So Rio carnival is over, what a week! We managed to cram as much in as possible- sightseeing, partying, beaches and very little sleeping! We saw the Christ the Redeemer statue which was amazing and huge (30m high) and there were great views over the city and Sugarloaf mountain. Another day we went up Sugarloaf mountain at sunset which was spectacular and the views were amazing, Rio is so beautiful especially when all of the lights of the city come on and twinkle in the heat. I went with another friend we met on a favela (slum) tour which was really interesting and shocking to see how the poor people in Rio live, with rubbish lining the tiny alleyways which are only just wide enough for 2 people to squeeze past each other. We went on ´mototaxis´ - motorbikes acting as taxis which are reckless and dangerous but very fun in a heart-pounding sort of way! The carnival sights mainly involved street parties where parades or stationary bands played and people packed the streets, drinking, singing and dancing which was very fun. We also went to the Sambodromo which is the main carnvial venue where all the offical parades happen and the parade happens 2 nights in a row from 9pm til 6am! We only went to one night which was amazing, the costumes were huge, often doubling the size of the person wearing it and the floats were not your standard back of a lorry thing but huge statues and sculptures and lights all meters high. All parades were themed so it was interesting to try and work it all out! Everybody said Rio would be dangerous, especially for 2 girls travelling along but we never felt in any danger and mostly stuck with friends we made at our hostel who also never had any trouble. We are now staying in a small pretty town on a peninsula east of Rio and are travelling tomorrow to Ilha Grande, an island away from Rio in the other direction but not too far, about 6 or 7 hours which in Brazil is a very short journey!