A few hours drive along a winding and scenic coastal road brought us to a small port where we boarded a ferry that would take us to Ilha grande. A tropical island with a plethora of sandy beaches, as well as some excellent surfing. The ferry took about half an hour and was a worthwhile trip in itself giving stunning views of the coast, mountains and rainforests. We docked at the small dockand checked into our Pöusada. The town (or rather sea front promenade)...

Summing up Rio de Janeiro in a travel blog is a near impossible task, that stretches far beyond my skill, time and patience. The uploading of pictures (when I eventually get round to it), will hopefully provide a helpful insight into the ´beautiful city´. In short, Rio is a city of contradictions. Geographicaly sublime and unique, a constant dialogue between land and ocean. The famous beach districts of Ipanema, Copacabana and Leblon (the best known of ...

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 fa...