So after our day in the city, and checking and re-checking and hypothesizing about the weather, we got up early to get the Christ the Redeemer early, beating the crowds and the clouds. He was surrounded but clearly visible in the white clouds at the top, and he is beautiful. We waited at the top for some time, enjoying the view and watching the cloud burn off, until the cloud was only patchy. We were stoked and apparently very lucky, as many others who went later missed him when the cloud returned. From there we went to the beach in the sun, where it had transformed from beautiful and peaceful to crawling with people but lively and hours of fun people-watching! Especially loved the over-tanned larger women in tiny bikinis and men in speedos!!
Our final mission that day was up the sugar loaf. We climbed the first of the two hills and took the gondola up to the top of the second. From the top the view was amazing and although still partly cloudy, we still had a cool view of the sunset on our last night in Rio. An awesome way to finish the trip! We met the remaining girls from the tour for a beer at one of the beach umbrella bars and said goodbye for the trip. It was weird given that we had been travelling with two of them for 82 and the rest for 63 days! But also cool to be coming home again, we can't wait to see everyone!! Rio has been fantastic, a really awesome city, and a great last stop.
We are wishing we could upload photos, but keep checking because we will do so ASAP in NZ.
Jet-setting today, see you all soon!! Xoxoxoxoxoxo
Final Sam Fact: Rio de Janeiro is the only city outside of Europe to have ever have been the capital of a European country. During the Napoleanic wars, the Portuguese royalty moved to Rio.
Friday 30 November 2012
Days 99 - 102: Finally in Rio!! Part One: What To Do in Wet Weather
Well after so much time travelling now, it was hard to believe we were actually here! But Rio de Janeiro has been absolutely amazing!
We arrived to misty drizzle. Not exactly how you see it on tv. Apparently it rains a lot in summer so the last month of rain has been unusually early. So our first day was quiet, we had a wander around Copacabana where we were staying, then went out for our final dinner of the tour.
The next day we woke up hopeful, but unfortunately, misty drizzle again. So we canned our initial plan of a city tour, deciding instead to split up the sights by fine weather and wet weather activities, and went for a walk around Copacabana beach and to nearby Ipanema beach. The white beaches were stunning even in cloudy weather.
In the afternoon we went on a favela tour. It sounds horrible, going on a tour of one of Rio's poorest areas, but we had been told it was a must-do and it was really interesting. The favela we visited was Rocinha, which is the largest with an estimated 300,000 inhabitants. The favelas started when the poor could not afford city prices, so knocked down trees on the hills, where it was public land, and built houses. They are tiny houses all stacked together with tiny staircases and access ways sneaking between them. They tap government electricity so that they can have it for free, with lots of cables attached precariously to each power pole and street light. Our guide told us that many live in the favelas as the minimum wage in Rio is $650 Reais per month ~NZ$375, and the rental of even the tiniest city apartment in the south of the city costs ~$2000 Reais per month. They can make a living in the favela, some having shops in the bottom floor of their houses, or even owning multiple houses and receiving rent income, so some can even afford to leave but choose not to. It absolutely poured down and we were soaked, but the favela tour was an eye-opener. On the way back to the hostel the weather cleared briefly and we caught our first glimpse of Christ the Redeemer!
So the following day was still forecast to be cloudy but clearing, so we went to explore the city. The business district is very pretty, with some very old and some very new interesting architecture, including a round cathedral. This building was like an alien version of the beehive, with amazing stained glass inside. We made our way through the city to Lapa and the Selaron stairs (you know, the tiled stairway which features in the Snoop Dogg video 'Beautiful'!). They are awesome and we managed to find the kiwi-themed tiles and pose just like the video, great fun!
The sun had come out, so we decided to race to the Christ the Redeemer. Unfortunately, as soon as we got off the bus, we saw the cloud rise up the hill and over him, so we decided Jesus didn't want us to visit that day.
Sam Fact #1: Rio de Janeiro literally means River of January. It is named as such because it was discovered by the Portuguese on the 1st of January 1502. They believed they had found the mouth of a river, but in fact it was a narrow mouth of a large harbour.
Sam Fact #2: Rio has a total of 95 favelas. The name 'favela' comes from the name of a plant that was cleared to make way for the original Rio slum.
We arrived to misty drizzle. Not exactly how you see it on tv. Apparently it rains a lot in summer so the last month of rain has been unusually early. So our first day was quiet, we had a wander around Copacabana where we were staying, then went out for our final dinner of the tour.
The next day we woke up hopeful, but unfortunately, misty drizzle again. So we canned our initial plan of a city tour, deciding instead to split up the sights by fine weather and wet weather activities, and went for a walk around Copacabana beach and to nearby Ipanema beach. The white beaches were stunning even in cloudy weather.
In the afternoon we went on a favela tour. It sounds horrible, going on a tour of one of Rio's poorest areas, but we had been told it was a must-do and it was really interesting. The favela we visited was Rocinha, which is the largest with an estimated 300,000 inhabitants. The favelas started when the poor could not afford city prices, so knocked down trees on the hills, where it was public land, and built houses. They are tiny houses all stacked together with tiny staircases and access ways sneaking between them. They tap government electricity so that they can have it for free, with lots of cables attached precariously to each power pole and street light. Our guide told us that many live in the favelas as the minimum wage in Rio is $650 Reais per month ~NZ$375, and the rental of even the tiniest city apartment in the south of the city costs ~$2000 Reais per month. They can make a living in the favela, some having shops in the bottom floor of their houses, or even owning multiple houses and receiving rent income, so some can even afford to leave but choose not to. It absolutely poured down and we were soaked, but the favela tour was an eye-opener. On the way back to the hostel the weather cleared briefly and we caught our first glimpse of Christ the Redeemer!
So the following day was still forecast to be cloudy but clearing, so we went to explore the city. The business district is very pretty, with some very old and some very new interesting architecture, including a round cathedral. This building was like an alien version of the beehive, with amazing stained glass inside. We made our way through the city to Lapa and the Selaron stairs (you know, the tiled stairway which features in the Snoop Dogg video 'Beautiful'!). They are awesome and we managed to find the kiwi-themed tiles and pose just like the video, great fun!
The sun had come out, so we decided to race to the Christ the Redeemer. Unfortunately, as soon as we got off the bus, we saw the cloud rise up the hill and over him, so we decided Jesus didn't want us to visit that day.
Sam Fact #1: Rio de Janeiro literally means River of January. It is named as such because it was discovered by the Portuguese on the 1st of January 1502. They believed they had found the mouth of a river, but in fact it was a narrow mouth of a large harbour.
Sam Fact #2: Rio has a total of 95 favelas. The name 'favela' comes from the name of a plant that was cleared to make way for the original Rio slum.
Tuesday 27 November 2012
Days 95 - 98: Paraty and Ilha Grande
Hello everyone!
Brazil has been a much more relaxed pace - lots of sand and sun!
Paraty is a small beach town with a very cool colonial feel - the cobbled streets are so uneven it makes it difficult to walk! Our first day we went on a boat tour of the surrounding bay and islands, stopping to swim, with lunch and unlimited caipirinhas on board. Was a great day and we felt sunned and relaxed!
This was only a short stop, two nights but only one day. So we were off to Ilha Grande, the 'big island' by ferry. It is an island probably the size of great barrier, with no cars and covered in rainforest - a beachy, hippy paradise. We explored the island by foot, seeing beautiful beaches such as Lopez Mendez. But then it started raining. Unfortunately the forecast isn't great for the rest of our trip, but we will make the most of it! We persevered, going for a walk through the bush to a wee waterfall, and seeing a family of monkeys in the wild, which was pretty cool.
Now Rio!
Brazil has been a much more relaxed pace - lots of sand and sun!
Paraty is a small beach town with a very cool colonial feel - the cobbled streets are so uneven it makes it difficult to walk! Our first day we went on a boat tour of the surrounding bay and islands, stopping to swim, with lunch and unlimited caipirinhas on board. Was a great day and we felt sunned and relaxed!
This was only a short stop, two nights but only one day. So we were off to Ilha Grande, the 'big island' by ferry. It is an island probably the size of great barrier, with no cars and covered in rainforest - a beachy, hippy paradise. We explored the island by foot, seeing beautiful beaches such as Lopez Mendez. But then it started raining. Unfortunately the forecast isn't great for the rest of our trip, but we will make the most of it! We persevered, going for a walk through the bush to a wee waterfall, and seeing a family of monkeys in the wild, which was pretty cool.
Now Rio!
Thursday 22 November 2012
Days 91 - 94: Iguaçu Falls
Oi! We are now in Brazil and struggling with the change to Portuguese (our Spanish was going so well!!) but have mastered hello - oi!
From Uruguay, we had to pass through Argentina again to reach the Brazilian side of the Iguaçu falls. So we are rapidly accumulating passport stamps! But we have now survived night bus nine of ten, and made it to country seven of seven!! So straight off the bus we headed to the Brazilian side of the falls. Our Argentinian guide Tomás keeps telling us proudly that the Brazilian side is the seats in the theatre, and the Argentinian side is the stage. So the first day we walked along the trail on the Brazilian side, where you get a stunning view of the falls from a overall distant perspective. The falls are spectacular!
The next day we went back to the Argentinian side of the falls. Our first stop was the waterfall called devils throat, an impressive amount of water, and the path took us so close to the top we got pretty soaked! That was great though because it was sooo hot in Iguaçu - 34 degrees and super humid!
We spent the morning walking around the top of the falls, then we did the jet boat ride!! Usually you get wet on the jet boat, which takes you under the falls, but the driver loved the girls' giggling and screaming so took us under an extra time, and by then we got off the boat absolutely saturated. Was great fun and definitely another highlight of the trip.
That night we had a BBQ at the tour guide's house, where he put on an impressive spread. We had the next day to fill in before our last night bus, we went to the bird park, which consisted of massive walk-in aviaries, where we came face to face with an angry toucan, but it was pretty amazing!!
Then the bus. Our last night bus was 24 hours long. An 18 hour bus from Iguaçu to Sau Paulo, where we switched to a private bus for the next 6 hours. It was horrible, the worst bus we have been in yet in terms of leg room and space to recline. Our feet swelled up from inactivity and sitting upright. The private bus was great but we were so keen to not be on the bus anymore! So now we have arrive in Paraty, no big buses left, and only Ilha Grande and Rio to go now!!
Xoxoxo
Sam Fact - Iguaçu Falls is one of the new wonders of the natural world. It consists of 275 drops over a distance of 2.7km. The highest drop is 82 meters. Just a few kilometres downstream of the falls is the triple border between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.
From Uruguay, we had to pass through Argentina again to reach the Brazilian side of the Iguaçu falls. So we are rapidly accumulating passport stamps! But we have now survived night bus nine of ten, and made it to country seven of seven!! So straight off the bus we headed to the Brazilian side of the falls. Our Argentinian guide Tomás keeps telling us proudly that the Brazilian side is the seats in the theatre, and the Argentinian side is the stage. So the first day we walked along the trail on the Brazilian side, where you get a stunning view of the falls from a overall distant perspective. The falls are spectacular!
The next day we went back to the Argentinian side of the falls. Our first stop was the waterfall called devils throat, an impressive amount of water, and the path took us so close to the top we got pretty soaked! That was great though because it was sooo hot in Iguaçu - 34 degrees and super humid!
We spent the morning walking around the top of the falls, then we did the jet boat ride!! Usually you get wet on the jet boat, which takes you under the falls, but the driver loved the girls' giggling and screaming so took us under an extra time, and by then we got off the boat absolutely saturated. Was great fun and definitely another highlight of the trip.
That night we had a BBQ at the tour guide's house, where he put on an impressive spread. We had the next day to fill in before our last night bus, we went to the bird park, which consisted of massive walk-in aviaries, where we came face to face with an angry toucan, but it was pretty amazing!!
Then the bus. Our last night bus was 24 hours long. An 18 hour bus from Iguaçu to Sau Paulo, where we switched to a private bus for the next 6 hours. It was horrible, the worst bus we have been in yet in terms of leg room and space to recline. Our feet swelled up from inactivity and sitting upright. The private bus was great but we were so keen to not be on the bus anymore! So now we have arrive in Paraty, no big buses left, and only Ilha Grande and Rio to go now!!
Xoxoxo
Sam Fact - Iguaçu Falls is one of the new wonders of the natural world. It consists of 275 drops over a distance of 2.7km. The highest drop is 82 meters. Just a few kilometres downstream of the falls is the triple border between Argentina, Paraguay and Brazil.
Saturday 17 November 2012
Days 86 - 90: Montevideo and Salto
Hello everyone!
Just a quick blog before we head across to Brazil!! We hear we won't have wifi for a few days at the falls so just a wee hello!!
In Montevideo we were back to the city, but it is a lot more relaxed than Buenos Aires. Salto is our last stop in Uruguay before Brazil, more of a stopping point to break up the journey so we have been relaxing at the pools. More on this later! Two weeks to go!! Xoxoxo
Ok to add more info:
In Montevideo we spent the first day walking around the old town, which included a visit to the viewing deck of one of the highest buildings in the area, a telecommunications company, which had a great view of the city. The city is a mix of old and new, with horses used to pick up recycling! The next day we walked ~13km from the old town down along Las Ramblas which goes around the beaches. This was a nice relaxing day - we have been really lucky with the constant sunshine!!
Then we were off to Salto, our stopping point to break up the journey. There isn't much in Salto apart from a hot pools complex, so we had a great day swimming and relaxing in the sun before we entered Brazil!
Sam Facts for the last wee while (mostly from Buenos Aires):
When BOCA Juniors, Argentinas most famous football club, were being set up the founders disagreed on the club colours. Therefore to settle the dispute they decided that they would be based on the colours of the next ship that sailed into port. It just so happened to be a Swedish ship and their colours were immortalized as blue and yellow!
Avenida 9 de Julio, which runs north to south through Buenos Aires, is the worlds widest avenue with a total of 18 lanes, nine in each direction!
Just a quick blog before we head across to Brazil!! We hear we won't have wifi for a few days at the falls so just a wee hello!!
In Montevideo we were back to the city, but it is a lot more relaxed than Buenos Aires. Salto is our last stop in Uruguay before Brazil, more of a stopping point to break up the journey so we have been relaxing at the pools. More on this later! Two weeks to go!! Xoxoxo
Ok to add more info:
In Montevideo we spent the first day walking around the old town, which included a visit to the viewing deck of one of the highest buildings in the area, a telecommunications company, which had a great view of the city. The city is a mix of old and new, with horses used to pick up recycling! The next day we walked ~13km from the old town down along Las Ramblas which goes around the beaches. This was a nice relaxing day - we have been really lucky with the constant sunshine!!
Then we were off to Salto, our stopping point to break up the journey. There isn't much in Salto apart from a hot pools complex, so we had a great day swimming and relaxing in the sun before we entered Brazil!
Sam Facts for the last wee while (mostly from Buenos Aires):
When BOCA Juniors, Argentinas most famous football club, were being set up the founders disagreed on the club colours. Therefore to settle the dispute they decided that they would be based on the colours of the next ship that sailed into port. It just so happened to be a Swedish ship and their colours were immortalized as blue and yellow!
Avenida 9 de Julio, which runs north to south through Buenos Aires, is the worlds widest avenue with a total of 18 lanes, nine in each direction!
Tuesday 13 November 2012
Days 82 - 85: Buenos Aires
So after our hideous bus, we were in Buenos Aires. We were warned by our guide that Buenos Aires is really bad for robberies, so we were told to be very vigilant, travel around in big groups, not visit certain streets and not carry ANYTHING! So, with Sarah paranoid as hell, we began our sightseeing mission. We were very safe at all times, but while we were there two members of two other groups were mugged, one losing his passport and not being able to continue on his tour. We have learned that you don't get much attention if you look like you are carrying nothing, so we travelled safely for three days with only a water bottle, about NZ$50 cash, and one camera.
Buenos Aires has some amazing architecture, but a bit of a run-down feeling, where the rich suburbs are really nice but the rest is really not. We think we walked the entire safe walk -able part of the city, with highlights being our trip to the Recoleta cemetery containing many family tombs, including Evita's, our tango lesson and show, and the Bomba del Tiempo drumming show.
So Buenos Aires was a bit rugged for our liking, but we were glad to be able to visit safely. Today we caught a boat from Argentina to Uruguay (country 6 of 7!!), where we are now in the small but very sunny and peaceful Portuguese colonial port town of Colonia. We hired a golf cart and had a great afternoon tootling along by the beach and round the old town. Onward to Montevideo tomorrow!!
Xoxoxo
Buenos Aires has some amazing architecture, but a bit of a run-down feeling, where the rich suburbs are really nice but the rest is really not. We think we walked the entire safe walk -able part of the city, with highlights being our trip to the Recoleta cemetery containing many family tombs, including Evita's, our tango lesson and show, and the Bomba del Tiempo drumming show.
So Buenos Aires was a bit rugged for our liking, but we were glad to be able to visit safely. Today we caught a boat from Argentina to Uruguay (country 6 of 7!!), where we are now in the small but very sunny and peaceful Portuguese colonial port town of Colonia. We hired a golf cart and had a great afternoon tootling along by the beach and round the old town. Onward to Montevideo tomorrow!!
Xoxoxo
Days 79 - 81: Bariloche
Hola Amigos,
Sorry it has been so long again, lack of wifi!
Bariloche is known for its outdoor activities, so outdoors we went!! It is a quiet town next to the lake, with excellent chocolate shops lining the main street. It is also the (supposed) home of the best steak, so of course we went to a steakhouse and had the most amazing steak for dinner on our first night, accompanied by some really good malbec! Sounds silly, but definitely in the top ten highlights of the trip!!
For our first full day in Bariloche, we hired mountain bikes and went for a ride around the peninsula, which was a very up and down road, about 25kms. We stopped a lot along the way to admire the scenery, and catch our breath with three months' holiday fitness!! The views were spectacular. We got the bikes back in time to climb a hill where there is the most fantastic view, another real highlight of the trip, the lake and surroundings were beautiful.
The next day, Sam loving the outdoors especially, we went for a big hike, around 22kms, alongside then up a mountain. Near the top there is a refuge and frozen lake, which was also beautiful but pretty chilly, given that the last 100m of hiking up was on snow!! It was good to get a lot of exercise here!!
That evening the owner of the hostel cooked us a really good Argentinian BBQ (called an asado) so we were very well exercised and well fed by the time we left Bariloche!!
We then caught the longest bus yet, 22 hours from Bariloche to Buenos Aires. It felt like a long time.
More in the next post!! Xoxoxo
Sorry it has been so long again, lack of wifi!
Bariloche is known for its outdoor activities, so outdoors we went!! It is a quiet town next to the lake, with excellent chocolate shops lining the main street. It is also the (supposed) home of the best steak, so of course we went to a steakhouse and had the most amazing steak for dinner on our first night, accompanied by some really good malbec! Sounds silly, but definitely in the top ten highlights of the trip!!
For our first full day in Bariloche, we hired mountain bikes and went for a ride around the peninsula, which was a very up and down road, about 25kms. We stopped a lot along the way to admire the scenery, and catch our breath with three months' holiday fitness!! The views were spectacular. We got the bikes back in time to climb a hill where there is the most fantastic view, another real highlight of the trip, the lake and surroundings were beautiful.
The next day, Sam loving the outdoors especially, we went for a big hike, around 22kms, alongside then up a mountain. Near the top there is a refuge and frozen lake, which was also beautiful but pretty chilly, given that the last 100m of hiking up was on snow!! It was good to get a lot of exercise here!!
That evening the owner of the hostel cooked us a really good Argentinian BBQ (called an asado) so we were very well exercised and well fed by the time we left Bariloche!!
We then caught the longest bus yet, 22 hours from Bariloche to Buenos Aires. It felt like a long time.
More in the next post!! Xoxoxo
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