Hola. Last time I wrote I was speaking with confidence at our Spanish speaking ability. Now, however, having spent the last few weeks travelling through the Portuguese speaking country of Brazil, I feel we have forgotten far too much.
Before we reached there we had one final stop to make in Uruguay. From Piriapolis, we travelled by bus to the seaside town of Punta Del Diablo. We arrived quite late at night to horrendous thunder storms and were greeted by a town experiencing a rather lengthy total black out. Having been shown to our bunks by candle light we settled down to a hearty dinner of biscuits and juice - the kitchen was fully electric and the supermarkets had long since sold out of anything else edible in the panic buying at the start of the blackout! We spent a very enjoyable 5 days in this small town which was a constant bustle of activity as we had caught it on bank holiday weekend. This did mean that the mobile food sellers were out in force and so we were able to sample some of the Uruguayans favourite treats. These included deep fried churros, deep fried savoury donuts, and strangest of all, deep fried bread. When we purchased this last one we were given very strange looks as we decided to have it plain rather than have an inch thick layer of sugar or salt on top. How the locals live past 40 on a diet like this is beyond me, I felt my heart was going to stop after just one day!
We were very fortunate in our hostel to have a very friendly member of staff teach us more Spanish during breakfast and even gave us some helpful words to get by in Brazil. After these early morning lessons our time was spent enjoying the beaches and the walks they have all around Diablo while occasionally having to shelter from some very heavy, but very brief, rain storms.
Our next destination was Florianopolis in Brazil. Having heard reports of this place from alot of fellow travellers we were very excited to see the town and experience a new country. It was a mere 18 hours on a bus before we were on the sun blessed island of saint catherine, which is actually where everyone stays when they say they are going to Florianopolis.
Our hostel in Floripa was excellent and we ended up extending our 2 nights to 6. It seemed that the entire population of young men from Melbourne were at this hostel and we spent a very enjoyable week drinking, eating, and partying with them. Many a night was spent partying at a small beach near our hostel that didn't get going until at least 1.30am. On several nights our hostel cooked up an enormous all you can eat feast at a very reasonable price, which helped line our stomachs before the free caipirinha hour and the inevitable long night of cheap vodka drinking ahead of us.
One party that stood out for us here was a very popular one called P12, and we were lucky enough to be attending the last one of the summer. After having a few pre-party mid day drinks at 'the rock' (some rocks that were about a 15 minute walk through a forest and stuck out into the sea - a very picturesque setting to drink some £2 vodka), we were taken by mini bus about an hours drive to the resort where this pool party was hosted. We had absolutely no idea what to expect as all we had heard was that other people had heard that it was good - clearly a solid reason to go! As it turns out we felt like we were at a cross between a playboy mansion party and a Peter Andre music video! Suffice to say, it was awesome and, like everyone else who has been to Floripa, I would highly recommend it.
Aside from being a good place to party, the island offered a lot more. There were more beautiful beaches than anywhere I've been to, all flanked with amazing lush green vegetation. The sea all around it was clean and I even managed some surf time there. Unfortunately, the best way to get round the island was either tagging along on some expensive tour or hiring some fairly expensive mopeds. We managed to do all our sightseeing by local bus which meant that a 25 minute journey ended up taking us 2.5 hours! But our patience was always rewarded by amazing white sand beaches, surrounded by forests, feeling like being in the middle of nowhere but always having a man ready to sell you a cold alcoholic beverage in a small hut near by.
We were sad to leave Floripa and all the friends we had made there but Rio was calling so we settled down to yet another 18 hour bus ride to the next Olympic host city; Rio de Janeiro.
We had booked a few nights in Nature hostel on the recommendation of an old friend of mine who assured us he had stayed there for a fortnight last year and that it was amazing. All I can say is that from now on his advice will be ignored! We stayed there only one night (possibly 1 night too many) and spent the rest of our first day searching for another hostel, which we found in the form of Standfast hostel in Botafogo just round the corner from us. We moved in the following day and spent the the rest of our time here.
We ended up spending a lot longer in Rio than we had planned as we managed to find a 4 hour flight to Iguazu falls to replace the 24 hour bus ride for the same price. It did mean spending 9 days in the most expensive city in South America but to have a break from the buses it was worth it. Due to this we spread out our sightseeing so we only did 1 thing a day and sometimes not even that! Any time we weren't doing anything we spent lying down either at copacobana or ipanema beach, as this didn't cost us anything and was always good fun as the waves were huge, the beach fashion was tiny (men and women), and the skill on the hundreds of football pitches all along the beach was immense.
Early one morning we took a trip up to see Christ the redeemer, one of the 7 wonders of the modern world, and we were not disappointed. This statue had fascinated me ever since we arrived in Rio as not only was it bearing down on you from nearly everywhere in the city, but at night it was lit up brighter than the moon. When we got up to the top it was even more impressive. The size of it with such a massive wing span is truly a feat of engineering. How it has weathered all storms on such a high setting is beyond me. Looking down into the city from that view point was also an amazing sight. Rio itself is a truly beautiful city with amazing blue seas and lakes, wonderfully lush vegetation all around and such a variety of architecture all the way from skyscrapers to favelas (what the brazilians call slums). We could have spent all day up there looking down but not only was the heat starting to hit the 40s but as the day wore on the number of visitors to this spot was growing exponentially.
Another incredible viewpoint over the city is the famous Sugar Loaf mountain. We took the cable car up around sunset and watched as the sun disappeared behind el Christo. It was quite an ominous sight as the statue was surrounded by huge billowing grey clouds and every now and then Jesus would poke through! It felt a bit like Armageddon.
Rio is well known for many things, one of them being how dangerous a city it is, and we were constantly reminded not to walk around carrying valuables, not to go to certain places, stick with the crowds but always watch your pockets, the list goes on. So, as you can imagine, we were fairly on edge when we went for a night out in Lapa, an area notoriously dangerous due to its close proximity to a favela but also known for being one of the best nights out in Rio. We were fortunate enough to go out with a guy who had been there for a number of weeks and so knew the area well and was able to tell us where and where not to go. Basically, Lapa is one huge street party with loads of stalls selling food and drink and blaring out music. We had an amazing night out but definitely paid for it the next day!
The Favelas are so called as they are named after a flower which is able to grow even in the harshest of conditions, and that's exactly what these slums have done. Until recently they were run by the drug lords and were a very dangerous place to be near, let alone live in. Nearly all have now been 'pacified' with the biggest favela in Latin America only being taken over by the police a matter of a few months ago. This was the favela we decided to have a tour of! To be honest with you we did not feel in danger or even slightly on edge throughout the entire tour, with the only worrying point coming at the start in the form of a motor bike taxi that we took to the top of it. These were driven by kamikaze riders who seemed to aim for the smallest gap possible when overtaking, at top speed, on a blind corner! It was a good adrenalin rush to get the tour started. Seeing the favela was a real eye opener into the world of slums. Even with the massive amount of government help that they have had since being pacified life is still extremely tough, especially for those who live at the bottom of the favela where all the waste is washed down to. During heavy storms many have to evacuate this place to a safe zone for fear of landslides and buildings collapsing. Having said all this though it is impressive to see how they have built their own small city out of nothing, and their wiring to ensure everyone gets free electricity is something a health and safety officer in the UK would have a fit over! What was funny to see was that every single house in the favela had brand new skyHD dishes! Since it has been made a safe place to enter, sky offered to install these for everyone for free, obviously in return for a subscription but I wouldn't be surprised if these guys have found a way round it. We made sure we went with a tour company that puts alot of money back into the favela by way of day care centres to try and get the kids off the streets and allow parents to go to work. There was alot of talk of a new hope for these areas now the drugs are not ruling the way of life, but it's going to take a long time before any lasting benefit can be measured.
One final highlight of rio was something we only found on our penultimate day. It was a tiny pizza joint, a family's converted front room, where we not only had the best pizzas we've eaten in South America but were also treated to chocolate pizza for dessert. We opted for half chocolate and mozzarella, and half chocolate and banana and it was so tasty that we took some friends back there the next night! It also helped that the people running the joint were so friendly and generous you felt like a member of the family.
Our flight out of Rio was at the sociable hour of 0530 am on a Saturday morning, so we were leaving the hostel just as our room mates were returning from a night out!
Next stop, Iguazu falls...
Quins rule.