Sofitel Rio de Janeiro

... t sure what was in the sauces/gravy type concoctions. Got back to hostel early afternoon and played cards for about an hour before heading out to buy dinner - papaya and guava (reminds me of Zimbabwe). When we got back we ended up playing cards with fellow travellers - Laco from Sweeeeeden and 2 girls from Belgium - all very friendly. Went to bed at about 9.30pm.

We're hoping to go and see Christ the Redeemer today. We've been putting it off waiting ...

... and saying **** repeatedly... and i didn~t like her outfit, so she was definately out... and others, well who knows their intentions but little french man might be a good one, he has been here for 6 months and he is a gum chewer so i gave him some of my sexy gum ;) ( i hope you nurses are laughing) the girls who i am staying with invited me out but im tired. another person is a guy from argentina, originally from usa, who is on my NOT TO BE friend list because though ...

... rock and roll banks like
Smashing Pumpkins, The Police, Guns and Roses, Gypsy Kings and he also showed us a dvd of him on BBC so we knew i was in safe hands!!
Butterflies started to come when we reached the top and saw where i would be jumping from- the scenery was unreal. The day was beautiful and Rau said wind conditions were unreal(that you would get 1 day every month like it to jump). To set the scene you are very very high up ...

... to eat called Garraffe on av. Mem de Sa and I had a delicious Caesar salad - the first sald I`ve had in months....fresh veg was far and few between in Bolivia and Peru and not exactly the safest to eat. I washed it down with Cappirinhas. I`ve had quite a few of them now. A funny group of Brazillians started sending us paper notes. They said it was novel to see such a big group of girls alone in Lapa, and encouraged us to go to a club called democraticus. We walked aroudn the ...

... staineglass windows on 4 of the sides..... the panes are made of huge blocks of colour and it floods in, even though is drizzling outside. debbie and mitchell are into music in a big way, and are blown away that it would be cool to have an orchestra in there...if not for the sound. the rest of the city is ok, we walk the streets looking for other things and find their parliment building.... makes me want to check out our own, seen so i have ...

The final night and day in Olinda made everything new. Eating out with my friends by the beach, with Jorge too. Him walking me home, knowing I had a talk with Loi to go to and ever the gentleman, wishing me well and giving me a quick peck goodbye - I know he wanted the night to go differently but he knew I had to end it properly. Loi and I talked for a few hours about stuff, stuff and stuff. Apparently Andala is fine with what I told her and they are likely to ...

... later, it rang. I couldn't believe it. The pre-paid, for-emergencies-only phone that no one has the number to actually rang. I answered it and heard a guy speaking Portuguese. I tried to explain that I don't speak Portuguese and that he had the wrong number, but I gave up after a few minutes and hung up. About 10 minutes after that, it rang again. A different Portuguese guy began to speak, and I told him the same story but gave up ...

... this was the end of the school break in Brazil). We felt absolutely safe. Our coupon for our escorted drive to the airport did not have a departure time but I did the math and calculated the best time to head down for a buffet breakfast (OK, is there an appropriate word for a buffet with every fruit, drink, or food item under the sun?) before meeting our escort. Our departure window came and went: now we are getting a tad concerned. Jim goes ...

... to speak Spanish, but it’s a nation of drunk Frenchmen trying to speak Spanish that same way every time, so you might as well get used to it. Reading is the easy part, if you already know Spanish. As always language mutates sonically, and I suspect that modern mass literacy is what keeps it from mutating even further. The idea that 'all Portuguese-speakers can speak (or even understand) Spanish is ...