Finally, here’s my first ever blog, which will no doubt be quite amateurish due to my natural state of technical constipation. But maybe it’ll improve with practice. A huge thank you to Michelle for being my blog support person – couldn’t have done it without you!
So we made it to Rio de Janeiro almost a week ago, armed with everything we could possibly need for three months, including all the really important apps on our phones, like ‘Google Translate’, ‘Find My iPhone’ and, more importantly, ‘Find My Husband’. Very handy when he goes walkabout, which he often does.
I’m happy to report that miraculously our luggage arrived on the same flight as us and our airport shuttle, which sounded all a bit vague when booked on line, was also there to meet us and drive us at white-knuckle speed to our hotel in downtown Ipanema by about 8pm. The good thing about having low expectations of travel arrangements going according to plan is that you feel quite ecstatic when they actually do fall into place perfectly.
Considering we had both been awake for something like 22 hours, we were quite proud of ourselves for summoning the energy to go out that night and find something vaguely recognisable to eat, despite our teensy-weensy understanding of Portuguese. After a comatose sleep that night, neither of us had jet lag at all, so we had a pretty relaxing couple of days roaming the streets and beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, with our mini insect repellent spray at the ready (in the absence of a Mace spray or pointy weapons), as a deterrent for any would-be muggers or pick-pockets. Luckily we haven’t met any (yet), but we’re being very vigilant. Steve may be smaller than me, but inside he’s a superhero with all the Kung Fu moves at the ready.
We didn’t need to go and visit the 38 metre tall ‘Cristo Redentor’ (Christ the Redeemer) statue or Sugar Loaf Mountain, because we’re seeing them when we join our tour of 9 other people on 25th May. Although if I stood on a chair and used the 30 times zoom on my camera, I could vaguely see a side view of Christ the Redeemer from our hotel room…..
On day two, we caught a bus to the Jardim Botanico (Botanical Gardens) which is enormous and, although a bit underwhelming from the point of view of the flowers (wrong time of year maybe?), we saw lots of monkeys/Marmosets playing in the trees, including some very cute baby ones too. We walked for miles and miles, occasionally reviving ourselves with one of the famous Brazilian cocktails, called Caipirinhas, made from local distilled alcohol called Cachaça, plus sugar and either fresh lime or any fresh fruit of your choosing. Om nom nom.
So instead of going to the main sights, we walked for miles and miles and MILES and saw parts of Rio we wouldn’t otherwise have seen. It has to be said that although you will see some lovely photos of our trip, you can’t escape the seedy side to Rio, with so much poverty, pollution, crime and a general ‘third-world-ness’ that it is quite disturbing at times. Slums abound (it’s estimated that 1 in 5 residents of Rio de Janeiro live in one of the slum areas, called “favelas”) and litter lies everywhere, with the smell of sewage and bad drainage never far from your nostrils…..But it’s all part of the rich tapestry of the world of travel, so it’s good to both sides of a city, not just the shiny side. There will be more from us about Rio in a couple of weeks’ time but in the meantime, here are some photos:
2 Frosty Tops Do South America 