Wow what a crazy first day. The flight was actually OK and I managed to get a lot of sleep. Calamity Rory started the tour off in worrying fashion by hitting his head on the check in desk and then trapping his finger in the tv on the plane. On arrival the bad omens just kept on rolling as the rain started to pour in the taxi on the way into the city. It didn't stop there ........ the taxi driver was lost and eventually claimed the hostel no longer existed but he could take us to a new one. This was when our luck turned and he took us to the hostel that we were looking for all along! From there we checked our bags and grabbed some breakfast with two girls we shared a taxi with into town. Freshly squeezed orange juice and bacon sarnies all round bar rory who went with the wackyy unknown fruit! From there the girls left for their hotel and we headed to the beach where we met scorching sunshine and ice cold beer. We had a bit of a swim in the huge surf of ipanema beach and admired the truly stunning surroundings... pictures to follow. We walked all the way along the beach soaking up the atmosphere along the way. By this point it was still only 12 so we grabbed an ice cream and planned the rest of the day: buying flipflops, eating lunch and then visiting the christ the redeemer statue. After sucessfully completing the first two we got a taxi to the statue with a really great driver who spoke spanish too. The statue was incredible and the views of the city were stunning, again pictures to follow. And now here I am writing this after an action packed first day. Hopefully the first of many! Missing everybody back home though of course!