Hi everyone!

Rio - what a place! It should be on everyone´s list of places to go. It has a magical quality about it, with such great beauty and an incredible atmosphere. Myra and I have loved every minute.

Copacabana beach is everything you would imagine it to be... glamorous, enormous, teaming with beautiful people.. though men jogging in just speedos is a little too frequent for my liking! There is no age limit on the speedo-only outfit either! I was lucky to arrive to blazing sunshine on a Saturday when all the Cariocas (people from Rio) descend to strut their stuff, relax, sunbathe and play football or volleyball. It has been a little chillier since (only 21 degres!) which is a little chilly for sunbathing. :)

No matter though, as we have had plenty to keep us busy. The trip up Sugar Loaf mountain has been, I think, the highlight of the city. We ascended just as the sun was setting and reached the summit in time to see the Christ statue silhouetted against a sky of burnt orange and red. The city lights were twinkling and the illuminated beaches stretched out as far as the eye could see. Truly magical.

Our trip to the Corcovado (Christ) was also very memorable. We hired a driver to take us up (so we could go at our own pace) and he took us to a viewing spot halfway up so we could see the city below and the statue above. Such views! It was impossible to stop snapping away with my camera. The statue itelf is enormous when standing at his feet. It was very cold though as the clouds often descend and completely shroud the statue. Myra´s knack for befriending taxi drivers with her impressive Portuguese led us to taking a second trip within the same national park, to a waterfall. Along the way we saw plenty of monkeys and funny small anteaters (plus some crazy tourists feeding the monkeys by hand! Mental..). We drove back through the city to discover how bad the traffic can be driving from one end to the other...

We wouldn´t be in Brazil without experiencing some dancing, and we have been lucky enough to see two live Samba bands already (one bizarrely in the street for no discernible reason!) and a Samba show: seriously inmpressive. We are going out to dance Forro tonight, which Myra is particularly looking forward to!

Tomorrow we fly to Salvador to stay with Myra´s friend Oscar. Hopefully I will get a chance to upload some photos soon. I hope you enjoy reading about my trip, and thanks for all the messages so far -keep them coming! xxx