We arrived landed in Rio at midnight (having had to connect in Sao Paulo). We had exchanged the coast of the pacific for the coast of the atlantic. The stunning hills of Valparaiso and the beaches of Vina, for unmistakable landmarks of the Sugarloaf, Christ the Redeemer and Copacabana. The twinkling lights of Valparaiso seemed not so distant as we drove from the airport to our hostel in Ipanema. Within a few minutes of leaving the airport we had picked out the famous statue of Christ (Christo) towering above the city, keeping watch. The lights of the favellas flickered up the hillside. Passing through the famous tunnels that link the different parts of the city we followed the road through the botofago district (home to the yacht club and harbour) and then along the avenida atlantica (the road that runs parallel along Copacabana), passing the Copcabana palace and other recognisable landmarks. The weather unfortunately was not so welcoming and the hills were eventually completely covered by cloud and rain.

We transferred to Buzios early in the next morning, and slept for a couple of hours on the bus. The rain obscured all chance of seeing any significant scenery. We arrived at our Pousada (small gest house common to Buzios) and amidst the deluge checked in. We were shown our room, which after a while began to leak and so we had to move. The pousada was actually stunning, it had a swimming pool and a beautfiul sweeping view across the bay towards the port and the main town. Buzios was originally a small fishing village until Bridgette Bardot visited. It rapidly became a tourist destination, and is now favoured by the rich and famous. Ronaldinho, Kaka and Roberto Carlos all have homes there. It is geographically beautiful, a piece of land jutting out into the ocean, with no less than 27 beaches. Some perfect for surfing whilst others, just for relaxing and snorkelling. The rain on day 1 ultimately meant we could do nothing there and we waited hopefully for better weather. That night we went out for dinner in waterproofs. The town itself was lovely, with tree lined cobbled streets. The old rustic buildings a contradiction to the designer shops that they housed, mingled in with newly built hotels and restaurants.

The next morning the rain eased, we went back into town and it was a lot livelier. We walked along the ocean for a bit and then caught a water taxi to one of the beaches further along from where we were staying. The sun was beginning to show its head and as a result the beaches were beginning to fill. The sea was calm and emerald in colour, the beaches quite small, with people packed closely together. The million dollar houses and resorts that clung to the cliffs here now seemed very far away from Valparaiso. Not fancying the weather good another for swimming and sunbathing (due to an apparent lack of sun), we continued and walked on toward a less sheltered beach on the other side of the peninsula. This beach apparently popular with surfers, had lushley vegetated high rocky cliffs surrounding the bay, and only one rather expensive looking hotel. We had lunch overlooking the beach and then the rain set in again. We went out during the night, but again, the weather meant it wasn´t as lively as its reputation suggested.

Day 3 we braced ourselves for yet another day of poor weather, but to our surprise the morning greeted us with nothing but blue. The sky mimicking the colour of the ocean, which seemed like a completely different body of water in the sunlight. We had breakfast by the pool, went for a swim, sat out for a bit, and then decided to take a schooner around the various bays, beaches and islands for the afternoon. We boarded the boat and were taken first to swim just off the beaches we had visited a day earlier (now even more packed with people). We then headed out to sea, towards a huge rock that jutted out from the depths below. We swam from the boat to the Island, an uninhabited formation of scraggy rock faces, with an abundance of verdant vegetation and birdlife. Then returning to another beach for some snorkelling. We also became well acquainted with the local drink Caiprinha, a combination of crushed ice, lime, sugar and cachaca (a rum), provided throughout the trip. Returning to the pousada, we hadn´t really recognised the strength of the sun, found that we were both really quite red. Having applied suncream liberally and apparently more abundantly in some places than others, I am in no doubt it will eventually lead to some seroius peeling. Though touch wood, so far so good. We went out again in the evening to another restaurant (buzios has the highest number of restaurants per inhabitant anywhere in Brazil, and some claim the world). After dinner we visited the locally famous, Chez Michou creperie and bar, run by a belgian man, it is the choice hang out of the young and trendy. Obviously the young and trendy saw us coming and didn´t bother turning up because it was very quite. I imagine that in peak season the place takes on a somewhat different character when its population swells from 20,000 to 150,000.

The next morning we transferred early back to Rio, the city from which I broadcast my thoughts, memories and experiences to you at this very moment........