So we made it back toi Rio with a couple of days before Carnaval started and before Michelle arrived. After our budget overnight bus from ouro preto we chilled at the famous cococabana and ipanema beaches for a couple of days, hoping to top up our tans and look a little less British, still working on that one! It didnt take long for the partying to kick in and we found ourselves in a club in Ipanema where women dont have to pay and men do, that seemed fair to us and along with the free caipirinhas we had a good night, unfortunately Vikki got in a different taxi to me who got lost and sat on the road for 45 minutes before finally making it to the club.

The next day we decided to be a little more daring and threw ourselves off a mountain! Hang gliding is only able to be done in a few places in south america so we took advantage of the beautiful backdrop of rio to take to the skies. We were pretty scared by the time we made it to the beach at the bottom of the mountain where all the hang gliders land but found that the journey to the top in some off roaders the most nerve racking part. We were separated at the bottom and handed over to our co-pilots who were in charge of getting us down safely. At the top the nerves really started to kick in as you realise that you literally have to run off the side of the mountain off a small wooden plank. We got in to our harnesses and had a trial `run` before taking the plunge. Having to run of the plank when your legs are shaking isnt all that easy but if you dont run you crash down the mountain and that was enough to make the adrenaline kick in! Once we were in the air it was the most amazing feeling, just floating gently down to the ground with time to take in all the sights. As you approach the sea you hit some turbulance which is nerve racking but you know its coming. The pilots are really good, taking you down smoothly with the constant chant of `you are like a bird´. Once we landed we wanted to do it again!! Definitely going to try it somewhere else.

We took it easy the next night in preparation for carnival and michelle arriving. We went to the botanical gardens right next to the atlantic rainforest and had a chilled day with some of the guys from our hostel. We somehow made it to the airport to pick up michelle after waiting an hour for the bus. Although tired, michelle was ready for a night out so we headed to Lapa, the samba hub of rio for a night of shaking our behinds to some samba! Nic definitely was in the mood to dance and was wiggling her hips in every direction. We also started to encounter some quite forward brazilian men but somehow made it home unscathed.

The Thurs Michelle arrived was the first day of the official Carnaval. From the sat to the wed after most of Rio closes down with only a few essential services open, even the banks close so you have to make sure you take enough money out before it runs out. Basically the whole of the city is free to celebrate, and believe us they do! There are special parties and the biggest are the parades at the sambadrome, to which we had tickets on the sunday but most of it is just parties on the streets in the different areas of Rio (bloco´s) and these go on all day and night throughout Rio!

First off we decided we needed some costume to wear to the sambadrome on sun so we headed to one of the markets in the centre which was full of hundreds of shops and stalls selling every type of costume, including some of the most skimpy outfits you will ever see. We skipped those and after a few exhausting hours battling the crowds of shoppers we came back with some masks, fairy wings and headwear. Over the next two days we used our hostel staff as unofficial guides to take us to the bloco´s. Some of the bloco´s were better than others and one of our favourites on the saturday was a street away from our hostel at about 1pm in the afternoon, and there was a big truck blasting out music which had a big firemans hose mounted on top. As the party moved through the streets the truck stopped every ten minutes to blast the crowd with water. We got absolutely soaked and almost crushed as the crowd surged to get to the water as it started. It was so much fun just jumping in the streets whilst being drenched! Then we had to go to another party in the afternoon just to dry off in the sun. The main aim of the parties is to dance in the street behind the moving samba trucks picking up lots of cheap beer from the hundreds of sellers amongst the crowd. Sometimes we got there after the main music truck had gone but it was still fun just to hang in the streets with the crowds and look at the costumes.

So then it was sunday, we took it easy during the day, as the sambadrome parades go on til way after it gets light. We spent a little while getting ready, and putting on our masks, which we quickly realised werent the best costumes as they become incredibly sweaty in the 35C heat! So they didnt last long. We headed to the sambadrome, which is kind of like a road with massive concrete stands on either side where the crowd sit to watch as the parade moves through the street below. We got there early so had pretty good seats and were near the start of the parade so saw all the costumes and floats right at the start. The stands filled up fairly quickly and the atmosphere was electric, everyone starts drinking and dancing well before it starts. We didnt realise you were only meant to have a small bottle of liquid each as we sat there drinking our 2L bottles of vodka and coke! As this was one of the main nights it started with the carnaval king and queen having a bit of a dance in their outrageous costumes and then the parade started properly. The parade consists of about 6 samba schools who each get just over an hour to take their school down the parade to the end. There is some sort of scoring system which we didnt quite work out and then the worst school gets relagated and has to dance in a lower parade the year after. After each parade, cleaners hurridly clean all the glitter and streamers off the road before the next one starts. The parades were amazing! Each one trying to outdo the next with more and more elaborate fireworks, costumes and floats. Loads of the floats exploded with dancers coming out of the float before putting them back together again as they had to do it all again further down the runway. The schools all had themes, there was one that was based on egypt with elaborate gold floats and another had massive floats with water fountains. We only managed to stay til about 5 before we gave in and headed home. It was definitely one of the most random and impressive nights out we will ever have!

After the samba parade we took it easy the next day and then Nick arrived so we decided to do some sight seeing. We went to see Christ the redeemer which is on top of another rock similar to sugerloaf which is right next to the rainforest. You go up on a cog train to the top which itself has some good views. When we got to the top it was a bit cloudy but we could still see for miles and the views are amazing. The statue is massive and we still arent quite sure how they managed to get it up there. Luckily after we had tried taking photos in the cloud the sun came out and we spent some time posing for silly photos at the top. That night there was a football match at the Maracana stadium which used to hold 150k people and holds the record for the most people to watch one match about 199,000 i think. Now it holds a much less impressive 90k. It was a cup match between different rio teams, and this one was between botofogo who we chose to support as thats where we were staying and fluminense. The fans were nothing short of crazy, the came in with massive flags and samba drums to get the fnas going. At half time the botofogo fans brought out massive streamers to cover the crowd in their colours of black and white which got raised above our heads as soon as they got excited. The noise was crazy even though the stadium was only half full and the game ended 1-0 to botofogo, we were glad to be on the winning team as we had heard losing fans sometimes throw dead chickens into the crowd!

The next day we went to Lapa to see the famous steps there which have been decorated in mosaic by a local artist. We went the wrong way and approached them by the top rather than bottom, and nearly missed them as you cant see the pattern from the top. The artist sits there redoing bits and trying to sell his artwork. We went back up sugerloaf that night and luckily this time it wasnt cloudy at the top, then we sent michelle off to the airport and got ready to leave rio the next day. Our last night in Rio was a bit weird as carnaval was finishing and a lot of the people we had spent the whole week with at the hostel had left and Rio felt a little dejected. Definitely time to move on!