Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

22 hours on a bus later and we arrive at Rio at about 5pm. A short cab ride to Copacabana and we are some where in the vicinity of our accommodation.

The cab driver is a little confused by the address, and rightly so. We are staying in a favela (an area of makeshift housing built by and lived in by the very poor of Rio), and the houses don't have numbers. We take the road as far as it will go and get out. We start asking for "66". Everyone is happy to try and help but dont speak English. It takes us a while before we realise that 66 is the address of the whole favela. Long story short, we borrowed someone's mobile and Thiago came and resuced us from the maze.

Within 2 minutes of dropping our bags in our room we already feel like part of the family. "Have you guys had lunch? We are having our Saturday BBQ, come on up".

We follow the music to the balcony where his dad is dancing samba and the rest of the family are eating and drinking. They sit us down, hand us a beer and a plate and we tuck in. Our senses are overwhelmed by the amazing views and the delicious food. It's too much for me to handle. I giggle. How'd we get this lucky?

The house is quite large and has a complete view of Copacabana and the "Jesus Statue". Thiago's dad built the place, as I find out from him via charades (he doesn't speak English). They have 4 rooms through air bnb now and it is working very well for them. They are looking forward to the World Cup and the Olympics.

Feeling human again after the BBQ we walk back down the hill to the the beach as the sun is going down. I go for a swim. Courts is not so game. The water is pretty cold, but the good surf is too enticing.

We wander a bit up the esplanade. People are singing and generally being merry. It's nice and warm still after dark. It's paradise.

Keen to get back to the Saturday night family party we head back to the favela. Since the road up the favela is very steep, some entrepreneurial locals are running people up on motorbikes for a few Reals (about $2). We accept and within a minute we are at the top. Even the bikes struggle since its so steep.

The party is still continuing and we join in. The music is blaring and it's "samba or die". We chose "samba". Thiago's dad, along with the rest of the family, is more than willing to give us some lessons. I think I have it nailed until Thiago's sister's boyfriend points out to me that the masculine version doesn't use hips. I stop using my hips.

Courtney finds 2 young friends. They are about 5 and are quick to show Courts how the samba is done. Although I didn't think Twerking was either a) part of samba, or b) appropriate for a 5 year old girl to be corrupting my girlfriend with.

We dance and are merry for the rest of the night. Some more guests "check-in" and we can see the overwhelmed -ness on their faces as well. The house has an open door policy and many people come and go. Incredible how settled we feel here. We are already in love (amor) with the place. I want to live in this favela. Although after doing some reading I understand that just because the views are amazing, favelas are filled with hard working, very poor people, and my rose coloured glasses haven't seen this aspect yet.

Day 2

Woke up to a rainy day in Rio. I know, we did not think it was possible either. First up was breakfast which is included in our stay. On offer is the crustiest and softest bread rolls, ham, cheese, coffee and lemon cake. Realising we are only going to get fatter if we continuing dining in this fashion we decided it was time to do some exercise.

Jeff fired up Strava and found there was a 4.5km run segment that went right along the beach. We got straight to it. The rain actually worked in our favour as it was still quite warm even without the sun. Jeff made pretty good time and I was just glad to make it. We rewarded ourselves with corn on the cob which they sell on the streets, slathered in butter (it's devine) and then some burgers.

On our walk back to favela it rained steadily the entire way and we got soaked to the bone.

Once home we showered then hit the balcony for a few games of monopoly deal and cracked open the bottle of red we purchased in Mendoza. Bliss.

After a few games of Jeff getting his butt whooped we decided to head down to local shop to watch the second half of the soccer over a beer with the locals.

We walked in, bought a couple of beers and we are immediately invited to sit at the table with the local boys. They instantly loved Jeff and spent the next few hours discussing soccer, where we all live, beers and bikinis. We discovered our new found amigos sold bikinis on the beach and that we could get a special discount. All this without us knowing a word of Portuguese and them not knowing a word of English.

We tried to leave a number of times to go get a bite to eat but our amigos insisted we stay and continued topping up our glasses! Awesome fun.

Day 3

Lazy beach day today. Since its not too hot (mid 20s and not too much sun). Plus we didn't get out of bed till 1. Our new friends' hospitality was a little overwhelming...

We head to straight for the beach and jump in. It's cold, but it feels good. The swell is pretty big and we are a little nervous of the undertow which is apparently pretty strong all the way along Copacabana beach.

Monday seems to be training day for both volleyball and the soccer version of volleyball. At Leme beach at least, there are lots of courts with people training. We sit and read and watch guys playing the soccer version. Very skilful. I'd love to join but since they are taking it pretty seriously (throwing sand at team mates when they stuff up, lol) I decide to just watch.

We need some good food in the belly, so off to subway. Still pretty expensive here as well.

We head home, play some cards, watch some TV and zzz ready for a big day tomorrow. It was good to take it easy for a change

Day 4

Feeling on top of the world again and ready to tackle a Rio attraction, we head for sugar loaf mountain. Named after its appearance (it looks like a sugar loaf... what's a sugar loaf?), it's a big mountain with 2 sets of cable cars to get to the top.

There is also a 2km nature trail along it's base which was our first point of call. The setting is stunning. A little bay with a nice beach and sugar loaf on the left. It looks like a postcard (like much of Rio, really). We put a swim in the bay on the list for later and head for the trail.

We get to the end, take a photo and head back. We read that there might be little monkeys on the trail. Jeff demands that "he wants to see a monkey" and 2 seconds later we see heaps of them in the trees. They were quite tame (including a little baby one) and took a banana right out of someone's hand (DON'T FEED THE MONKEYS!). We were glad someone was feeding the monkeys.

We spot a steep track which headed straight up the mountain. We climb it, of course. It was very steep and the further we went, the less trodden the track became. We followed it all the way to where sugar loaf becomes unscalabe (hence the cable cars).

Back down and onto the beach with a coco. Everyone drinks them, they are about $2. Not too sweet, but nicer than the coconuts we get at home.

Into the water - it's cold, but not as cold as the other day. We swim, then read on the beach for a while.

We decide we want some good, authentic Brazilian food for dinner. We find a place called Quick Galetos, which means Quick Grill. It had a set up with a massive grill in the middle, and many locals around the outside.

We were served by a Rowan Atkinson look-a-like and ordered the dish with the most variety of meat in it. Plus a massive salad and fries (God, we're fatties). It was awesome. No surprise there because we could see it being cooked right in front of us.

We have a local drink called a Caipirinha on the way home. Equal parts vodka, lime and sugar. Boom!

We waddle home and sleep like babies. A long day in the sun wore us down. Good job Rio.

Day 5

Woke to another perfectly hot and sunny day in Rio. Had the usual balcony breakfast then left early to tackle one of the Seven Wonders of the World, Christ the Redeemer.

We took a cab out to the location with the intention of hiking to the top. We asked a few of the staff if we can in fact walk to the top and the answers we got were "too long" , "too dangerous" , "you'll get robbed", "you'd have to walk through a favela" (which is where we currently reside).

Feeling a little disappointed but still wanting to see the man himself and check the views, we took two buses (there is a train but the wait is 2 hours and looked more dangerous than any favela I've ever seen) and arrived at the top about 30 minutes later.

The place is packed, the statue is huge and the views even bigger. Back down the mountain we went.

Next stop is a lake a 5 minute cab ride away. By this point the last two days in the heat is getting to me and my ridiculous over sensitive skin and we stop for a quick bite and hydrate.

Onwards we go and make it to the lake for a stroll around then back to the beloved beach (but not before inhaling some diabetic laden milkshakes to perk us up). Once there we can't help but notice how rammed the beach is today (Wednesday). We later discover that it's a public holiday. And the first leg of the final for the Copa Do Brasil. Coincidence? I think not. Apparently the country went into a deep depression the last time they lost to France in the World Cup. No depression in the city today. In fact, we were marvelling at how well behaved and happy everyone is on the beach and around town. Lifting the drinking in public ban in Australia and there would be out of control hooligans as far as the eye could see.

We decide it's time for our weekly dose of vegetables and stopped off at the supermarket for some supplies to cook a stir fry. Back at the house I chit-chatted with an Italian girl while her chef boyfriend and chef Jeff got to work in the kitchen. This really is the life.

After dinner our new Italian amigos made us espressos using coffee they brought with them from Italy.

I think '7th heaven' they call it?

Day 6

2 big days in the hot Rio sol (sun) has left us both drained (yea I know, poor us) so we decide a hammock day is in order. We get up late, eat breakfast late and chill out.

The internet is back so we catchup on what's happening back home and sort some plans for Peru and Cusco.

The sun is going down so it's time for the beach. The surf is powerful again, we jump in. Jeff gets amongst it. To his surprise he spots Courtney attempting to body surf a wave. I think the best way to describe what happened was that the wave "kicked her ass". Jeff saves her like a hero. The crowd cheers.

Jeff hands out some advice on how to negotiate the larger waves. The advice is poor. Courtney attempts to negotiate and ends up suffering a pretty severe wardrobe malfunction. I don't think our friend who sold it is to blame though. Copacabana got more than they bargained for today.

We head to a beach side bar. Numerous offers to buy stuff from locals walking past, including some "top hydro". His lack of subtlety, upper class demeanour and perfect English raised our suspicions. Not tonight my good man (entrapment?).

Onwards to the most well known "pay by weight" restaurant. A huge buffet. Sizzler had nothing on this. Awesome food. We put away 2+ kilos between us (we won't go into individual player stats). It wasn't all that cheap, but worth it.

Jeff wheels Courtney home.

Day 7

Our last day in Rio. Sad times. Our plan is simple for today; go and see the actual city.

We jump on a bus and we are in the thick of it in about 10 mins. Downtown Rio doesn't have the same charm as Buenos Aires. Not as European. Not as distinctive. It's very... city like.

We wander around for a bit, grab a coffee and go to a free naval museum (since we are both such naval history buffs).

There were some trendy lane ways serving up some good looking food. Similar to what we had at the family BBQ even. Steak on a bed of rice, served with chips, black beans, some floury, breadcrumbs stuff (hard to explain) and some of that really fresh salsa (finely chopped onion, tomato and capsicum with vinegar. Really good). We ate, it was good.

We figure we've seen everything the city has to offer and want to go back to the beach. Back on the bus to Leblon. A quick nap on the beach and now it's time to head for the race track for some gambling (the withdrawals are setting in :p).

We saw the race track from the Jesus Statue and it looks grand. Up close it still had charm. A little run down and quite a lot of cats (good thing or bad thing?), but horses as well, and that's the main thing.

We bet all night with the locals. Won a little bit. It was fun. One of the betting dudes was enjoying practising his English on me. He asked where I was from. I said Adelaide. He clearly hasn't heard of it, but still offers me a "congratulations". Good man. I agree.

It's raining heavily now so we grab a cab home. We also need some money so we get dropped of somewhere near our joint and go atm hunting in the rain. We are soaked through again. We find an atm and then reward ourselves with a bobs burger (pretty much a cross between maccas and hjs that is everywhere in Rio).

Home to pack and one last look at Copacabana. We have to be up in 4 hours for the airport.

It was really sad to leave such a happy place. Everyone and everything was happy. The weather, the beaches, the picture perfect views. Even the stray dogs seems to have a spring in their step and a wag in their tail here.

Goodbye Rio