Pleasant suprise

Trip Start Jun 26, 2008
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17
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Trip End Jun 2009

Flag of Brazil  , State of Rio de Janeiro,
Monday, September 15, 2008

I had to practically force Kingsley to go to Rio as he did not want to visit a "dirty, dangerous, big city". Luckily we went to Salvador first, beacause after that Rio was cleaner, more real and also seems safer. We are loving it here. Kingsley booked us to stay in Ipanema which has a lovely feel and is a good base from which to explore.

We arrived in Ipanema at 4pm on a Friday afternoon and headed straight to the beach. It was already full of people having a good time. We walked the entire promenade, enjoying the scenery, people watching (and boy do they want you to watch- everyone is a poser) and atmosphere.

The next morning the cloud was over all the mountains so I optimistically suggested heading into the city and to Santa Teresa, and leaving outdoor pursuits to days with better weather. We managed to see a lot of the city (flavelas included) when we missed our bus stop, which was a bit tense but an added bonus for Rs 2.10 all in! We refused to hang onto the side of the tram heading over the aqueduct and up the hill and enjoyed the ride from our safe seats. We managed to find a local restaurant with great atmosphere, Delicious food and huge portions. Had to climb a few of the steep roads to burn off some calories!!

Next day we booked a hiking tour of Sugar Loaf. "Trekking" should have read "professional rock climbing"! Luckily I went first on the 300m vertical as I took to it like a natural and shimmied up easily (a rush). Kings had to do the same as our two macho guides put the pressure on not to be beaten by his wife! His pride managed to
overshadow his vertigo and he made it by not looking down. The views at the top made it worth all the effort and the tourists that took the cable car gazed at us all in awe. A truly worthwhile experience. We rewarded ourselves later with beers and mojitos at Devassa, a bar that brews its own beers.

Very wet and horrid today but heading to Corcavado anyway... donīt expect good photos!
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Comments

rowanb
rowanb on Sep 25, 2008 at 11:40AM

Great fun reading the ramblings of your ramblings
Got three important words for Kings to use in Brazil:
'Necessito uma navalha'. It is clear that Ems' Spanish has lead to this deficiency in her husband's toiletry bag. (Or alternatively he is finally getting to live life as his alter ego, somewhere between John McClane and Jack Colton).

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