Hey there amigos, how's everybody doing? Boony...I'm glad you like the vest - I think it belonged to one of my brothers - I just found it in a drawer somewhere at home ;). So yeah. I'm still in Rio. I cannot leave this place, it's too good! I'm staying in a hostel called Walk on the Beach in Copacabana, where I have now been for about 15 nights...the owners are absolutely fantastic, and by far and away the nicest hostel owners I've encountered so far...but it is making it too difficult to go. Still, maybe I should start from the beginning - where did I leave off last time? I think we were meant to be going to the Sambódromo... So yeah, that didn't happen. Instead, we met up with Per, Andre, Sally and Martyn and drank many caipirinhas, spending the evening in various bars on the beach front. Followed by swimming (entirely sober Mother, I swear), in the hardcore currents off Copacabana. Very sensible. Still, aside from a smashed in nose on Martyn's side, we survived, and good times were had. But we did miss the official carnaval samba dancing. Dommage. However, after extending our stay by a couple of nights - we were meant to be leaving on the Thursday - we managed to catch the winner's parade last Saturday...and I'm so glad we went - the atmosphere was immense (yes, that does make sense) and we spent the duration of our stay dancing in the stands as the samba schools passed by below us, with gigantic floats depicting all manner of crazy stuff. And no Jamie, I wasn't doing my "Cuban style" of samba - I didn't feel it would be fair to upstage the performers after they'd trained for so long. Aren't I thoughtful? Definitely worth going though - a once in a lifetime experience. Otherwise here in Rio, we went to see a match in the Maracanà - I think I'm right in saying it's the largest capacity football stadium in the world, and despite the crowd not being at capacity, the atmosphere was, wait for it, imm...no, awesome. The Flamengo fans - I think they have one of the largest fan bases in the world, something like 70 million - were incredibly vocal, and more than made up for the slightly lacklustre performances by both teams. So yeah.... We also went up to see the statue of Christ the Redeemer - an impressive figure, and worth it despite the cloud cover meaning limited, nay, non-existent views...and of course up Sugarloaf in the cable car - can anyopne remember which Bond film had Jaws chasing Jimmy down from Sugarloaf? Come on Dan, show us your knowledge. ;) After all of these things, punctuated by regular visits to the beaches, Farida began to get itchy feet. I recommended some talcom powder or just to wash them a little more thoroughly...but apparently it's just an expression. So we decided to split for a few days, meaning I was to stay here and she was to go down to an island called Ila Grande with Per (one of the Swedish dudes we met on the Inca trail). That was last Sunday...the original plan was for me to join them on Ila Grande the next day, but I couldn't leave...tis too good here! So since she left, I have spent a most relaxing time, still on the beaches, and in the hostel bar, incredibly randomly meeting up with certain people (so good to see you Nabs!), and generally chillaxing. Then t'other day I decided to go up Sugarloaf again, but this time rock climbing and hiking - a much more worthwhile way of scaling the Pão de Azúcar in my humble opinion - the views were....immense...and it was good to actually do some exercise after the self-inflicted annihilation of my body during Carnaval! Wow, my apologies for the length of this entry, hope you've made it to the end! Next stop is São Paulo, where we are off to see an Oasis concert - should be entertaining...and then from there to the falls of Iguazu on the Argentinian border... I will hopefully manage to get some pictures on soon - this computer won't let me do it properly. (Have been to see a couple of sunrises on Copacabana - well worth it both times! And the water still so nice and warm at 5:30am!) Love to all of you, and many thanks to Bo, Alessandra and Alcira, solide. Tudo bem amigos, tchao!