Her name is Rio

Hi there.

 

We've had a good few days in Rio so far, although unfortunately the weather hasn't been quite what we were hoping for. Its nice and warm but a bit overcast with occasional showers, so we haven't managed to hit the beach yet. Instead we've been chilling out and visiting a few different areas of the city, including the centre with its bizarre cathedral, and the hillside suburb of Santa Teresa. We were supposed to go to see a football game today but the agent couldn't get any tickets, so will probably go to a mid-week game instead. Tomorrow we're going on a tour of a favela (slum), which should be interesting.

 

We're saving the "highlights" of Rio (the Christ the Redeemer statue and Sugar Loaf mountain) until the weather improves and we can get some nice views. Even now though the city is really beautiful, with huge hills looming over beautiful beaches. We've enjoyed strolling along Ipanema and Copacabana beaches people watching. The people here are a lot more varied than elsewhere in South America - Brazil was a major destination for the slave trade, and there are a lot of their descendants here alongside the Europeans and indigenous people.

 

June has bought a Portuguese phrase book but we're finding it pretty difficult to pick up the lingo. The accent is very hard to understand, and the words that look like their Spanish equivalents don't sound anything like them!

 

We're really looking forward to getting home now. Its been a long road with a few bumps along the way, and it will be good just to be in our own home and see all our friends again. Can't wait....