Melia Confort Barra Rio de Janeiro

... but coupled with a lot of hustlers on the<br>street which was a bit of a shame. <br><br>The next day we got up<br>early and took a 7 hour bus inland to town called Lencois to go to the<br>national park of Diamantina. Lencois was a really nice suprise.. a<br>small town surrounded by lush forest, waterfalls and rivers.. bustling<br>with life in the evening down many colourful cobbled streets. It had a<br>much better feel than Salvador, and so different to ...

... not told his bank he was travelling to South America and further proved that locals definitely do njot speak English. We finally got some local dollar between the three of us and stopped for food on the way back to the Hostel (sorry Alegra). This was a weird experience in itself ads it reminded us of the antics at the bar last night (I say ´us´ I mean Egg and Gaz, I was far too drunk to rember anything other than Gary knocking a girl out - Oh well, go ...

... had to adopt a policy of tolerance and co-operation, with a good dose of corruption I suspect - with these gangs, as the favela settings provide the gangs with a strong tactical advantage. <br><br>Having made it to the top on our bikes, we started the trek down the favelas through alleyways, first of all visiting a late artist's studio. The artist had been shot and killed months before, but his work was a spectacular vision of life in the favelas and conveyed positive messages in ...

Last full day in Rio--did a favela(slum)tour and splashed in the foam on Copacabana beach. The favela tour started with an exciting ride on the back of a motorcycle to the top of the hill on which the slum was located. We then ...

... a waterless moat about 5 metres wide (to keep angry fans off the ground), and police patrol the perimeter. The upper stands (where all the hard core supporters sit) are fenced into separate sections and the cheer squads are located as far apart as possible at opposite ends. The cheer squads begin chanting at least an hour before the game, waving massive 3 metre tall flags ...

... een blikje bier of water kopen, super. Wij hadden volgens vele bezoekers een van de beste kostuums aan, wij waren namelijk verkleed als blanke. Als je ooit naar Rio - of Hio zoals ze het lokaal uitspreken, niet te verwarren met het Chinese Lio - komt, dan moet je zeker zo´n pak meenemen. Iedereen complimenteert je er mee: Gringo, gringo! Sommigen proberen je ervan te overtuigen dat je hun moet helpen om voor het eerst een gringo te mogen kussen en met mijn blauwe ...

We walked to coapacabana beach which took about 3 hours in total. First we wandered through botafogo where we found an amazing shopping mall - god that sounds american! - then through a slightly more dodgy area and under a creepy bridge until we got to the beach. we sat outside at a mini cafe - had a chocolate pie and chips to be really healthy. we decided thankfully to get the bus back! After trying and failing to properly make chicken and mango, everyone played ring of fire which was ...

... names I forgot (San Beato I believe) which were just covered in gold from top to bottom. It was pretty decadent. There was also The Metropolitana cathedral, which looked like a pyramid, and the stained-glass looked really impressive from inside. We walked in the center, passed by the beautiful Confeiteria Colombo, a lovely coffee place which reminded us of some Parisian bistrot. We then visited the library, covered in old books..very Trinity ...

... br>We'll have one last night in Rio after we get back from the island, before our flight on Wednesday, so we've booked a room in the hostel for that final night but tried not to think about our forthcoming LAST NIGHT OF OUR TRIP OF A LIFETIME! <br><br><br>lots of love, <br><br><br>Al &amp; Katie xx

... towel men to sell you a towel. Actually, you could go to the beach nude and buy your suit there too. Men will come around to you as you lounge in your chair, and ask if you want something to eat, and make it for you right on their handy dandy baby grill. Another guy will show up with a cold beer. At this time in our dollar's existence, this was a fantastic deal. I think a beer was about 70 cents! And boy did it taste sweet on a hot Rio ...