Hello People, We are just about to get onto a 24 hour bus back to Rio to try and devlop a tan before we come home, only 11 days left :o( We arrived in Rio about 3 weeks ago and enjoyed a stay at the Marriott. V plush and the time went a little too quickly. I'm sure you have heard the news so far and a piccie is posted in the album with the ring (and a very drunk andrew) We left Rio for more beaches, to the island resort of Ilha Grande and Lopes Mendez possibly the most beautiful beach in Brazil so they say. But it rained a little so could have been better. A nice place to chill out and a little cheaper than the Marriott. After there, we went to Paraty a nice little colonial town with great architecture and loads of shops and restaurants for a bit of window shopping. We stopped in Sao Paulo on the way to Foz do Iguacu but only for 2 hours in the bus station, that was scary enough. Iguassu is the site of some massive and spectacular waterfalls, after a couple of months drought, the falls were down to 25% of wet season flow but were still mighty impressive and we saw some interesting if greedy wildlife. One band of particularly brave coatis ambushed rachel for her crisps. She fought back wildly but they carry rabies and she eventually backed down as they ate all her cheesy puffs. We then went to the Pantanal - the vast wetlands in southern Brazil to spot some wildlife. We saw: alligators (very close up) snakes, giant otters, black howler monkeys, capybaras, lizards, more alligators, loads of birds including macaws, hummingbirds, storks, vultures and finally the ilusive toucan. Between wildlife spotting, we fished for piranha and my little fishing rod I have been carrying finally got some good use. It looked a bit OTT with everyone else using bamboo canes but I caught loads more and thats all what matters. It was strange wading out to fish for piranhas who we all know eat meat then try and excite them into a feeding frenzy by feeding them bits of raw beef but we all escaped with fingers and toes intact. Apart from the fish there were quite a few alligators skulking around. It turned into a bit of a macho fest with the girls (and a couple of the more poofy boys) on the river bank and the rest of us men(!) playing chicken and letting the gators get closer and closer. But when they dropped beneath the surface everyone suddenly ran out of bait and waded double-time back to shore until they surfaced again. From the Pantanal we took a short bus to Bonitio, which is surrounded by crystal clear rivers and an abundant of fish life. We took a day snorkelling and floating down one of the rivers which was a little cold but the fish were incredible I counted about 10 different species from little Mato Grosso up to the great Dorado. Well we have a few days left to chill out on the beaches of Ipanema but dont expect too many photos from our few remaining days, 1: its not advisable to leave cameras on the beach and 2: its a bit obvious what I'm taking photos of and Rachel will tell me off. Until next time. Andy and Rachel