24/01/2006
Hello everyone, arrived in Rio at 10.00 this morning. The flight was really long and boring. Found the Hostel where my friends were staying, Hostel El Misti. Hadnt stayed in a hostel for quite a few years so couldnt remember what to expect. It wasnt anything special, it had triple bunk beds with three to a room, no air con so at night it was like sleeping in a fire.
The weather hit me like a brick wall as i steped off the plane and for the days we were in Rio it never changed, boiling hot during the day and boiling hot at night. I think it got to 40 degree the last time i checked.
Rio is fantastic place. My friends that i were meeting had been in Rio for a couple of days before my arrival so knew roughly some of the great places. We went to Ipanema beach. It isnt as big as the main beach of Copacabana, which apparently is the worlds most famous beach and runs for 4.5km along Rio. The beach was fantastic and so were the women. Chilled under a sun lounger for a couple of hours then caould resist any longer and dived stright in to the perfectly blue sea.
In the afternoon we visted the Pao de Acucar - The Sugar Loaf. The Lonely Planet Guide informed me that the Sugar Loaf at its summit is 396 metres above Rio and you have to get there by two cable cars. From the top at night the Copacabana is iluminated by the floodlights as lots a football and volleyball is played late into the night.
The views were great as you can probably tell from the pictures. After the short but very interesting trip we fought through the persistant taxi drivers and headed for a local bar, we eventually came across "Eddy's Bar". It was only a small bar with a handful of tables outside. We assumed the waitor was called Eddy and every time we called out Eddy he came with more beer. Everything was going great til one of the local women advanced and asked if we wanted any women. We politely refused but she insisted that one of her frineds "Really liked me" i told her nicely that i wasnt at all interested. At this point she shouted "don't F#@k we us". We quickly paid and left. Making a mental note to find a different bar tomo.
25/01/2006
Woke up this morning and the sun was blazing again. Decided to travel up to the top of peak Corovado. Atop the 710m high peak is the looming statue of Cristo Redentor (Christ The Redeemer). The amazing statue is visable all over Rio so at the top we had a fantastic view of Rio beneath us. To reach the summit we first got a taxi to the bottom, then on a cog train which crawled up the side of Corovado. The cog train wasnt the quickiest or the most comfortabliest but the views were well worth it.
After the busy morning and afternoon we decide to go down to the Copacabana beech. ALong the beach , underneath the floodlights, several teams were playing football and volley ball. We watched with amazement at a group oof guys who were playing volley ball but instead of using there hands they were using every other part of the body. Inspired we went to play some brazilian style football, but that wasn`t the case after a couple of hours and quite a few laughs from ourselves and some of the locals we decided to call it a night, had a quick paddle in the sea to wash the sand off and headed back to the Hostel.
|
Locations Visited: London, Madrid, Rio
Add Comment
Comment Policy:
Only signed in members can comment on journal entries. Please sign in now or register if you would like to leave a comment. Comments are sent to the owner of this journal for approval before being made live on the site.