Well, It's my last few hours in Rio, and I've run out of money so I'm going to try and finish off my blog…….

20th Jan

Having crossed pretty much most of Brazil in a bus we arrived in Paraty on the coast. The bus journeys ended up taking almost 24 hours in total… what a nightmare! I think that really might have to be my last ever night bus journey… far too uncomfortable.

When we arrived in Paraty it was flooded. It is on a really stunning coast line but it was so grey and rainy. The town had been flooding for the last few weeks, so much that one of the bridges is partially washed away.

That night the boys and I played cards and drank beer in a local bar… v nice. Maybe I'm turning into a boy!!!!

21stJan

After crossing my fingers all night the weather was a bit drier on this day. We risked the weather and took a local rollercoaster bus to a gorgeous beach called Trinidade. It kind of rained on and off all day, but I still managed to get burnt.

The area looks so much like the islands of Thailand… Green James Bond mountains and clear green/blue water. Trinidade is a quite large cove, but it is so clean and so calm. There are beach bars just at one end of the long beach, so most of the rest of it looks pristine.

After messing about in the water and walking up and down the beach for most of the day we joined up with some others on the beach to play volleyball…. Soooooo much fun!

22nd Jan

The boys and I left Paraty in the morning and caught a bus and boat to Ihla Grande. This is another beautiful place.. this time an island where there are no cars!

It is very relaxed, with sandy paths and some v nice yachts. We went for a walk, paddled in the sea and climbed up to a waterfall. It's idyllic and somewhere I could definitely live. There are loads of small islands scattered around this bit of the coast below Rio… a lot of them privately owned with helicopters….. all very James Bond!

There was also the best pizza I've had in a while… rocket and sun dried tomatoes… mmmmmmm!

23rd Jan

At 10.30am our boat trip started. It took the group around the coast of the island to some fantastic coves. The rain was still a little persistent, but that didn't stop it being fun. The boat took us to the Blue Lagoon…. A secluded cove filled with little fish and some coral. We had a snorkel and saw some mini Nemos. Some of the group saw squid… which later turn into an allergic reaction for Ben, so I'm kind of glad that I missed that one!!!

That night I enjoyed some Caiprinhas and got chatting to a great Argentinean couple. Funnily the more Caiprinhas, the better my Spanish gets….

24th Jan

After a morning of lazing about on the beach we reluctantly left Ihla Grande set for Rio. This place is definitely somewhere I´d love to return to. It feels safe, and like Rio, Caiprinhas and cake and juice are served EVERYWHERE… my kind of place!

The journey to Rio was pretty short and was also the final leg of the 45 day Gap trip… I can't believe it's over….. It's been amazing! After a boat ride to a local port and a few hours in a bus we hit Rio de Janeiro. The place feels huge and it took a long time to get from the outskirts to the centre. Also the traffic is crazy… involving wide very fast roads with no lanes and no rules… ahhhhhhhhh!

Our hotel was the last bit of the tour that was preorganised… from this point in our guide was no longer on duty… the freedom! The hotel is just behind Copacabana Beach. As soon as we got there it was time for a walk. The beach is soooooo long and stunning. Considering the beaches are in the middle of the city they are very clean.

I loved Rio from the moment we got here. There is so much talk of it being dangerous, but I´ve had nothing but brilliant fun…… And it is really modern and in the best setting you could think of!

In the evening we went to a brilliant restaurant. I've since realised that pretty much all of the places are like this in Rio…. Dangerous! So you pay about 10 pounds and go up to the buffet. This is no ordinary buffet… there is everything you could possibly want including a load of v tasty sushi. You can go to the buffet as much as you like… and when you sit down you get given a card… green on 1 side, red on the other. When it's on green waiters come round with huge skewers of different meats, and sometimes some fish, and cut it onto your plates with a massive knife. And as if this isn't enough a load of side dishes also turn up!!!! All of the buffet food was ridiculously nice… I'm so glad these don't exist in London…. I would have to eat myself silly!!!! The boys were overwhelmed with the meat… Chris would love it sooo much!

After the massive meal we headed back to the hotel for some homemade Caiprihnas..mmmmmmm, this is now my drink of choice, and is so easy to make.

At about midnight we got taxis to Lapa, a district of Rio famous for the Lapa Arches and the street parties! Every weekend there are street parties and this was one of the best nights out ever.

There are a ton of people and carts selling cocktails, caiprinhas and beers all over the street. We spent some time in a bar where I was persuaded to let loose the crazy dancing by some local girls. Then after a while I went with Liam and Tim outside to the street party. A live band played under the arches and crowd were all loving it. We danced until 5am and drank street caiprinhas (can you start to see the caiprinha theme of Brazil…. Mmm, good job I'm coming home!).It was just incredible to be dancing under the arches in Rio…..

25th Jan

With a terrible hang over we had to move hotels this day and venture out of the safety of the Gap tour. I went with the boys to a hostel in Ipanema where we shared a room.

We walked right along Copacobana beach and then Ipanema beach in the sunshine (*finally!!!!!). As it was a Sunday the lanes next to these 2 massive beaches were pedestrianised and so many people were out. The people here are all so beautiful… men and women! All the women wear tiny bikinis and the men tiny speedos.

Ipanema beach feels much more relaxed than Copacobana, I loved it! The locals are all incredibly good at beach volleyball and do a lot of exercise considering the 32 degree heat!

Our hostel, The Girl From Ipanema, is no where near as nice as the hotels we've stayed in for the rest of the trip, but it is really friendly, in a great area and full of information about Rio.

In the afternoon I had booked to go hang gliding but it was too windy. Some of the boys went to watch some football and Tim and hung around and stupidly volunteered to transport the bags to out new hostel. What a crap idea!!!! We managed to completely mess it up by not knowing the address of the hostel…. What idiots. We got so completely lost in Rio, in a taxi with a driver we couldn't communicate with and 5 huge rucksacks! Eventually we stopped at a 5 star hotel and someone who spoke English came to help. The taxi driver must have thought we were insane!

26th Jan

I booked myself onto a city tour to make sure I fitted in all the good sights. It took all day and we visited Christ the Redeemer (the Christ that overlooks Rio and is in Romeo and Juliet), The Stadium (biggest in S America), the Cathedral, the street where Carnival takes place and Sugar Loaf Mountain. So it was an action packed day!

The Christ was enormous with fantastic views over the city. Luckily it wasn't too cloudy…. So impressive!. The Cathedral is a big surprise. From the outside it looks like a concrete car park, but from the inside it had 4 huge stained glass windows that reach up about 50 metres each…. And the acoustics are perfect. You can't even see the stained glass from the inside because the building is a cone shape.

I was really surprised that carnival doesn't happen in a real street. Instead it goes along a specially built one with stands either side. I'd love to go… the parties would be fantastic…. Mmmm, maybe I could stay another month….

Sugar Loaf Mountain was also very impressive and it was unbelievable to be there after seeing it in so many pics. You take 2 cable cars to the very top and the views are great.

One of the girls I met on the tour said she also wanted to hang glide, so when someone approached us on the street I jumped at the chance. We booked it on the spot for 9am this morning….. and I spent all night panicking about it!

Since I booked to come to Rio I´d imagined hang gliding and see the Sugar Loaf and the Christ from the sky…

27th Jan

This morning I woke up with the anticipation of hang gliding.. but I LOVED it so much. Maybe I should take it up in the UK!

I was picked up at 9am and the girl who I met yesterday hadn't chickened out and was already in the taxi waiting. We got the car to the top of a 750m high mountain, overlooking a beach. The views up there were fantastic, but the platform you have to run from scared the life out of me!!!! I think the weather was pretty much perfect for it today. We each got given a pilot, who controls everything. Mine as called Marcel (I think) and had been flying for 20 years. I was strapped into my harness and had to go first. Up to that point I'd been very calm about what I was about to do, but when I was strapped in I started to panic. I had to run, in sync with the pilot, off the edge of a cliff on really high mountain… what a crazy thing to do!!!

After the take off though it was such a fantastic feeling. I relaxed straight away and could not get over the view. We flew into a bit of cloud but that cleared and below were a million private pools, and views right along the coast line. I got to see the Sugar Loaf and the Christ from up there as well. I was sooooo excited during the whole 10 minutes, I think I could have stayed up there for hours.

We landed on the beach, which was surprisingly easy and I couldn't contain my excitement…. I really recommend this and can´t wait to do another one!!!! I bought the DVD of the flight so I'll try and put it on my blog when I get home.

This afternoon |I took another walk down the beach. The boys have gone back to Ihla Grande for a few days this morning so I´ve been enjoying some time to myself. I wondered right down Ipanema beach and watched the surfers while drinking from a cold coconut… mmmmm, bliss!!!!

So that is the end of my trip.. I fly at 10.20pm tonight and should be back in the UK on 28th in the afternoon. Mum is probably the only one who has read this all the way to the end. If anyone else has, your prize will be exemption from the slideshow coming soon!

Love

Jo