Iguazu on the Brazil side is equally as spectacular and gives you an overeall view of the entire waterfalls. A trip highlight for me!
We decided to hit the beach and head straight to Florianapolis. We spent one week a few party nights, beach days and a lot of chilling out. For me though, one week of chilling out is enough I needed to move on. So I left my buddies Alanna and Meg and hit Paraty a gorgeous colonial town on the coast 4 hours south of Rio.
We wandered around the town ate great food and every night there was something happening on stage in the main square. Reggae, rock, Samba and plenty of dancing and drinking in the streets it had a great vibe about it and I loved every minute. After 5 nights, one amazing boat cruise later, a slide down a natural rock waterslide and a delcious lunch on the beach of Trindade (surrounded by lush green mountains) it was time for RIO!
We hit Rio with a bang! A night out in Lapa (club and bar district), a silent disco, some Ipanema beach time and hang gliding with the most amazing scenery, white sandy beaches, rain forest, mountains - Rio was looking the goods. An incedible scenic city from above.
Alanna arrived and there was certainly plenty more to see. We went to a football match which was really fantastic even if the crowd was not at its full capacity. The costumes and drums and singing was awesome.
We took a tour of the biggest favela Rocinha which was an eye opener to how some people live and the good and bad things that go on there. Too much to write about but walking past 20 something year olds with guns, hand grenades and not feeling threatened what so ever was an interesting experience.
A stroll through the botanical gardens and streets of LeBlon and Ipanema make for a pleasant and lazy day. Copacobana is the more touristy but at dusk with a coney pizza (perhaps one of the greatest novelty foods I have ever come across - yes its pizza in a cone and the cone is a pizza base - first discovered in Florianapolis), corn on a cob, or a Coconut is a pefect way to end the day!
We took a city tour to check out some more areas of the city including the giant Cristo Statue, incredibly large which also gave an amazing view of Rio. Ate in some more lovely restaurants and celebrated Australia day on the beach with a good crew.
My last night was checking out the Sambadromo where the carnival parade takes place. 4 Samba schools were rehearsing and the stands were packed and the atmosphere was mad and wonderful and I can only imagine how fantastic the real thing will be.
My time in Brazil was amazing and I would love to return one day so much more to see.
