Hello,

So we arrived at Rio airport around 8am in the morning after an 11 hour flight from Rome. It took almost an hour and half to get through immigration, but we met a couple of Harriets coursemates who were getting a taxi to Copacabana so we shared a lift with them to our hostel Che Lagera?? The outskirts of the city were full of Favelas but there was skyscrapers in the middle of town. We got to the hostel around 10.30am but couldnt check in until 2pm so wondered around Copacabana and along the beach. We were easily the most overdressed people on the beach and i managed to get sunburn!

We freshened up and then headed straight to Sugarloaf mountain, we got the metro and then walked around the bay to the base of the cable car run. The weather was really nice when we started but was starting to get cloudy by the time we got to the top. The view was amazing though and it stayed clear, although very windy.

After we got a taxi (who loved to Samba) to Ipanema to try and find some cheap food, which was a mistake as nowhere was cheap. I ended up with a bucket of deep fried chicken and Harriet asked for a glass of white wine and ended up with a chilled bottle of red! In the evening we went to bar just round from the hostel and watched the cockroaches.

Yesterday we went to Christ the Redeema in the morning, we got the metro and then a bus to the bottom of the train which takes you to the top. We were advised not to go up as the top was surrounded by clouds which was not a lie, you could barley see the head of the statue. We stayed for 3.5 hours drinking coffee waiting for it to clear but it was worth the wait as the view was amazing.

Then we got the metro to Santa Teresa to see the coloured steps which were pretty cool. The area was a bit dodgy though so we didnt stray far from the steps. In the evening we went for food in Copacobana at an all you can eat restaurant as they are meant to be the best value for money but i could only manage 1.5 plate fulls as it is too hot to eat. We just had drinks at the hostel bar in the evening.

Today we went on the Favela tour around Roschina favela?? it was incredible. We got a motorbike lift to the top of the favela dodging the traffic and overtaking on blind corners. At the top we walked through to a hospital and art gallery and you could see out over the whole Favela, from there we walked all the way through to the bottom and stopped at the day care centre on the way where some of the funds for the trip go to. We could see where the drug selling points use to be before the Favela was `´pacified´and you could see bullet holes in the walls. But it seemed quite safe and everyone was friendly, the kids dacing were amazing and definately had more moves than me. At the bottom though you could see the police presence was strong and they had some pretty big guns with them. A well worth trip though.

Thats about it for now...