I have to admit that arriving in Rio de Janeiro as my first stop off in South America on my own had me a little nervous. I can now whole heartedly say now that I was being a worry wart! Of course the usual foreign big city rules apply however to me Rio doesn't deserve the reputation it has somehow earned. After arriving I was pick up by the most friendly taxi driver who didn't speak a word of English and despite my lack of Portuguese conversation skills he continued to chatter to me in it the entire 40 minutes to the hostel. My personal highlight being when the Christ the Redeemer statue came into view out of the clouds he preceded to take both his hands off the steering wheel (mid motorway) point at the statue and then clap both his hands above his head shouting 'Rio.. Rio'. I couldn't help but join in. The hostel I stayed in was a guest house in an up and coming area of Rio called Lagoa (recommended to me by a friend and what an awesome recommendation.. It was a home away for home). To fight off the jetlag I spent the arvo exploring the cute little bustling streets and the beach (of course) of Impanema. The beach lives ups to its rep even in overcast weather! And I spent a fair bit of time watching local Brazilian boys play their version of beach volleyball using every body part to get the ball over the net except their hands... Talk about skills! Although Rio had a good vibe it is not recommended for girls to go wandering about by themselves at night so spent the night in chillen at the hostel.

I was booked on a city tour the next day however torrential rain set in in the morning and it was cancelled.. Every cloud has a silver lining however as I got chatting to a German couple in the hostel who I ended up exploring Rio with over the next couple of days. We visited cococabana beach despite the high winds and rain ( not quite as tropical as the song described in these conditions) however it was a must see and can now imagine it in its all sun glory! We headed over to the botanical gardens to find some Tucans ( we did .. Tick) and wander through the rain forest that is naturally attached to the back of the gardens. In the evening we headed out the the party district called Lapa ( it was Friday night after all ) the place was rocking with the street overloaded with people eating and drinking at bars and restaurants that opened their fronts spilling into the street. Here is where I discovered a little more of the Rio that has a reputation with an obvious undertone of poverty and dodgyness however not enough to send me packing but just enough to know not to wander down the wrong street. The Brazilians love Friday nights so it was easy to get into the festive mood with live music in Latin American styles and 1 litre beers also seemed to help. I think I could get use to this place!

On my last day together with the Germans before starting my tour we explored the cute suburb of St Teresa. It is famous for its steps leading up to the suburb from Lapa as they at tiled by a famous artist. Not that I'm any tiling expert however they were pretty spectacular! Check out my pics to get a bit more of an idea as don't feel like words can do then justice! I joined my tour that evening and the evening was spent doing admin and getting to know each other. The crew was 14 plus tour leader and driver with an even mix between a girls and guys. Early the next morning we headed out of Rio down the south coast to a little beach town called Parati. The Portuguese influence was obvious through out the cobbled streets lined with whitewashed walls and big wooden doors. You could buy ice cream by the kilo and there were little cake vendor on every corner. I'm discovering that the Brazilians do love their cake.. And mostly for breakfast! We will spend almost half out tour camping and cooking on our truck so these first few days were about getting to know our tent skills, tent partners and Jack - our massive yellow overland truck. Parati also boast a beautiful bay with small clusters of little islands and to show it off the locals offer a boat tour with all you can drink capriahiannas ( Brazilian rum cocktail). We had a brilliant day for it, and so as soon as we pulled up close to the first island we all dived off the boat and swam to Shore. And much of the day we spent swimming, sun bathing and drinking local rum.

Leaving the coast behind we headed west to the Pantanal; a savannah wetland ( or it normally is in dry season) being only spring most of the land was dry as wet season was only just starting to come. We were put up on a ranch where we slept in a dorm of hammock beds for two nights. During the days we were taken on a horse ride and guided walks through the bush with heaps of different variety of local birds (Macaws) and other animals to sneak up on. We also did a night walk which we had hoped to see a Jaguar ( me, personally not as we were only on foot) however no such luck (thankfully). I was very impressed by the fireflies though! Further inland we arrived next in Bonito. The town itself was pretty touristy with lots of great shopping! Down the end of the main steet you can reach a plaza that has a a huge pond with two massive fish statues jumping out of it.. Slightly random however makes for great jump shot pics! Bonito is most famous for its access to Rio de prata, a snorkelling experience like no other. In the middle of the jungle there is a portion of river that a process of running water and limestone purifies the water the make it as clear if you were snorkelling off the Great Barrier Reef .. With the tropical fish included! The experience was fascinating. We snorkelled the river for about two hours and I had to keep popping my head out of the water to remind myself that I was in a river in the jungle. Under water we passed natural springs bubbling through the sand and swam through shallow riverbanks that dropped off to huge pools.

This is so far was my highlight of Brazil! Our last stop off in Brazil before crossing the border was in Foz de Iguacu. Foz is famous for the waterfalls that border Brazil , Argentina and Paraguay. There are three hundred and fifty waterfalls situated in a national park bordering all three countries. The Brazilian side is known for its awe factor coming from the panoramic view of the major falls set back in a not so distance across the river. The group spent most part of a full day wandering up and down the park taking in the spectacular sights and thunderous sounds of the falls. It was breath taking and I am in total agreement with it being named one of the 7 new wonders of the world! Me and a couple of girls decided to end our sight seeing day by visiting a local bird park where we had the opportunity to get up close and personal with both Tucans and Macaws... Topping off our total Brazilian experience. That evening the group decided to farewell Brazil in true tourist fashion by hitting the local clubs! My personal highlights of the evening where as follows; ordering a bar's 'house' shot of which came to the table on fire, dancing in a club to a Brazilian boy band (that seems the best way to described it) and ordering tequila shots to find out they costed around $1.50nzd each... Needless to say it was a fun night! Brazil, although a whirlwind tour, has been fun! Between the cake for breakfast, the beautiful beaches, friendly locals and awesome music I can see myself coming back again real soon! Next stop Argentina. Lxx