Hi everyone, Still in Rio, leaving tomorrow morning so we thought we'd update you on our last few fun-filled days here to bring a little sunshine to your monday morning! Friday was the official start of Carnaval. It kicked off with a bloco (street parade) through the steep cobbled (wet and slippery - it had rained all day) streets of Santa Teresa. We lined up ready for the start at the published time of 4pm which in Brazil means 5 ... or 6 .... or 7 ... actually it means 8pm! This gave us plenty of time to learn the words to the parade theme song which we knew very well after several hours singing it whilst dancing along the street behind the float and band. We spent a lovely morning on Saturday strolling the length of Copacabana beach and obviously singing those words of the Barry Manilow song that we could remember (thanks to Howard for providing the words to "The Girl From Ipanema", if anyone could likewise for "Copacabana" we would be grateful). In the afternoon we took the cable car (see postcard) up Sugarloaf Mountain. As with our previous experience with mountain tops we were accompanied by cloud, only this time it was full of rain. We made a lovely haven out of 3 parasols to shelter from the rain until the clouds cleared revealing an amazing panorama over the whole city (excluding Christ the Redeemer who stubbornly refused to appear to us despite our best efforts to woo him out of the clouds with religious favourites such as "Shine, Jesus, Shine". It was only at our rendition of "Day by Day" from Godspell .... praying to "see him more clearly" that the clouds cleared - he obviously prefers musicals!) The definite highlight of the day, however, was a trip to the Sambadrome to see the main carnival processions (costumes, music and all). We were fortunate enough to buy tickets on the door and spent until 4am watching the most vibrant, colourful and spectacular scenes unfolding before our eyes! Words cannot do the whole experience justice - suffice to say we had a great time watching the parades, dancing to the music and soaking up the Carnaval atmosphere. This morning was a later start but waking up to a clear blue sky and brilliant sunshine meant that we made it to the beach for 11am. This set us up nicely for a day of R&R, just perfect before a hard day on the road and sea tomorrow (tropical island here we come!). Hope all is well with you. Thanks again for your messages and emails. Keep in touch. Zena & Kirstie