Bom dia amigos! We spent two and a half weeks skimming the surface of what Brasil has to offer. Our brief taste was enough to leave us wanting more – with the football world cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016, why not? Our destinations included Corumba, the Pantanal, Campo Grande, Bonito, Foz de Iguasu, Rio de Janeiro and Isla Grande.
RIVER SNORKELLING IN BONITO: After a less than smooth border crossing into Brasil, we eventually made it through the vast Pantanal and down into Bonito. Bonito’s snorkelling was first class – floating down clear water rivers with massive fish unafraid of swimming up very close.
SHOWERING AT FOZ DE IGUASU: With 275 waterfalls crashing down 80 metres into the Rio Iguasu, we figured that we may get wet at some stage so we wore our togs (with other clothes of course). We visited both the Brasilian and Argentinean sides of the falls over two days and took more than our fair share of waterfall photos while managing to avoid the hordes of elderly ladies on bus tours. We couldn’t really complain about the regular dousing of water we received given the high temperatures we were encountering.
PEOPLE WATCHING RIO STYLES: We spent just over a week in the Rio de Janeiro region and would like to specially thank Dale ‘Smit Dog’ Smith and Raphael ‘Rafa’ Bonventi for hosting us for the majority of that time. The boys’ house proved to be a very social hangout in Ipanema and we really enjoyed the company of many of their Brasilian and ex pat friends while ‘funky dancing’ (aka booty dancing), drinking beer and sitting on the beach. We also put our best dancing skills to use while wearing headphones at a silent disco. This concept may initially seem a little antisocial but the absence of loud music actually makes conversation easier once the headphones are removed. The hang gliding scene is also a great social point of Rio and while we didn’t hang glide ourselves, we enjoyed watching Dale and Rafa from the take off point (with amazing views), as well as the landing beach.
The best place to people watch in Rio would have to be Ipanema Beach. Divided into three sections: gay, family and ‘good looking people’ we of course hung out in the latter section. We more than likely stood out as gringos from a mile away: fair hair and blue eyes, Rodney’s board shorts as opposed to little Speedos and a bikini that covered most of Kirsty’s bottom rather than a skimpy g-string. We also enjoyed more of the beaches by catching a three hour bus and one and a half hour boat ride to beautiful island of Isla Grande. Trekking through jungle in hot temperatures was hard work but the serene beach and cooling swim was well worth it.
More sobering was our tour of two of the city’s favellas, or slums. While the level of poverty is immediately noticeable, what is also apparent is the strong community feeling. Built on what was formerly public land, the favellas have million dollar views; rather than expanding outwards each dwelling is simply added to by attaching another level to the roof with each new generation.
A visit to Rio is not complete without visiting two of the most famous icons in the city: Cristo Rendentor (Christ the Redeemer) and Sugar Loaf Mountain. We were fortunate to have a really stunning Rio day to visit these viewpoints which provide a spectacular take of the city.
We are now in Valpraiso, Chile and will spend the next six weeks zipping between Argentina and Chile and into Patagonia.
Adeus!!!!!
Amor Rodney and Kirsty.
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