The home stretch...
Trip Start
Jun 03, 2007
1
19
Trip End
May 31, 2008
Rio de Janeiro, State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Friday, May 30, 2008
From there we decided to make another stop at Hacachina before Lima which is a massive lake and oasis in the middle of the desert surround by sand dunes. As well as riding the dune buggies, which was like a roller coaster, and sand boarding we took the opportunity to get some well earned relaxation time by the pool in the sun. It's truly and amazing place and really gets under your skin, you have to really make an effort to leave but unfortunately my flight to Brazil was nearly upon us. It was only a 4 hour bus ride (which seams like nothing now) and before we new it we were in Lima ready to party for Colette and my last night together as she has to flight out of Argentina, and let me tell you party we did! We managed to see a bit of the city center before it was time to say our goodbyes and head to the airport.
After a few hours on the plane learning some essential Portuguese phrases (they are getting so high tech these days), I landed in Sao Paulo ready to see Brazil. At first it was very weird as I have got so used to Spanish and kept speaking Spanish to everyone but they have been very patient with me. Now the first thing that hits you about Sao Paulo is the size, it took over two hours to get from the airport to the hostel. Luckily I met another Irish girl would had met a Brazilian guy on her travels and he was kind enough to take us on a tour of the city and ended up in the China Town for Sushi which was sooo nice. It really makes such a difference if you are with someone who knows the city but after a while I was dying to get to beach and relax for the last 10 days...I have to make you jealous with my tan after all! So off I went to a tiny fishing village called Paraty for a bit of sun and surf. It is such a pretty little village with an array of amazing beaches and Islands to explore. I happened to be there when they have a national holiday "The body of Christ" so everyone got involved it making pictures on the streets and then there was a big ceremony in the church and a procession was led over the pictures and was very cool to see.
After a few days cillaxing the weekend approached so off I went to Rio to sample the night life. I met a whole group of people in the hostel all going to Lapa, a massive street party, so went along and had the best night. It is like nothing I have ever seen...so many people drinking and dancing in the street surrounded by bars and clubs pumping out Brazilian music late into the night. So as you can imagine Saturday day was spent on the famous Copacabana beach watching the beautiful people and catching rays before heading out again to a few bars on Impanema Beach meeting the locals. I did managed to spent some time wandering around the town center and made my way up the hill to the famous Christ de Redema statue with an amazing few of the city (thats number two of the new seven great wonders I've seen this trip).
After the busy city a group of us from the hostel, some Irish guys, Australian girls and an American guy called Rob Mcgringo from Milwaukee, decided to spend a few days on the Island Ilha Grande a holiday place for the Brazilians only a few hours from Rio, and I am so glad we did. It is a tropical Island with probably the beach beaches I have ever seen and we were lucky enough to have excellent weather for three days. We certainly made the most of it taking boat trips around the Island and sunning on the beach until today when the weather changed. So here I am back in Rio in the rain for my last 12 hours before my flight, and what an end to a great year! So much has happened I can't wait to bore you all with my stories and pictures when I get home. Thank you so much for reading this blog I hope you have enjoyed it, and thanks to all those I have stayed with along the way, I hope to catch up with you all again soon....just remember that mines a white wine if I see you in the bar, thanks!! Chao
