Rio, we must say, has become a major wow for us. We planned on 4 days. We struggled to leave after 9. We have no doubt that Rio is to say the least, a little risky. Us gringos are prime targets for the less privilidged amongst the Cariocas. For the unitiated, Rio is vibrant, chaotic, massively cosmopolitan, dangerous, beautiful - infact Rio is just about everything. Most of all though, Rio is truly wonderful. 13 journeys on the cities buses proved a lucky number for us. We did encounter one gang of well dressed middle aged pickpockets. They had sussed us and we had sussed them. Stalemate. Our week at Le Meridien came to an end and we were evicted before the price hikes for New Year kicked in. We moved to modest, though clean, premises in Flamengo. Hotel Ingles. How could we resist. Lets get down to the business end of Rio. New Years eve on Copacabana. Dressed in our newly purchased white togs, we rode the bus to the beach and joined 2 million revellers for a night to remember. Beer, wine, champs, food, infact anything you could want was on sale everywhere. Imagine that in Trafalgar Square. Wish we had known. Still we enjoyed our home made V and C. Phill followed the lead of the locals and burrowed like a badger and created a perimeter fence around us on the beach. We dug in for the big moment. The sea of people dressed in white was only broken by yellow and green Brazilian flags. Phill barely resisted the temptation to sing "Norwich, you all support Norwich". 4 cruise ships anchored in the bay. Brazilian flag sarong in hand, the countdown started. MIDNIGHT and....... JESUS what a fireworks display. Jaw dropping. After our vodka fuelled plunge into the warm Atlantic waters, we headed back towards Flamengo where another party was in full swing. At 1am the heavens opened up. It only added to the atmosphere! Felix 2006! RIO. WE LOVE IT! PaS