Sao Paulo is a bit rubbish. That's no huge surprise- even Brazillians of pretty much every other town will tell you that. Our travelling went okay. Ferry from ilha grande was fine. And then our bus from Angra to SP was over an hour late in arriving. At that point we were very glad we hadn't gone for an overnight bus with tight connection in SP. But we took the opportunity to sample more local pasties- chicken good, meat okay, cheese comically contains meat, chic...

Ilha grande just gets better and better. Granted, the weather turning to 'dead hot and nice all the time' probably helped but it is truly a beautiful island. We've spent a satisfyingly large amout of time lying around reading books- with caipirinhas and beer where appropriate (quite a lot). There are hidden beaches to be found at either end of the main town- they take about a 20 min walk through the jungle (sorry John) but it's SO worth it for the peace and beau...

Our relaxing island retreat has come to involve a lot of walking... And it's fab. Yesterday we hiked through the forest for two hours to reach an amazing waterfall. Luckily we encountered a guided walking group as we reached the falls so they could show us the safe way to climb the falls and to swim under the main stream- amazing. Also lucky was the fact that one of the group took photos and promises to email them to us as we'd not taken a camera. Being under th...

So yesterday we were up early to get the bus from Rio to Angar dos Reis and from there to catch the ferry to Ilha Grande. The bus journey was very interesting as it took us through some of the poorest parts of Rio, the slums or favelas, to past some of the more luxurious beach front condos - amazing contrasts within an hour or so of each other. The bus journey was very smooth and comfortable (unlike the ones in Rio) - a 'semi leito' with reclining seat, foot rest...

Rio is fab. Okay, so some might say that we are slightly biased by it being the first step on our honeymoon. But the people are friendly, the landscape is striking and the beaches are lovely. Granted, the weather is pretty rubbish so no beach lazing so far, but it's pretty smart to be walking along Ipanema and Copacabana beaches without a care. It's been white cloud overhead all the time we've been here which at least means no sunburn. It does also mean no hang-...