Last night we attempted to make our own pasta to save on the pennies. This turned out to be a far more difficult task than first expected as the hostels stove is not exactly what you would call all ideal. So after a good hour of waiting for our pasta to boil we ended up with a bowl of soggy tomato pasta! I was hoping as a result of that we might be popping out for tea tonight but Mal (the man with the budget) has said no! So instead I have found a cracking toasty...

On our final day in Rio we checked out of our hostel at 12 and didn't fly until 10 at night. We went for a walk along the beach for the final time and had a cold drink at one of the numerous beach bars. The weather was great again so we have been pretty lucky so far. As we headed back to the hostel, we saw a group of people dressed in suits who looked completely out of place with all the shorts, t-shirts and thong wearing locals. As we got closer we noticed t...

Day 2 in Rio and we were awoken at 8.30 by one of our Argentinian roommates shouting about something. Through our very, very limited knowledge of Spanish, we gathered that he had apparently misplaced his shorts. We thought it was quite funny at first until he seemed to find another level of rage and decided to spit in the bin. I think the moral the story is to never steal an Argentinian's shorts!!! Anyway, after getting ready and having breakfast, we had to make...

Today we went on a tour of Rio and it was brilliant. The guide was a lovely man called Claudio and was so passionate about all of the sites! He took us to Sao Contado beach which is beautiful and then along to the Tisuca National park which is massive. Within the park we found the most beautiful Taunay waterfall. After this we went to see the Santa Teresa art district and the lapa bohemian district which were both fascinating. We passed along the Favela which i...

Finally, the day has arrived to leave the UK for 12 months and head off around the world. The plan is to fly out of Newcastle at 9am to Heathrow and then from Heathrow to Rio de Janerio at 1pm. We would both like to thank all our family and friends for all of their help from moving out of the house, keeping boxes, organising things and financial help. Without all of them, none of this would be possible! The flights were fine and barring a couple of hiccups(!!!!...