Rio was to be our last destination with the group and so I was feeling a little apprehensive but mostly excited to be heading off on our own. We were also getting concerned that someone up in the weather department wasn't particularly happy with us as we had been experiencing a lot more rain than expected! As soon as we arrived we were whisked off to see a football match. The home team had disappointed in the previous match so there wasn't a massive turn out but...

Despite our sadness at leaving Paraty we had another beautiful beach destination to head to, the idyllic Rio island of Ilhe Grande. Ilhe Grande is known for its beautiful beaches and is home to one that is considered one of the top five in all Brazil. So you can imagine our disappointment when we arrived on a grey and rainy day. With just a bit of drizzle Pete and I decided to head out for a quick walk anyway and managed a quick paddle before the downpour began...

Another unexpectedly lengthly bus journey meant we arrived in the pretty seaside town of Paraty much later than expected. We also found that the hotel had overbooked so many of the others were forced to bunk together in fours and fives. Everyone I know who's been to Paraty has raved about it and we were really looking forward to some beach time so it came just at the right time. We spent the first evening in this little colonial town in a lovely bar where there...

Another overnight bus took us to Iguassu Falls. After a frustrating few days we were really looking forward to it and it really didn't disappoint. Having never been in a helicopter Pete was keen to do one over the falls so we were lucky to have our first view of the falls from the air. Our pilot was intent at terrifying us and I've been told that I spent the entire journey screaming like a banshee! At one point I was certain we were upside down, but we did get ...

Bonito is a small, mainly touristy town, in the Pantanal, a huge wetland region of Brazil. The Pantanal is such a huge area of the country that it took us a good 5 hour drive to get to Bonito from the farm we'd previously been at. Bonito's big draw is its crystal clear rivers, full of beautiful fish and perfect for snorkelling. People come from all over Brazil to snorkel here so it transpired that it was very unfortunate that we had pulled up on a bank holiday!...