The Lighthouse Hostel Rio de Janeiro

... black and white tiles, all irregularly shaped and inlaid into the concrete to form random block patterns. It must have taken forever to lay it down and a lot to maintain too compared to boring old concrete. It looks quite old in places so i think they have been this way for ages.

The only main activity I did while visiting Rio was to to take a city tour on my first day. This was really just a quick church visit, a drive through some neighbourhoods and a ...

... from the sun's reflection. It was awesome to see the reverse view of Rio; looking at the beaches in the foreground, the city in the middle and the mountains with Christ Redeemer's warm embrace in the background. It is akin to the views of SF from Twin Peaks versus from Treasure Island or the East Bay. In a reminder of Darjeeling or Cambodia, the crowd cleared out as soon as the sunset, without waiting for the encore.

We leisurely made our way ...

... a lot of space. We had a good night sleep for the activites on our first full day in Rio.

Today we spent the day exploring the city. In the morning we walked along the boulevards of Rio. Although the beaches are excellent the buildings alongside the boulevard are of the same class as in Benidorm, 1960 and 70 style. It seems that Copacabana etc. have lost their cool a bit, however the surroundings of ...

... been there. on thursday i have one of the best days of our trip. we meet up with debbie and mitchell, linda and henke, and a whole group from our hostel and others around for a tour of all the sites around the city of rio. again we are knocked over by the price, but as i have mentioned, i have wanted to come to rio since i did my first ever school project , and we couldnt leave without seeing the christ figure or the sugar loaf. we are picked up ...

I'm still in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I gave myself about 3 weeks to travel around this country with a few destinations in mind before I start teaching, and with each passing day I decide to stay a little longer and cut out a few more of those other places. It's giving Vegas a run for its money as my favorite place on the planet. Interesting things I've noticed about Rio: 1) Locals will use any excuse to party outside. 2) It's cheaper ...

It was just a short flight from the Iguaçu Falls to Rio but, weatherwise it was a world apart. By the time we got to Rio it had gone from hot sun with blue skies to a cool night with lashing rain! This was a bit concerning but never mind, we are in Rio de Janeiro!!! The drive in, although dark, gave Annie the first views of the infamous Favelas ...

... in Ipanema, which was actually delicious.

We washed the lovely food down with a very nice Mojito!



After a fantastic last evening we strolled back to the hostel, full of memories (and alcohol!) and looking forward to our last night's sleep of our 8 month trip.


Lots of love,


Al & Katie xx

... seen on tv.





An hour and a half later, with about 20 minutes until kick-off, the atmosphere was electric, with all the gaps in the seating nearly full and both sets of fans in fine voice.

Huge flags were being wielded with passion, as their ...