It has been a very exciting weekend here in Rio de Janeiro! Yesterday (Saturday) we did the sightseeing tour, and it was absolutely fantastic. We'd decided to take a guided tour for reasons of safety (and maybe a little bit of laziness) and it was really worth the money. We had an excellent guide called Vao who did the tour in both English and Spanish, so best of both worlds for me! He took us to the Cathedral, the big football stadium and the Sambodrome, as well as driving around most of the city. And of course, we went to the Corcovado (with the Christ the Redeemer statue) and the Sugar Loaf. The Corcovado was excellent, but very exposed to the sun, and as we went there early morning the heat haze had yet to burn off and although we could see everything it wasn't terribly clear. It was also a somewhat nervewracking journey getting there - I'm sure these drivers do the journey all the time and are used to the steepness and ridiculously tight corners, but we weren't! We could hardly believe it when we looked out the bus window, thinking we were nearly there, and saw the statue beaming out miles above us and seemingly on another mountain! Worth it though. But the Sugar Loaf was absolutely amazing, by far the best bit. You take two cable cars (of James Bond / Moonraker fame) to get up to the top, and the views from both levels are absolutely stunning. It had cleared up a lot by then as we went in the afternoon, and you could see for miles - all the beaches, the sea, the city, the statue - everything. It was exactly what I was hoping for when I wanted to go to Rio! I can really recommend it, we all thought it was the best thing we'd seen. We were driven around the city in a nice little air-conditioned minibus, but it still managed to be a pretty tiring day! Still had the energy for a quick caipirinha in the evening though of course........! Today has been a beachy day - we started the day at Ipanema's famous Hippie Market where we got sarongs for the beach - it doesn't appear to be the done thing over here to turn up with your towel and sun bed! We went to Ipanema beach, just across from our Hostel in case it got a bit too hot! It was absolutely scorchio, so more shade-bathing for me than anything else, although in my usual style I did manage to burn a nice odd shaped patch on my right leg.....typical. Thinking of heading to a Carnaval rehearsal tonight.....