Rio de Janeiro (the city of Wonders)

The final of our 13 weeks journey was 4 days in Rio aka the city of wonders, or for others the City of God. We gave the city the neccessary respect, and were walking around carefully (not too many pictures), but after our first night going out it did not seem that scary any more. The guys from the hostel took us out to an "Erasmus" party, and we were walking around on our way back, without being harassed, the same for the night in Lapa, where people drink and dance on the streets.

The first days were quite rainy, but still we managed to get a good view from the famous Christ statue. 15min later we could not see the statue from the foot of it because of the clouds that were blown in.

We also took the vintage tram to an old part of the town. We expected a San Francisco style tourist fun, when hanging off the side of the tram, but here it was more of a survival ride: lampposts, fences and walls were close enough to rip my backpack off, and it was really hard to hold your balance on the 10cm standing board. We got off before the final station.

Could not miss the Sugarloaf either. It is really the best view you can get from the town, although the priciest.

On our last day we went to one of the favelas and learned, that the City of God movie is about the drug business, but not about everyday life there. The circumstances were ok (brick houses, electricity, water) except for the sewage water flowing on the street, because of the unplanned constructions. Most people there have normal jobs in other parts of the town. The main difference was that law is not enforced by the police, but by the gang ruling the place. The 300.000 people favela we visited had 4000 "soldiers" mostly paid by the drug business, which earns them the healthy amount of 4M $ monthly. The whole organisation is run by a 23 years old godfather, who is one of the older ones, as these guys die young. Anyways, the bikeride up the top of the hill will be unforgettable.

Between all the sightseeing we managed to fit some sand and sun, first on Copacabana then on Ipanema. The sand was amazing, the water was nice and people watching ok. We didn't see as many fake looking boobs as I expected. Traditionally Brazilian man think it is girly to lie on a towell, so they sunbath on the hot sand, or sit on a chair/ piece of newspaper. I wasn't afraid to be seen as a gringo.

Finally we liked the city quite much, having amazing beaches at your front door (and the neccessary weather with it, dear Dubliners) is quite nice. The bay with the strange rocks sticking out of it looks uniquely beautiful.

On the 20th Decembre we embarked on a journey which we thought would be annoying, because we had to say good bye to America, and because it was long. Little did we know that it would turn out worse than expected, more to that later.