Kate's arrival...

Ola!! Been a little while since an update due to a 24 hour power cut, very little internet access on Ilha Grande and also I've been a very busy bee!!  So here's a few to re-cap the last few days... Enjoy!!

So, Monday morning at 10am my best friend from Uni arrived in Rio to keep me on the straight and narrow for the next 3 weeks as we head South for the winter and work our way through Brazil to Buenos Aries.
We haven't seen each other for quite a while and it seemed that nothing had changed as the first sentence that came out was "I've only been here a couple of hours and I've already got a story"... Which involved waiting at immigration, random Brazilians and a lack of money for the taxi..

After a small walk around we found a great little place for breakfast called 'Santa Satisfactao'.  After washing it down with a couple of cups of Coffee we headed for the hotel to sneak Kate in for the last night rather than paying for another room.  The "highlight" was Kate unpacking her bag and realising that not a single bikini had been packed, followed by James mentioning that if you were to buy a new one, the Brazilians tend to only wear thongs on the beach!!  Panic diverted as we managed to find a decent one and then the 3 of us headed to Ipanema for a few hours of afternoon Sunshine, Coconuts and Cervejas!!

After the long day and strenuous hours catching the rays, we walked along Ipanema beach to Copacabana to watch the sun set across the bay over a set of mountains called the Two Brothers; followed by a short and lazy taxi ride to Devassa for an early dinner before heading back and crashing out; ready for the hectic next few days.

x

The Griff!!!

9.30am, awake, showered and waiting for the arrival of my best friend from Uni, Kate!  About to enter part 3 of the tour and it will be Epic!!

I've been pre-warned not to let her get on any mopeds as she is susceptible to breaking the odd bone here and there and to send her back to the UK in one piece; can't guarantee though.

We've got the next 3 weeks to get from Rio to Buenos Aires; so stay tuned for all the antics, banter and trouble that we're bound to get into along the way!!!

x

Cristo Redentor...

Lets get the boring history bit out of the way...  Cristo Rendentor (Christ the Redeemer) is the massive and very famous statue stood on the top of the Corcovado mountain.  Completed just over 90 years ago it is now one of the Seven modern wonders of the world.  It's an icon piece which can be seen day and night from most places in Rio and sets a good back-drop for the Copacabana.

Nice early start; got up at 6.30!!!! for breakfast and then headed for the bus stop to travel into the Tijuca national park.  The highlight of the morning was getting to the train that travels to the top of the mountain at 8am and being told the next available train was at 11.20... Bought tickets for 5pm and headed back to Copa to hit the beach for a few hours!!  Being a Saturday and 33°C the locals were out in force and the beach was packed.  The waves on the Cabana today were absolutely ferocious at about 12-15ft; the lifeguards were out in force too with boats and helicopters circling to rescue anyone who had been pulled back by the current.

So... with the 'no swimming' sign up on the beach, what would be the best course of action to take??? Tackle the waves head-on!!  Queue the next hour diving in and out of waves like a kid again, all of the people on the beach laughing as I'm being pulled left right and centre by the currents!!  I decided that it was time to stop when the monster rip-curl below came in, the blood drained from my face and I got smashed in the face by it, dragged under, pulled back and then rammed face-first into the sea-bed and then spat back out... so bruises and grazes all over; I crawled back onto the beach with James and 2 old women in hysterics.

Ok, back to Cristo!! Bus back to the base of the mountain and then a 20 minute ride on a 'Cog-train' to the top of the mountain; then about 10 minutes worth of steps up to the monument; it was only on the way back down that we noticed the escalator!!

Idiot Abroad time now; first impressions of the Statue... It's good, but thought it would be bigger..  However the longer we were up there, the more impressive that it became and then came to the conclusion that Ok, it is pretty big!!  The views from the top of the Corcovado were absolutely breathtaking, from Sugarloaf mountain to Copacabana to the large Lagoon at Ipanema to the national stadium and to all of the Favelas lining the mountain sides around the city.

All in all another successful day of culture!! The plan was to then hit Lapa for an allnighter; but the old boy James couldn't wake up... Postponing until next week!!

 

Santa Teresa

"James, we need to do something at least a little bit cultural..." were the words that I didn't think I'd be saying.  But we've got to the point of; there's only so much sitting on the beach doing absolutely nothing before the novelty begins to look like it's about to even think about wearing thin.

So! Santa Teresa and Lapa we go!!  Santa Teresa is an old Bohemian town in the hills of Rio; once famed for housing the mega rich!! They built gigantic mansions within the hillside; however with the struggling money problems that Brazil faced, they moved out to cheaper regions.  (History lesson over...).  There are now loads of empty mansions scattered along the hillside; several transformed into galleries or museums; but most remain abandoned.

We decided to be a bit more pro-active and rather than taking a taxi absolutely everywhere; we opted for the metro.  Which was a joy as soon as we got there; trying to work out firstly where to get the ticket from and secondly how to get through the barriers (and no, this was not due to size restrictions).  Getting off the train at what we thought was the right stop, turned out not to be; however we were in the middle of the old part of Lapa; which houses the large Aztec style Catedral de Sao Sebastian (Cathedral of Saint Sebastian; which coincidently, was his Patron Saints day today and a public holiday; meaning the majority of Rio was closed...).

After a long stroll around, we decided the best way to find Santa Teresa was by jumping into a trusted taxi; whose suicidal driver drove us right up to the top, skidding round bends and really not paying attention too much.  After trying to navigate around, getting temporarily lost then walking in a large circle back to the start; it was time for a beer!!
There's a lot of street art of large murals painted around the town; most of them are graffiti styled, however there were a few little naked treats along the way. 
We managed to communicate with a local who told us a good walk down the hillside and into Lapa where we found the Escadaria Selaron; a large set of steps which have been completely covered in tiles.  Started about 25 years ago by a Chilean guy who wanted to make the steps outside his house look a big better.

Not a bad start to the cultural side of Rio; would have been better if we knew where we were going; but also completed the first main bit of exercise for the past 2 weeks...

Pizza Rodizio...

Think Pizza Hut buffet, but better; where the waiters bring the pizza to you! Constantly! Every minute or so!! Oh, this was destined to be a good session!!

I'd had a taster of the all you can eat side of Brazil with the Churrascaria in Porto Alegre, but having the same with pizza is a completely different ball game.  So... 8 or 9 slices in (4 cheeses, pepperoni, 'the Portuguese', mozzarella, chicken) I started thinking to myself; what could make this better... and if by some miracle, the waiter rocks up with dessert!!

Pizza!! With Chocolate!!!  The next 20 minutes were a bit of a blur... but did involve a lot of grunting, beer swigging, a potential cardiac arrest and several 'you can do it' shouts from around the table etc...  So, 5 or 6 slices into dessert I can proudly say that I did a bloody good job.

Man 2 - 0 Food !!

Her name is Rio!!

A lot to catch up on over the last week!!  Mainly revolving about the basic neccessities for life: Food, Cervejas and Beaches!!

Arrived back into Rio on Sunday evening from Porto Alegre and headed straight to the hotel for a couple of hours sleep before my cousin James arrived.  Pretty nice hotel; fairly close to the beach, nice room 12 floors up with a great view of Christ the Redeemer from the window.  The top floor opens out onto a large roof terrace with a pool and 'American Bar'.  We've worked out that no-body really uses it, so was perfect for relaxing for a couple of hours before or after the beach; plus it cam equipped with 'Tom' who always made sure the glass was full!!
Fast-forward to Monday morning; nice late breakfast and then a rekkie along the Copacabana beach.  Pretty cloudy day, warm but looked like it could rain; so why bother with Sunscreen?? Cut to 4 hours later, nice long walk, a few beers and red raw arms, forehead and nose, complete with Panda eyes from the sunglasses...

So, the next few days have all sort of rolled into one.  There has been mornings at the pool, afternoons at the beach, highs of 34°C, late evenings and long lay-ins.  Food wise; we've been to a Churrascaria (meat place), a Pizza Rodizio (see separate post) a really posh restaurant called Zaza Tropical (Pan-asian food; Chicken coconut curry was immense!!) and a bar that we've discovered called Devassa; which we've been told translates to 'Whore'... so perfect!!


What we have discovered though is that there was a severe lack of culture within the first 5/6 days; so we did venture out slightly towards the end of the week! (But not too far...).


Rio itself is a really great city.  There are not many English speaking people here; in the last week we've only met an Australian couple and briefly spoke to an Australian family...  All of the 'tourists' we're told are from smaller cities within Brazil or from Argentina.  The best beach seems to be Copacabana; however it does also look like it is mainly occupied by the locals.  The younger and better people watching beach is Ipanema - which is the next beach along from Copa; only 5 minutes in a taxi.  There is a lot more of an atmosphere on Ipanema and the nightlife in the evenings is catered more for the younger crowd than Copacabana is (which is mainly for old men and hookers; James wouldn't let me go in...).  Ok, the sights on the beaches; Massively muscled blokes who were trying to show off most of the time (putting myself into that category), old local men with pot-bellies and leather skin (James) and a copious amount of Big boobs and even bigger bums on the Chicas!! A little taster below; however that was one of the tame ones!!


All in all, having an amazing time in Rio; would definitely recommend it and would definitely return!!

View of Christ the Redeemer from the hotel room

Copacabana...

Quick update;

Currently sitting on Copacabana beach; temperature has just hit 32degrees, the beach is packed, the Chicas are out in force and it is still getting hotter! 

The cool-bag is packed full of Skol, music is playing and the tan is coming along nicely. 

Need a couple more Cervajas though to stop the sick feeling creeping up from seeing James strutting the beach in his Speedos... 

x

Porto Alegre

Right, so the storm turned into a mini-monsoon which lasted another 3 days... so unfortunately that gave us the opportunity to have a few more drinking sessions; which makes 2012 a so-far non-dry year!! Seeing how far I (or the liver) can go.

Friday started off good; daily 12pm wake-up call by Gui's niece Isabela followed by lunch and a Caiparinha then a pretty chilled out day in front of the TV.  8pm rolls round and we're heading to the main city Porto Alegre with a packed car ready for some partying!!  5 of us were staying in Gui's friend's appartment with a few matresses thrown across the floor and a freezer full of beer!!  After a few more people turned up and a few more Cervajas (beers) later we headed for a few more pre-drinks at another apartment before hitting the club.

The one thing I've found out so far in Brazil is that the party doesn't start until about 2am; despite starting drinking at about 5/6pm... or in most people's views this week; the party doesn't start until we get there!!

So... the club can only be described as something out of Skins...  It's called 'Cabaret' and was conveniently about 30 seconds from our apartment.  Low ceilings, sticky floor, dirty cockroach ridden walls, cheap Cervajas and amazing music - a mixture ranging from Kings of Leon to MC Hammer to Metronomy to Will Smith to Kinks... Leaving the club at about 7am while it was still in full flow shows that the Brazilians start late, but finish even later!!  Heading back to the apartment and slowly dying of starvation... I happened to fall asleep before the pizza finished cooking...

Hangovers were left, right and centre on Saturday!! So... what else is there to do but grab some food and get back on it.  After a large meal that involved a lot of grease, we all headed to a couple of bars and started by sinking a couple of jugs of a Brazilian equivalent to Pimms quickly followed by a few large beers.  Remainder of the evening followed suit, which ended in a club called Madam; a lot of guys and a lot of trannys... surprising not that much fun.

Following another hangover was the flight from Porto Alegre to Rio!! Rio updates to follow... to involve a lot of Sun, Sea and a bit of Sunburn...

x

The Rain Cometh...

After the few previous posts, I'm sure that you'll all be pleased to know that the eagerly anticipated storm has touched down in Nova Hamburgo!!

However, the positive is that this did kick in at around 8pm whilst we were sinking a few Colardo beers followed by 2 2.5 litre towers of beer in a restaurant called Mais Pastel. A Pastel is a kind of large pasty which is either fried or oven-baked filled with meat, cheese and peppers. I had 2... Of course!

So, the rain carries on today; so no pool time; however does give a chance to relax and pack as tonight we're heading to Porto Alegre for a couple of nights of partying before touching back down in Rio on Sunday to meet my Cousin James.

x

Today, I will be mostly sweating... Meat!!

Writing this now; I can barely move... I feel like (but probably have...) eaten the equivalent to a fully grown Cow today!!

As following suit from the previous few days; wake up call was just after 12pm and after a quick shower we were in the car with Gui's dad driving to a Churrascaria meat house (Ryan Miles; you would be in Heaven!!).  Basically, the concept is a buffet; however instead they bring the food to you.  This consists of every 30 seconds a waiter coming to the table with a monster skewer of meat asking if you want more! There is a card on the table with one side Green and written Sim Por Favor and the other Red with Não Obrigado; which you turn accordingly.  Not surprising, ours was always green...

So, for lunch I was mostly eating; Chicken, Lamb cutlets, Lamb shoulder, Pork belly, Beef fillet, Beef ribs, Sausage, Chirizo and (for the first time ever) Chicken Hearts!!; which were actually pretty good; washed down with a Caiparinha and a couple of glasses of beer.  Oh and a side garnish of salad - didn't want to be unhealthy!

After lunch, there was time for an hour's nap before meeting Adrinano and Paula and heading back to the pool for a few more beers.

Dinner today came courtesy of Pica-Pao; where as 'tourist' I was told that I had to have the Classico burger.  This consisted of a large steak with; Egg, Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Corn, Peas, Mayo and FRIES all within a large burger bun.  Needless to say, I finished the whole lot, which leads me to the state that I'm in now... not being able to move.

Today on Man vs. Food... Man Won!!!

x

Re-cap...

Ok... the last few days have been pretty damn good!

Started off with a HUGE BBQ had Gui's Sisters; consisting of 5 massive pieces of meat to be eaten by 4 people.  Being the guest and newcomer, I had to obviously eat the most (no complaints there) and was being force-fed (again, no-complaints) everything that was going.

Monday started off a bit more relaxed; woke up at 12, went to the pool at Gui's sisters house and started to work on the tan!!  In the evening, Gui's friends Julia, Paula, Natalia and Dafydd came round for a few more beers and we all went to King-Kao for some Ka-churrasco (a kind of hot-dog, but not a hot-dog... Again, being the newcomer and 'tourist', I had to have the biggest one!)

Tuesday was another great day!! Temperature was hitting 35°C and after Gui's dad taking us to one of his favourite lunchtime buffets, we headed back to the pool to catch some more rays and a few beers; then headed out to a pirate bar called Tortuga for a lot more drink with a few more of Gui's friends.

So, it's safe to say that this adventure has started off just as planned!  Everyone here has been so friendly and accommodating; despite me not being able to master the Portuguese tongue just yet... the drink has flowed freely and there's more food that you can shake a stick at!!

Judging by the pictures, the diet must start when I hit Rio next week; it seems that I'm not going to get the opportunity to here!!

x

What to do between a flight...

So... the logical thing (and original plan) was to land at Rio, hang around in the airport for several hours; maybe a few hours sleep then be refreshed in the morning.

Of course that didn't happen... and after meeting a couple of people on the plane it ended in spending the night on the Copacabana and then onto Lapa for a couple of street parties, Samba clubs and sinking a few bottles of Uraguayan lager as big as your head!

Needless to say the flight down to Porto Alegre wasn't amazing; however, now with Gui in the Deep South, in 32°C heat and about to go to his Sisters for a BBQ!!

x

Start as you mean to go on...

Last night was tipped as the Epic end to the All Saints era and a good send off away from cold, wet and dull England.

Judging by the size of the hangover today, various accounts from several people and the 400+ photos on the camera; I think it's safe to say that it was a success.  This has definitely set me up for the next few months..

Big thank you for everyone that made it out! Here's a couple of treats from the night!

x

The Blog...

Right... After a lot of peer pressure, the blog has now begun!!

Starting off by saying a massive thank you for everyone who has helped with the send off last night and over the past couple of weeks!  Judging by the state I was in this morning I think it must of been a successful one!!

Going to try to update as much as possible to rub it in all of your faces how much of an awesome time I'm having!

x