After a brief day and night in Brasilia, I boarded my flight onwards to one of the cities I was most excited about - Rio de Janeiro. Whilst Brasilia was a warm 25C, Rio added 10C to that. Just like January eh?

Getting from the airport into the city was a nightmare. As with Brasilia, ************e spoke English, and the bus to the metro stop had nowhere to buy a travel card - just the ability to top one up. Trying to explain this to the guard, he just let me onto the bus without a ticket, where I then had a panicky 45 minutes trying to work out how I would get out of this without a fine at the other end.

Luckily finding that the ticket barrier was only for entry, I managed to escape and get across the walkway to the metro station where I managed to actually buy myself a metro card. Another 45 minutes and I was finally in central Rio checking into my hotel and settling in to a weekend in the city.

This evening I was being joined by my good friend Marina, whom I met and spent just two months with in Germany. Marina was only spending one full day with me in Rio but it would still be a great time for us to catch up, 4½ years after our study abroad experience came to an end.

Upon her arrival we made our way over to Copacabana for an evening stroll along the promenade, buying some tat before enjoying Caipirinhas and Manjubinha at one of the restaurants on the beachside.

The following morning we had a busy day and so got up for a hearty breakfast before heading towards Christ the Redeemer, which as advised online had been prebooked. However despite the sunshine, upon arrival at the station we were told there was 0% visibility at the top. Telling us we could exchange our ticket for a later time we decided to come back later and explore other parts of the city first.

Heading to the next place on our list - Sugarloaf Mountain, we got on the cable cars quickly and headed up for views over the city, both the beautiful (Copacabana) and not so (Favellas). Already in the 30s at just 10am we explored the top of the world famous mountain, before heading back down and into the city itself.

Driving past the seating areas for the carnival that would be appearing a few weeks later, we arrived at the Santa Teresa Tram which had reopened around 18 months previously after a deadly derailment in 2011. With new safety rails, the tram took a limited route into the Santa Teresa area across the Carioca Aqueduct that symbolises the Lapa area.

Walking down past the aqueduct, we made our way to the tiled Escadaria Selarón before making our way back to the Corcovado station to finally see Christ the Redeemer.

At the top were wonderful views of the surrounding areas, including Sugarloaf and the bay itself as well as the lagoon, Copacabana and the Maracanã stadium.

Spending lots of time taking photos and avoiding the other tourists doing the same, we made our way back down past the Lagoon to the Ipanema Beach, where we would walk to Pedra do Arpoador for views over the islands in the sea outside Rio.

We then continued to walk towards Copacabana itself where after changing, we got into the sea for a paddle. The sea was lovely and warm, although relatively rough and unfortunately full of litter. With each wave covering us come the wipe of the eyes from the sea water and the plastic.

Nevertheless it was still an enjoyable afternoon in the warm sea. And having enjoyed the beautiful surrounding views, we went off for a meal in a Brazilian restaurant before heading back to the hotel to chill.

After a rest we then headed back out to finish off our weekend together with some drinks back at Lapa.

Having had a busy few days and having seen the best sights of Rio, the following morning was much more chilled. Avoiding the Favella Tour promoted by the hotel, I went for a gentle stroll towards Flamengo Beach, with the Guanabara Bay in front of Sugarloaf, before heading into the city, past Lapa, to the cathedral.

The cathedral was designed to evoke a modern take on the Mayan Pyramids, but actually looks more like a giant concrete cheese grater. However inside, the huge stained glass windows transform what is an ugly exterior into a beautiful interior.

I then walked back via the city centre past the National Bank and Municipal Theatre before arriving at the hotel to relax and get ready for the onward adventure and the more January-like weather waiting for me at the bottom of the continent.