Tues 19th - Sun 24th Nov (Week 8-9)

Tues 19th - caught the local bus to the airport, and took the 12:50pm flight to Rio de Janeiro. Short 2 hr hop and landed at 3pm, but getting our bags, cash, and catching the bus to Ipanema took us until 6pm ! The traffic in Rio is pretty crazy, and the bus drivers drive like they're in the Grand Prix - you do not want to get in the way of them ! Met up with Jeff & Erin again as all staying in the same hostel, and had drinks, dinner and caught up about the last few days since Salta. Its really nice to have some friends to catch up with who are doing the same itinerary as us !

Wed 20th - Beautiful blue skies today, so I booked a hangliding trip for 10am ! They were fully booked for Thursday and its due to rain on Fri, so it was now or never ! Had to get a temporary license - so I now have a cool credit card ID to be able to hanglide ! Drove up a really steep hill to 800m and sat and watched the smooth operation of the constant stream of people taking off (paragliders as well). All lined up, and one by one you run off the roof of a viewing platform and out into the air with incredible views over Rio beaches, mountains and buildings. The flight itself was pretty short, but just a great feeling of freedom and weightlessness and stunning views. Brandon was designated photographer for the day as he didn't fancy it ! I can really see the attraction in flying, especially in such a wonderful place. Spent the rest of the afternoon walking along Ipanema beach looking at the thousands of locals as it was a public holiday, and there was not an inch of spare sand to sit !

Thurs 21st - Had a city tour today at 10am where we started off at Sao Conrado beach (hangliding landing beach), then to Tijuca Rain Forest and had a little walk through the jungle to view a beautiful waterfall. Then the main attraction - Christ the Redeemer. We were very lucky and had a beautiful sunny day so the views were amazing of all over Rio, and the statue was pretty good too ! Then onto Santa Teresa to see the Lapa Steps - Escadaria Selaron spent 22 years putting different tiles from all over the world all the way down these stairs so they have now became famous. And final stop was Sugar Loaf mountain where you take 2 cable cars to the top for wonderful 360 views all over Rio. Spent a couple of hours soaking in the sights, the sun and having a beer ! Then caught a bus to Copacabana beach and walked back along from there to Ipanema beach, and back home. Had to change hostels this evening and the taxi refused to take us any further than the main road as the hostel is in the beginnings of a Favela, so we had to walk there with all our bags at 9:30pm and were a little scared, but was absolutely fine and a very nice hostel.

Fri 22nd - Very cloudy and cooler today, so we just caught up on internet stuff before our flight to Sao Paulo in the evening. Left the hostel at 4pm and the Friday night Rio traffic was incredible - the airport bus didn't get out of 2nd gear all the way there and it took 3 hours !!! It is only meant to take 1 hour, but we allowed 2 to be safe, but never thought it would take 3. So, as a result, we missed our flight ! Mad panic to try and find what airlines flew to Sao Paolo and the cheapest one, and ended up spending 414 Real (£110) each for a flight with Gol. But this was still half the price of flying with TAM, so had to do it. Arrived into Sao Paulo at 10:15pm, caught the airport shuttle into town, then taxi to hostel, so didn't get in until midnight. What a day.

Sat 23rd - Cloudy, rainy and cold in Sao Paulo as well, so back into trousers, jumpers and coats for the first time in weeks. Caught the metro at 9:30 to the Hotel TransAmerica to collect our Grand Prix tickets, then another metro to Interlagos. Had amazing seats - in the grandstand, opposite the pits, near the grid, huge screens and first corner. Watched the qualifying rounds which gave us a good taste for tomorrow and were able to suss out where to sit for the best views and action. Left at 4pm, and took 1.5 hours to get back to the hostel, on 3 different tube lines.

Sun 24th - Left the hostel at 10am and headed back to Interlagos for the Brazilian Grand Prix race day. Another 1.5hrs to get there, but nothing was starting until 12:30 so gave us time to get there and grab good seats. Watched the drivers parade, and then the race started at 2pm. Incredible noise - even with earplugs, and was great watching the first corner, and the super-fast pit stops up close. Vettel has won the last 8 races, and 12 in the whole season already, as well as the qualifying yesterday so he lead the entire race from the beginning. But Aussie Webber managed to come from 4th to 2nd, which I was pleased about as its his last ever race, so it was nice to finish in a good position.

Really good to see a Grand Prix live, especially the last in the season, and in Brazil, but not sure we'd pay the money again for those tickets, and the extra flight we had to buy !!