Now that my whirlwind trip back home was over it was time to get underway with my South American adventures, straight into Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
I arrived in the evening and was pretty jetlagged but managed to string together some sentences to a few people in the hostel and arranged a day trip for the following day.
My mate, Josh, had access to his friend’s car so a few of us jumped in and I navigated the way along the coast to Barra de Guaratiba ready for our hike to Pedra do Telégrafo for the ‘infamous hanging rock’ pictures.
It was hot, super hot, but we made it up and to our luck, there were not many other people there yet.
We took the standard touristy snaps and had a good laugh doing so. Soon there was quite a crowd waiting – we grabbed a yummy acai bowl and watched the madness before us.
We were halfway down and saw a turn off to a beach and asked a passing local who said it would only take roughly half hour to get down to the beach – this was a lie. It was a hard walk going down the slippery slope which took almost a full hour. But it was worth it – we had the beach to ourselves except for a couple of locals who lived there.
We had the most delightful swim, which was much needed – it was almost unbearably hot and once we dried off we started on the trek back up the muddy hill. This wasn’t actually too bad in the end but I was definitely out of breath at times – it was pretty steep.
Back in the car we boosted it to Sugar Loaf to make it by sunset as it was such a nice clear day. Josh and I made it just in time and luckily, no lines so straight up we went.
Absolutely stunning views with Christ the Redeemer in the background and the expanding coastline. Amazing.
We hung here till the sun set and the ginormous city was lit up by the lights before making our way back to the hostel.
I was absolutely exhausted and still not on the right time zone but showered, ate, and then we headed out for a few drinks starting at some street party thing where we bought beers of the guys with their coolers/eskys on the side of the road.. Pretty cool vibe.
From there is was just a short walk to the Jockey Club which was more of an outdoor club and after a few drinks we were all done and headed back to the hostel. I passed out.
Up early because of jetlag so I got underway with planning and booked myself on the afternoon city tour. Jumped on the bus where I sat down next to an Aussie couple, turns out I had met them previously as they were friends of friends in Sydney, small small world!!
Our first stop was up top of Christ the Redeemer which was quite amazing, the views were stunning and we took the usual snaps and just sat admiring the views all around us.
A drive through Santa Teresa, checked out some odd round church and onto the Selaron Steps in Lapa. This was a cool area and we wondered around briefly before the next stop of Sugar Loaf (again!).
The views from the Sugar Loaf were a bit different the second day as it was a lot cloudier which made for a different backdrop.
The next day I went on a tour to the Rochina Favela – Brazil’s slum type neighbourhoods. This was very interesting and we started at the top of the favela (the biggest in Rio) and made our way down through the twists and turns of the alleys all the way to the bottom. Not somewhere you would wander on your own.
Our guide, Gabi, showed us where to get the best Pao de Quijo (Brazilian cheese puffs) and it was delicious!
As my hostel was in Leblon, one block back from the beach, I went for a stroll one afternoon and ended up right around to the end of Ipanema Beach where I chilled watching the views of the beach with the Two Brothers mountains in the background.
My next big hike was that of the Two Brothers (Morro Dois Irmãos) where I was joined by a few people from the hostel. An Uber through the Vidigal favela to the start of the hike and we were off. After a couple of good night’s sleep – this hike was a lot easier that than the first one.
We were, once again, rewarded with stunning views of Rio but this time there were quite a few people around (it was an easier walk and a Sunday).
I had a friend from the island visit, Waz, and we had a few days of travel planned cruising down south of Rio towards Sao Paulo. Firstly, we walked the entirety (and back) of Copacobana Beach in Rio stopping every now and then to cool down in the shade with a cold beer.
My last evening in Rio was spent at the samba night in Pedra do Sal with a few people from the hostel – this was pretty cool and had an awesome vibe. We had maracuja (passion fruit) caipirinhas and watched the singing and dancing all around us.. A great last night.!
Myself and Waz headed to Illha Grande next up which had cool island vibes. It was a bus to the port and a boat to get to the island. Once there we chilled having lunch on the beach and watching the many dogs play in the sand..
It was a cool little town and we wandered around the side streets and made the most of our time exploring as we could see a storm brewing. It was crazy weather during the night and we were lucky that it calmed down by morning for a yummy brekky overlooking the ocean before jumping on the boat back to the mainland and then onto the bus to Paraty.
It was still drizzling once we arrived in Paraty but we still went for a wander and sat having lunch whilst the worst of the downpour was over.
Paraty was a stunning cobblestoned old town and it was very pretty with a couple of the streets flooded so could see the reflections of the buildings in the water..
We had a boat trip included in our bus pass so we went ahead despite the very average weather.
It turned out to be such a calm day and the rain cleared for most of the trip. The boat was amazing and at the front was a massive mattress and pillows for everyone to chill out on. I managed to get through a decent amount of my book and properly zoned out, even going for a dip in the ocean!
Typically, the sun was out on the day we were leaving Paraty, for the six-hour bus trip to Sao Paulo.
We were staying at Waz’s mates place, which was in the Perdizes area of Sao Paulo. We had a few beers then met up with some other friends from Cayman, Tim and Paula, for a yummy Japanese feed followed by checking out the Kia Ora pub.
The next few days in Sao Paulo we ate up a storm – Fogo de Chao a clear favourite where the waiters continuously bought meat to your plate however you liked it until you had had enough meat
We even managed to score a couple free last minute VIP tickets to Lollapalooza and made it just in time to check out Wiz Khalifa, Hardwell and The Killers – it was insane!!
There were just so many people and we had the best view from the VIP area of the whole crowd!! Very lucky to be able to go – better late than never!!
One last dinner at A Figueira Rubaiyat, a fancy restaurant with a massive fig tree in the middle, with the Cayman crew and then it was an early morning flight to Foz do Iguacu – of course it was pouring down with rain when I arrived.
Luckily it cleared up enough for a visit to Foz do Iguacu so I could check out the thunderous falls – it was pretty impressive!!
I walked the path along the falls and was drenched after walking out to the Devil’s Throat – pretty cool being on the edge of the falls though.
Some panoramic views and I went on to Parque das Aves, the biggest bird-park in Latin America, to check out some pretty crazy birds!
A bus trip to Marco das Três Fronteiras (three borders landmark) to view the Argentina and Paraguay landmarks whilst still standing in Brazil.
I decided to check out Ciudad del Este in Paraguay which involved a short bus trip to the start of the Friendship Bridge and a walk through immigration (the borders are open).
The walk over the bridge was pretty cool with good views and once I stepped foot in Ciudad del Este you could tell the difference – it was definitely more third world and the streets were lined with stalls of vendors selling their wares. People from Brazil and Argentina did their electronic shopping in Ciudad del Este as it was much cheaper.
As I could not fit anything more in my backpack, I just wandered around the streets and had a look in a few of the shops. After a few hours I headed back to the bridge and made my way back into Brazil – easy!
I popped in to check out the Chen Tien Buddhist Temple for my last afternoon in Brazil and chilled at the hostel for the evening.
Ready for my next adventures in Argentina…!
