After getting a computer virus (damn you anti Norton and your ineffective scans) and not having wifi in Ilha Grande - this is another big update...
Attack of the Mosquitos Part 1.
Location: Ilha Grande, an island of the coast of Rio
Setting: Beautiful waters, Green and Blue Lagoons, Sandy Beaches
Characters: Me, Yuko, Jan, other friends and the Mosquitos
Honourable Mentions: Bugs and other biting things.
Result = Numerous new bites and scars
There were so many wonderful things about Ilha Grande and unfortunately, most of it was overshadowed by the fact that the mosquitos had a free for all frenzy on us. Yuko has like the main course, but I, well, I was the all you can eat dessert buffet. I'm like chocolate...so, as wonderful as it was, I'm in sooo much pain. Today, I'm rocking the look of 50 bites of my left shoulder and my new perfume is now Citronella. If that doesn't work I'll be playing chemist with natural oils...I'll discover the next best Off. I'll keep you posted.
Awesome things we did on the Island:
* Booze cruise - I know it's a bit of a cliche but it was really quite awesome. The boat takes you to 3 different snorkeling spots, all you can drink Caipirinhas, a barbeque and one of the 3 local bands (we saw all 3, 3 times) played live music on the boat.
* Snorkelling - I've still got my snorkelling mojo. Yuko saw beautiful yellow fish and I saw 2 turtles kissing and different types of fish I've never seen. One of my faves was an unasumming brown fish but then it spread it's wing like fins it was a vibrant blue that reminds you to never underestimate the hidden beauty in what look like drab simple things. The Lagoa Verde and Azul were beautiful. Didn't get out for a dive but the waters were clear and beautiful.
* Hiking - Ok, I hiked and Yuko went surfing. The island makes you work hard for everything! It takes about 2-3 hours to get anywhere but the great thing is that there is always an amazing payoff at the end of it!
- Dios Rios - Once you finished climbing the mountain, you get to this beautifully secluded beach that is surrounded by 2 rivers that hug either side of the ocean. You have the option of swimming in salt or doce (sweet) water. It's absolutely amazing.
- Cachoeira - The waterfall wasn't nearly as impressive as climbing (yup again) through a secret trail that brought you to the top of the falls which leads to hidden natural slides. Thanks Cris.
- Lopez Mendez - This one Yuko got to know pretty well since she went surfing a couple of times. After our first 2.5 hour hike, it was decided that we take taxi boats to get there...weightloss in Ihla Grande 2.5 lbs. ;)
After getting attacked way too much, we needed some healing time and went to Rio!
Rio De Janiero:
Initially we weren't feeling the big city. After spending so much time in quiet beach towns, the massive scale of Rio seemed daunting. We stayed a couple of nights in Copacabana and then a few more in Ipanema. It was sweltering but it was a fun vibrant city. We ended up staying at this cute hostel called Bonita - famed for the guy who wrote the Girl from Ipanema - that song was the running soundtrack in my head for about a week.
HL -
* Sugarloaf - watching the sunset and seeing the lights of Rio at night was beautiful. The city is massive and hugged by gorgeous beaches everywhere.
* Biking along the beach. We rented bikes and saw every single beach that lines Copacabana and Ipanema. The beach is divided in 12 areas - each one attracting different crowds depending on your interest. It's like the ultimate seawall. I ran there a couple of times so I got to know it. Can't miss the gay one with it's flags, that's number 8. The shiny beautiful people were on 9. The jocks and volleyball peeps were on 10. It's like highschool but segrated along the beach.
* Football at the Maracana. Not that Yuko and I are football/soccer fans by any means, it was completely worth it to go and watch a live match. The stadium wasn't full to it's 100,000 capacity but the energy was thunderous. Thankfully we sat on the winning teams side, Vasco, so it was easy to get swept up in the whole thing.
* Favella Funk Party - Favellas are meant to be the most dangerous areas in Rio, of course, now they've made tours. Don't worry, we went on an organized tour in one of the biggest favellas in Rio that isn't run by druglords, rather by military or ex-cops. It was an interesting experience. Essentially it was clubbing in a massive warehouse with about a 1000 people and a bad DJ. It was all experience all in all.
* Lapa street party - we headed out to the famed area where most of the good times happen. It's the dancing area of town where all the samba bars are. There's people partying in the streets and you can go into the clubs to watch live bands playing. It was a particularly great night of dancing for Yuko.
LL:
* Talk about the heat! Weather site says 32 - feels like 50! The humidity clung in the air and stiffled you.
* Missing the Christ the Redeemer statue. The whole thing was covered in scaffolding. That's what we get for being a non practicing Catholic and a Buddhist. So, now photo ops with one of the most famous statues in the world. Just seemed like a waste of time to go and see metal. I guess they clean it once every 20 years and since it's right before Easter...
* Rio is really expensive! Everything there pretty much costs double than anywhere else we've been too.
* We felt like we had a good taste of Rio but there was so much else we could have seen...
After close to 2 months, we're finally heading to the Foz de Iguazu. In fact, this entry is being written on the tail end of a long 23 hour straight bus ride that takes us to the Argentinian side of the Falls. So we bid Brazil Ciao and Hello Argentina!
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