Day 41

So. The last city on our travels. We had a horrible flight from Santiago to Chile it was quite bumpy and the plane quite old at one point we nose dived a bit which caused me (Tom) to sit dead upright and grab the man next to mes arm which was incredibly gay of me but nevermind. So we arrived and got on a bus and walked to the hotel. This was our one bit of independent travelling so we were apprehensive about the hostel but it turned out to be one of the nicest places we stayed. We had a brief walk around and watched the Liverpool game which we lost so I was in a bad mood for a bit. However, Sarah complained and said we were in Rio and tht I should get over it. After a couple of hours or so I did and then we went for dinner at an Irish pub. They over ordered on the meet so Sarah had some cheap ribs which by the size of them came straight from an elephant. We had a few drinks and then went to pay. We went to bed stress and trouble free and got up nice on early on...

Day 42

So today being our only full day in Rio we felt we definitely had to make the most of it. Unfortunately the weather was against us, being rather rainy and cloudy making it completely pointless to head up sugar loaf mountain or go to Christ the Redeemer (the big guy who hangs out over Rio with his arms out.) However, we did decide to persevere and head to Rio´s world famous beaches. They truly are amazing, with white sand and blue seas surrounded by amazing scenery. The mountains close by are covered with rainforest which hugs the city, the suprisingly colourful favelas rise up in the mountains in every corner of the city and the result is unique. The city is really buzzing and very beautiful. We spent a lot of time on the beach, enjoying the view and eating our picnic and then decided to head for a wander around town. We are staying in Ipanema, one of the nicer parts of town which is great during the day with loads of shops, restaurants, stalls etc but a bit scarier at night time like much of Rio. We have been given a lot of security warnings by our hostel who have been really helpful and this can be understood when considerng the huge wealth gap hear in Rio and Brazil generally between the very very rich and the rest, poor. But basically you just have to keep an eye out and not flash your camera around. This has limited our photo taking so you will just have to trust my descriptions in that it is a great city.

So, this evening we headed out for dinner to a place recommended by our hostel. It turned out to be a pay by the kilo buffet! Basically you got given a plate nd then piled your plate as high as you liked then it was weighed and you paid. A bit disconcerting to know how much weight you have just gained after eating! Really great meal though.

And so we are up to date, on a Tuesday night in Rio. Tomorrow we have just the morning to enjoy a little bit more Rio then we must head to the airport for gruelling flight home, 13 hours overnght to New York and then 7 hours across the Atlantic to London. Arriving home in England Thursday evening. Cant wait!

Just to say we hope you have enjoyed reading about our exploits, we have certainly had an amazing time. See you all soon!

Tom and Sarah x