Can't remember what happened on what day anymore so I'll just dive right in. At some point in the past I went to the museum of Portuguese language with Tompson and his cousin Raquelle (I'm pretty sure I'm spelling these names wrong) which was really interesting and in a beautiful building dubbed "really, really old" (built in the 1860s - the concept of old is different in a country where everything is new). It had a very European style of architecture and is from "colonial Brazil". Then we walked through the park to the municipal market where we had lunch - a sandwich made with lettuce, tomatoes, egg, beef steak, ham and cheese. It was ridiculous. The Brazilian people seem to think "hmm... what would make this meal better? ...STEAK!" One time I had it for breakfast... I kid you not. Anyway the market was huge and very busy and mostly sold food - with restaurants upstairs and stalls below.
Then we went to Rio. We started off at 2.30am and arrived at about 2pm. It's not actually that far, but the traffic here is a nightmare, so you almost have to double any journey time. I slept most of the way though! We got to Rio and had some lunch and saw Copacabana Beach (yes we did sing the song!) before travelling on to our campsite. We stayed on a peninsula outside Rio de Janeiro called Búzios, which was beautiful.
On the first night we went into the town and got pizza, before getting an early night as we were tired from travelling. On the second day we went to several beaches and into the town at night to sit in a bar by the beach and watch people in fancy dress, dancers, drummers etc. I think my overall impression of it wasn't like the stuff you see on the telly - we didn't go to the big parades, because they were too expensive, crowded, full of tourists etc. I think it's kind of like Glastonbury, but with more Tequila and less clothes, and nationwide. So there's more space next to your tent but it's still totally acceptable to be wearing Devil horns and drinking in the morning (yes, I do know a guy who did this). Oh and that evening we went on the carnival bus, which is kind of exactly how it sounds. A big old bus, with no glass in the windows, with fairy lights and painted in rainbow colours driven by Minnie Mouse and Spiderman.
On the third day it was very hot so we went to a little seaside town a paid for a day's boat ride - they take you to several beaches and a floating restaurant. There were about thirty people on the boat. The beaches were amazing (photos soon). White sand, turquoise sea - the whole package. The water was so clear you could see the bottom long after you couldn't reach it with your feet! There were beautiful fish and turtles too. By the time we got back to the campsite it was already dark and so we spent the evening dancing by the pool.
I think that covers most of the main points - but I'll give you some random thoughts about Brazil.
A lot of people have dogs, but I've yet to see a cat. And the dogs all tend to be of the small, noisy, irritating variety.
There's a lot of graffiti here, some is just names or words, but some is quite beautiful. And often instead of signs on the outside of a shop, the walls are painted - most garages have a beautiful car and I've seen repair shops with nuts and bolts. Other people like to paint the walls of their houses with designs - I've seen eskimos, cowboys, waterfalls, religious icons and more.
The flooding can get really bad - we couldn't go and see Christ the Redeemer because all the streets in the area were closed. I was pretty gutted about that.
The mosquitoes in Rio are really bad.
The houses here all follow a basic pattern, so that I get lost really easily. All have a metal gate that faces on to the street, behind which is a garage. Then you go up some steps (and possibly through a courtyard) to the house. And they all have balconies.
They eat way too much meat here - almost every meal. And although there's always loads of salad, there's hardly ever any cooked vegetables. It's just different though, and meat here is much cheaper so it kind of makes sense. Takes some getting used to though.
I don't know if it's because I'm foreign, or whether all girls are treated this way, but none of the guys really let me do things for myself. I suppose it's gentlemanly to open a door, but it's just ridiculous to open a can of coke for me!
The mosquitoes in Rio are really bad. I know I've already said that one, but I feel it needs emphasis.
I'm finding it really hard to get a handle on people's names, so that even people I've seen almost every day I still can't name. Usually because the pronounciation is so hard, but also because I've met so many people and the names are all foreign.
The mosquitoes in Rio de Janeiro are really bad. Are. Really. Bad.
That's all for now - time for some more antihistamine cream! I guess I'm glad I took my Yellow Fever vaccine after all! Tchau x
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