Pousada Monte Imperial Petropolis

... and oddity. Eventually he managed to correct my mini-mental test * score from a worrying 8/10 to full marks. The short flight to Rio was uneventful other than an exceptional chocolate caramel. The descent was spectacular, the plane did a U-turn giving me in the starboard window seat an outstanding view of Rio -the mountains blanketed by urban jungle rolling into the sea. I went crazy with the camera, thinking of how much Tata would enjoy this. As passengers emerged from customs ...

... them turn around they reveal 2 rifles being held at their sides and continue joking as we walk past. It is a spine tingling experience. About 100m further on as weīre getting some info from Marcio, the guide, his speech is interrupted by the sound of 3 gun shots going off in the favella - not fireworks - but gunshots. But yet - at no point do we well in danger. For this is surely a daily occurrence and such tours wouldnīt exists if gringos were ...

... We e*ch tried on some costumes, I opted for *n *ttr*ctive pine*pple number *nd then photogr*phed ourselves looking ridiculous *nd pretending to be in * c*rniv*l on * deserted street, h*lf * ye*r before or *fter the event, god we’re ment*l cr*ic. The photos *re funny though but only bec*use my food b*by looks like *n or*nge, helpfully given my theme.

4 of us he*ded over to our hostel *t ip*nem*, met up with the others *nd then he*ded to the L*pp* Street P*rty ...

... 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 īusī I mean Egg and Gaz, I was far too drunk to rember anything other than Gary knocking a girl out - Oh well, go ...

Josh wangled a place for us to stay near Petropolis, a fantastic rural retreat to escape the heat of Rio. The house had a river running through it, as well as a natural dipping pool and sauna. Spent most of the time playing chess, reading and hiding Jordana's left-foot trainer - following the lead of the ...

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 ...

... big gang of us went back to Lapa and I saw alot of negative stuff. Caught a guy trying to pickpocket me, narrowly avoided a scuffle, seen a kid running down the street with a Gringo in flip-flops after him giving chase (found out after that the kid grabbed money straight out of the guys hand when he went to pay for a beer - needless to say he didnīt catch him - funny watching him try though), a girl getting into a cab balling her eyes out with her friends consoling her ...

... another German I met on the airplane who had booked a limousine transfer. Very nice! And I must say, my first impression of Rio is that it is one of the prettiest places of any mega-city in the world. Itīs not just a big city flat on the beach, instead it is squeezed in between a whole lot of very picturesque hills or rather mountains, dividing the city into many separate areas with bays, beaches and a wonderful lagoon where ...

... ground as without any warning I get struck by lightning! It just sounds so surreal and no one has believed it when retelling it here but it was just so bizarre - to be struck by lightning right in front of the Christ the Redeemer Statue?!?! It was just so strange - I just felt energy strike me in between my shoulders and Kla said she saw the light from the energy. This wasnīt a huge bolt I was struck with but it was something and enough to send us all running for ...

... women, but other than that I quite happily bopped away to the samba/rock group (donīt ask me how I danced to that music, I think I just sort of threw myself around a bit). The next day, however,my attention was drawn to the fact that there were actually about 200 men and about 7 stunningly beautiful women, all apparently, giving Gordon the eye....Obviously this is not normal behaviour (!) and I leave you to draw your own conclusions about this place. We did ...