Casa Turquesa Paraty

Catching up on Ilha Grande...went on walk from one side of island to other ..supposed to take 2 hour ... took 5 ... followed by friendly dog we named Ricardo ... abandoned us on way back ... beach on other side very pretty and pretty deserted ... crab chasing ... got back exhausted with sore feet. Started to rain that evening and continued for 48 hrs or more ... crazy unexpected amounts of rain. Had a chilled next day with aching limbs. That night consoled Gem after ...

We headed out of Rio on a rainy day and were so happy with the weather Rio had put on for us during our time there - sun, sun and more sun! We made it to the bus station eagerly anticipating our first solo bus ride, seeing whether this could be done without the all important tour leader and speaking little to no Portugese. There neednīt have been any worry as Eugene had it all sorted, I was positioned at a place in the ...

... very pleasant as is the company. A great day out.

That evening I go solo and hit the local area for a couple of caipirinhas and an italian meal - I find a great little Trattoria right close to the hotel and am served up to the finest carpaccio and pizza. The beer was superb as well - get this - i order a bottle of local Bohemia weiss beer and it is presented in a wine cooler with ice to keep the bottle cold. Never saw it done for beer ...

... movie, Man on Fire, three times (the first two in barely audible Spanish and the 3rd in English. Itīs not a great movie - and I donīt care how it ends). The big drama of the bus ride was when were stopped by the military police only about 2 hours into the journey. Six big military police officers with guns drawn got on our bus, asked us to take out our passports and proceeded to go through our bags. Apparently buses that come out the Iguazu (and more specifically the ...

... my hostel manager....thiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiings can only get bettteeeerrr, yeh thats right i just hit ...

... for a place around camp to hang up a washing line and as I was attaching it to a tree I looked down at my feet and couldn’t see them as I’d been swarmed by tiny red ants! I kicked my flip flops off and just ran into the shower but still sustained a few bites from those evil creatures.

Ants aren’t the worst of our problems though; the banks are the most frustrating thing I have ever come across. Everyone is suffering though so we know it ...

... We stopped at a cathedral next, which appearently the pope (before John Paul RIP) said that if he could, he wouldnt allow it to be a cathedral at all because of its irregular shape. The last stop was the famous Sugar Loaf which stands quite tall amoung the mountainous region that is Rio and from there we could see all sides of the City. Its the type of view on would get from the St Peters dome in Rome, or the Eiffel Tower in Paris. We were there ...

... and the rest of the night passes in a bit of a haze trying to talk to localsbut with the language barrier making it generally impossible. Wake up the following morning with a shocking hangover and have to move from my cushy hotel back to a dorm bed with no a/c. Not good with a hangover in this heat. And that was carnival. Itīs not at all like I expected but itīs still great fun if you are prepared to jump in and just go with it. Many of the other backpackers I met were ...

... but I think if you don't look for trouble, stay fairly vigilant, appear confident and relaxed and smile a lot, you'll be okay wherever you are. I'll be in Bolivia soon and won't have mobile phone access, so if anyone wants to reach me, it'll have to be by email or Facebook. I think I'm heading to the Pantanal for a few days tomorrow. It's a big wetland area with loads of wildlife, including mosquitoes, so I'm stocking up on extra insect repellant and bite cream and keeping my fingers crossed!

... have got her out of there if she had done some real damage. Made it back to the boat sopping wet to the core and had lunch. The rest of our time on the boat was a bit overcast - at times a down right soggy affair! My tummy thing was getting worse and so I wasnt eating much (still having the occasional Caiprinha though!) and the boat was getting quite rocky! We managed to fit some snorkelling in in one of the lagoons with some gorgeous black and white ...