Rio de Janeiro has turned out to be everything we expected and more. We stayed in the Ipanema Beach area for 3 full days and spent every afternoon on the beach which was packed on the week-end (as were all of their other fabulous beaches......Copacabana, Botafoga, Flamingo, etc). We had cloudless skies and 30C temperatures all the time. There were many vendors selling food and drinks (caipirinha's for the ladies, beer for me) so you hardly had to move from your beach chair and umbrella. Volleyball games were plentiful along the backside of the beach including volley futbol which has similar rules except that instead of using your hands and arms, you can only use your feet, legs, chest and head. These players have amazing skills and we watched many games with long rallies even when they were playing two a side. If this game ever makes it to the Summer Olympics then Canada is in big trouble for years to come.
We tried to get our excercise in during the mornings (while Caity slept, recovering from a 5:30 am bar party return with some Calgary friends she hooked up with down here). One morning we walked around Rodrigo Lagoon (8 km) which has a walking / running / cycling path all the way around and was popular with the locals who in general seem to be in better shape than other parts of South America that we have been in.........I suppose constant time in your bathing suit provides some sort of incentive. We were unable to climb / ride to the famous Christ the Redeemer statue which overlooks the city because the April heavy rains had forced them to close the paths and use scaffolds to surround and support the structure so that it would not tumble down the mountain into the city (over 200 people had died in mudslides from the same mountain a few weeks before we arrived). On our last evening we took the cable cars to the top of Sugar Loaf mountain for a great view of the city at night.
Having enjoyed our beach time but ready for a few less speedos and thongs we then took a bus 150 km's south and then a boat to Ilha Grande where we are now...........more nice beaches and a lot fewer people since it is mid-week and the fall season (alhough the weather is still sunny and 30C). Today we took a boat tour of the island stopping several times to snorkel and at a couple of secluded beaches. We decided today to ride the weather wave and stay here for an extra day (4 nights in total) since we have a wonderful and cheap 3 bed room at our hostel. Tomorrow we plan to do some hiking on this island which is very large and hilly (along wih some more beach time). Sorry to hear about the weather back home!
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