18/2 Rio The plane drops down in Rio and we just miss getting ripped off for a taxi. It was a funny ride though, both of us with our eyes peeled trying to see Christ the redeemer statue, is that it... No its not... How big will it look?? We approach it from the side for the first time, seeing more and more of it until its going under the roof of the car. We then hunch down to watch it out the side window until we pass into a tunnel. It's been a long time of want...

We woke up and had breakfast as we were checking out of our hotel and had to catch a flight to Rio de Janiero just before lunch. We had one last look around the shops of the Pelourinho as we had seen some paintings the day before that we wanted to buy. We each bought 3 long thin paintings of Bahian women dancing and playing musical instruments. Once we got to the airport to check-in to our flight they told us we couldn't take the paintings on board as the woode...

The Pelourinho We decided to spend another day or so back in Salvador as when we were here for carnaval we had stayed in the beach district and not in the historic part, the Pelourinho. We left the hostel at around lunchtime today. We had read about a restaurant in the lonely planet where you could go to have a big Brazilian buffet for lunch and try all the regional foods. There was a lot of choice, some were hits... some not so much, but we definitely left with...

14/2 Valentines day We caught the bus from Barra to Praia do Forte after a long walk and confusing local busses. Along the way there were amazing views of sand beaches with tiny shacks nestled in the palms. Where we were headed, Praia do Forte was a small beachside town in a similar location. It also had alot we could do including snorkelling, old ruins, a sea turtle conservation program and a whale museum. We arrive in the afternoon and head to the HI to drop...

The craziness of Carnaval 7th -13th Feb We arrived at our hostel in a taxi from the bus station. We had booked a hotel in Bahia, the beach area where one of the main circuits for carnaval started. After getting acquainted with the place (and getting a free upgrade as they gave us a twin room instead of a double) Andrew, Puja and I walked the streets of Bahia checking out the carnaval preparations. When we returned to the hotel we met lots of other travellers in...