Hola! Well, we've made it to our final destination of this 6 month jaunt, and what a destination!!!!! Rio is spectacular!

We have been here since Monday, arriving from Ilha Grande by boat/bus combination - by the way - Ilha Grande - perfect place to get away from it all! We spent 8 days there, exploring all the jungle treks which led to absolutely pristine beaches which we had all to ourselves! We hand fed monkeys bits of banana and apple, we fought with daft dogs, we collected bamboo walking sticks, we tanned ourselves silly, and we consumed copious amounts of delicious ice cream, pizza and per kilo fodder! All this on a very tight budget - not because we are skint, but because the island has no banks or atm's and we had failed to withdraw a substantial enough amount of money to cover it all! Despite being a bit restricted with cash n'all, we had an amazing time, and the owner of our hostel was lovely - she gave us mountains of popcorn to consume avec movies, and the odd alcoholic beverage, complete with iced glass!!! We can truely recommend this place for your next holiday!!!!

Anyhoo, we arrived in Rio on Monday, and were immediately impressed by the city. The views are simply spectacular, the people are simply gorgeous and sooo sporty - the beach front is jammed with runners, cyclists, footballers and people playing volly ball (we have been in the gym every day to try and match up with their amazing bodies!!) - when these guys aren't being active, they are tanning themselves in thongs and the tightest speedos you have ever seen! - and they look GOOD in them!!! b******s!

Our hotel was a bit of a suprise - it's a 4 star!!! Very nice indeed! We get free towels and beach umbrellas whenever we want, we have a gym, we have a BATH!!!!! and we are opposite probably the worlds most famous beach in the world - Copacabana!

We have spent the last few days sunbathing and we now have fantastic tans!!!! yey!!!! We have, as we said, hit the gym every day, and so are starting to feel abit fitter - although we nearly passed out after the first session!

Last night we went to the world famous Maracana stadium to watch two of Brasil's top football teams - Botofogo (rio) and Sao Paulo - fight it out. The stadium was massive, and the Fogo fans were amazing - the hard core lot sparked up countless flares and the noise was amazing. However the game was pretty s***e, and Fogo lost to the visiting Sao Paulo (not suprising as SP have won their last 7 games and are top of the league) - but despite this, the fans still cheered them off and were chanting til the end - not quite like British football eh?!

So, now we have only our last week to fill with fun activities - boooooooo! But, it should be a good week - we plan to hanglide over the city, visit christ and the sugar loaf, and maximise our tans - naturally!!!!!

Will probably leave a blog or two before we leave, so keep checking!