Dobly International Hotel Guarulhos

... structure to get a good look around. The statue itself was great. A little smaller than I expected given that you can see it from so far away, but it carved a very majestic and protective figure. Every so often helicopters would circle it like flies. I'm seriously thinking of taking the helicopter tour, it seems the right way to explore this city. As Cata says, up close, it's gritty and dirty, but the overall picture is stunning. We made our way back down ...

... We pass by a lake which is separated from the atlantic ocean by the districts of Copacabana (formerly the Leblon of Rio), Ipanema (more recently the Leblon of Rio) and Leblon (the current Leblon of Rio) - one has succeeded the other over the years as the city's most desired spot to hang out and live.

Ipanema is very pleasant - a network of grids leading on to a fabulous beach with tropical mountain backdrops. Sugarloaf overlooks ...

... youth of tod*y I *sk you. There w*s *nother row in our c*mp *s one of the girls fin*lly broke under the pressure of the sexist rem*rks from Wes, to be f*ir she did well to l*st so long, but then of course he got *ll humpy *nd w*s mouthing off, for once it w*s not directed *t me. We slept th*t night in our new room but it w*s so d*rk, you couldn’t see your h*nd in front of you *nd I h*d * mini version of my lost truck nightm*re.

Friggin bre*kf*st duty *g ...

... was about to close which meant we had to sprint to make the flight! finally on board and the least ...

... in 8+ bed dorms! I think weŽve pretty much decided that weŽre gona stay in this hostel for our stay ere in Rio, the people are great and so is the location so no point moving, weŽl prob move on from ere on saturday or sunday! 2day we went to the hippy market, and thats exactly what it is! Its really big square a couple of street up from Ipanema beach, we strolled over there from Copacabana round 1, one of the streets I mean its the ...

... had happened. The sky was blue, the sun was up again and the streets had dried up already. I took a bus to the nearby village of Trindade, with two lovely beaches and clear waters. I spent hours in the lovely warm waters, with ocean breakers pounding on me, producing a lovely bubble bath around me all the time. After a little hike on a jungle trail I reached a paradise-like area where huge rocks form a huge natural lagoon, shallow enough to stand in the water, and with rocks and ...

... amenities like water and sewage. These favelas are all over town, often just behind a few rows of luxury apartments or international hotels. Walking through the streets, it is an all too common sight that someone in rags is sleeping on the pavement, or under the boardwalk on the beach, waiting for the night to come when Rio belongs much more to them than to anyone else.

... into his body. Hence, his rather expensive lifestyle. For those of you who may have read šOn the Roadš, Tim is a Dean Moriarty type character sure to burn out early. Suffering from chronic stomach spasms in BA, it didnŽt seem to slow him down too much. Tim was on night no. 5 in Rio and the effects were starting to show. After we meet he says that he wants to take it easy tomight (we start drinking beer at 5 o choc on the beach - fat chance). So we have a couple ...

I had just unpacked my backpack after returning from my Morocco trip when I came across this irresistible offer: 406 Euro to Rio de Janeiro, including all taxes and with Air France. And voilà, here I am. Carnival is over, and hopefully the city is a bit more peaceful now. The news in the past few days were quite alarming. Two budget hotels were robbed by armed gangs, one of them just a few minutes from where I am staying on ...

... of dollars. Not wanting to miss out, we decided to rock on up there and buy tickets off a scalper which, without any Portuguese, is not the easiest task. We were in the far stand, standing room only, squeezed between a huge mass of people but with a good view. You have never seen so many people in one place. Starting from 6pm, the floats come down until 4-5am. Each one must take about an hour to make its way down the short stretch. The reason for the ...