Hi! Sorry it's been a while since we last updated but we have been busy having too much fun!
Day 18: we arrived in Rio early in the morning, the bus station isn't in an area you would want to hang about in so we took a taxi (and got ripped off) to the hostel. Again the hostel is great and in a really upmarket part of rio, ipanema which one of the most expensive parts of rio but also the safest. We couldn't check in till 1 so since we are only three blocks from the beach headed straight there.
Day 19: after a long day yesterday we just had another day at the beach. In the morning we walked along ipanema beach where the gay district is and the surfers district. Later we walked along to Copacabana. Copacabana is an incredible place, it's so busy with so many different people! No matter what Their size everyone is in a tiny bikini and thong or tiny little trunks.
Day 20: We did a city tour today which took us too most of the main attractions . We went upto the Christ Redeemer Statue which is brilliant, it's considered one of the new 7 wonders of the world! It's so busy up there we struggled to get good photos, but the views are incredible. After that we into Santa Teresa, the old part of town, it's all cobble streets and colonial buildings. then we went onto the lapa steps. A working progress for a crazy chillian artist. If you bring him a tile he will let you lay it. Over 140 countries are represented in the steps but the isle of man isn't there so someone needs to take him a tile! We then went onto the sugar loaf, but we didn't go up, we want to save it for another day.
Day 21: today we did a favela tour, which has to be highlight of the whole trip! We started the tour by taking a mototaxi (a motorbike taxi) upto the top of the favela. They drive like maniacs and weave in and out of traffic oncoming traffic. I went up first thinking someone would be at the top to meet me but no the taxi driver just drops me off in the middle of the favela and I get off and have to stand and wait for everyone else! there is no other way to say how I was feeling other than s***ting my pants! But after that the tour was great, really interesting to learn how these people live and what the government are doing about the drug problems and the living conditions of some of these people. Within the favela there Is a big police presence, we saw countless armed patrols.
Day 22: after 4 days of fantastic sun the storms set in today which ruined are plans to go upto the top of the sugarloaf so we decided to take a bike ride around the lagoon and all the way across ipanema and copacabana beach.
Day 23: bus and boat transfer to ilha grande!