leblon, surrounding ourselves with athletic volleyball games, Brazilian bikinis, acrobatic slack-liners, leather-skin sunbathers and fresh coconuts!

All too soon, we find ourselves waiting for our final (30 hour) bus ride to our last stop before we fly back home. Salvador, Bahia has a repuatation as an amazing place of mixed Latin and African culture and beautiful beaches. More excitingly for us though, it is the birthplace of Capoeira!