We made it! After a rather long and tiring plane journey we arrived in Rio. A guy from the hostel we were staying in picked us up and we had one of our most frightening car rides ever through Rio and past some of the Favelas. We stayed in an area of Rio called Botafogo for 3 nights which is quite boho. The hostel was very lively (ie noisy!) but had a great atmosphere. We've done a lot of sightseeing including wandering round the main areas of Rio (not the Favelas!) such as Ipenema, Copacabana and Flamengo. We went to a football game at the Maracana between Botafogo and Flumenese - a local derby. We sat with the hard-core Botafogo fans which was very lively and a intense atmosphere. Last night we went up to Sugar Loaf just as the sun was setting. The cable car ride was pretty hairy but it was definately worth it, the views were absolutely amazing, we've never seen anything like it. You could see all across Rio, from the Big Cheese (Christ the Redeemer) to the Favelas and the beaches. Today we moved to Copacabana to a lovely hostel which seems a bit more chilled than the last one. We've got our own balcony and hammock! We've spent a bit of time on the beaches but plan do to more over the next few days! Only problem is the continuous stream of salesmen who target us everywhere. They do however sell cheap beer and cheese on a stick so we can't complain too much! We'll probably stay in Rio for a few more days and visit the Big Cheese then we're heading off to Isle Grande (backpackers paradise) for a while. We're getting on pretty well so far. Craig has been excellent speaking Portugese and we're loving living off a grilled cheese diet (it's everywhere!). We'll download pics when possible. Hope everyone's ok at home. xx