Rio

So we arrived in Rio nice and early, and after a quick local bus to the centre we checked out the first place mentioned in our guidebook. It was a nice place, but seemed expensive - I knew that Brazil is one of the most expensive countries in South America, and that Rio would be more expensive still, but it still seemed a bit excessive. Anyway, we decided to give it a go and spend the next day checking out other places - after a bit of a mix up with the owner guy that is. He was afraid we were going to write a complaint on the internet about the hostel being noisy, when all we asked was did they have a quiter room, as our room was right next to the kitchen. At first I thought he was asking us to leave, but it was all sorted out in the end, and he turned out to be a really nice guy, and noise was never an issue in the end either (although Sarah initally felt very put out by the guy, and really wanted to leave, but luckily I persuaded her it would be too much trouble).

So we spent that afternoon and early evening checking out the centre of the town, which was really lively and had a huge market. Of course it being Rio, I was a tad nervous for our security, but as always, once you take the basic precautions and aren't a complete fool, everything works out fine and we had no hassles at all in Rio - but it still took a couple of days for me to fully relax.

Anyway the next day we got the local bus from just outside the hostel to the beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema. We were also checking out accommodation options in this part of the city, and as it turned out the place we found originally was by far the cheapest place of all of them. So much relieved that we didn't have to move we relaxed on the fantastically long beaches for a bit (pretty much deserted at this time of year during the week), and had a lovely, although expensive meal in an Ipanema restaurant famous for it's local grub.

The next day we decided to check out the area of Santa Teresa. We got the really cool open tram to one of the small squares, hopping off to check out the recommended restaurants for lunch (someone else's video here, our trip wasn't quite so crowded!). We had a fantastic prawn curry in the well known Sobrenatural, during which I could see that a tram was having great difficulty continuing up the track. I then didn't notice another passing tram for ages and so assumed that there was a major problem. So we decided to walk to the end of the tram line by just following the tracks. After a good 45 minutes walking, and some great city views, we came to a junction of the tracks, and so not knowing which way to go we just decided to get a bus back down the hill. On the bus down we passed a tram coming back up(!), so we hopped off again at the square we'd had lunch and hearing live music decided to have a beer in a cool little bar. But the music finished up after a bit, and so we decided to hop on the next tram going back up the hill. This time the tram reached the same junction we'd walked to, and then it just started coming back the way it had come! It was getting late at this stage, so we didn't bother hopping off and trying to figure out where we were, so we just got off the tram back at our familiar square again.

From the square I could see from our map that we weren't that far a walk back to our hostel, and so decided to walk back through the small streets. Negator was as usual more than a bit nervous, but in the end it was a lovely walk, and much quicker than getting the tram all the way back to it's terminus and walking back from there.

On the walk back we also passed a cool looking bar and so decided to check it out later that evening. Luckily the bar was very close to our hostel, because when we tried to get in they asked for ID, and so we had to go back for our passports. At first we thought it was an age thing, but in fact it's because you don't pay for drinks or food as you go along. Instead they give you a printed card when you go in and the waiters mark off what you order as you order it. You then pay the total when you leave. Anyway it was an interesting night, although it was more of a pool hall, and not that much different from back home really.

The next day was a Sunday so we checked out the beaches again - this time getting the bus all the way down to Leblon. Every Sunday one of the main highways right beside the beach is closed to traffic, allowing people to walk, cycle and rollerblade along the street. It creates a great atmosphere, and even now in low season it was very lively. So at one stage I just left Sarah sunbathing on the beach while I strolled around checking out restaurants for lunch. The area is one of the poshest in Rio and it was a lovely spot for fancy restaurants and the like. In the end we went to a famous pay-by-weight place (a common form of restaurant here), called Fellini's. It turned out to be probably the best buffet I've ever tastied, with possibly the best cakes I've ever tried too!

That evening we got the bus to the departure point for Rio's famous statue, Christ the Redeemer. We had hoped to just walk up the hill, but we arrived quite late in the day, and so decided to get the train up instead. It was great timing really, as we arrived before sunset (when it was very crowded), and just hung around until well after sunset when the crowds had much reduced. It certainly does offer great views of the city, and is an impressively iconic statue in it's own right, and it was a nice spot to watch the transition to nightfall.

Another day Sarah decided she really wanted to give hang gliding a go, and so I offered to bring her as an early birthday present (how brilliant a boyfriend am I?). It was all very easy really, as the hostel owner rang the company and 45 minutes later a taxi arrived to pick us up (along with another daredevil Irish couple, Ger and Katie), and we drove the 30 minutes to the company office right next to the beach where they land. After signing the forms it was another 10 minutes drive up a big hill and then waiting around for about 20 minutes while the queue of hang gliders took off before it was Sarah's turn. After a quick practice run with her cool instructor it was over to the take-off ramp and off they went. Sarah loved the whole thing, and wasn't nervous at all, although she was a bit disappointed that the flight itself was so short, only about 5 to 8 minutes.

So all in all we spent 5 nights in Rio, and I really enjoyed it. We only had rain one morning, and so we just stayed in the hostel and watched the very good movie 'City of Men', which is set in the favelas (slums) of Rio. It's a pretty gruesome movie about the warring gangs of the city based on true events, and it was a weird feeling leaving the hostel after the movie (the rain having passed by then) knowing we were walking some of the same streets shown in the movie.

In retrospect it was a pity we didn't get to try a real samba club though. We did go out on the town on a Saturday night, but not knowing where to go we ended up in a pretty ordinary place (the pool hall place I mentioned). You can't just wander into a place to check it out and then walk to the next place, as they all seem to have hefty cover charges. But I've since heard people talk of mad nights out in cool samba clubs, so next time I'll have to check with the locals to find out where is good (the guidebook recommends places but warns that the good places change regularly).

Another reason for having to leave Rio early was the shear expense of the place - it really ate into the budget (although we were eating in great restaurants a lot). Seeing as how the weather was so good we decided to head down the coast and check out a few beach places recommended by Enda and Tracy - first stop was Paraty.